BRAZIL
Shut Up or Else
Latin America was once again the most dangerous region for environmental activists in 2017 – the deadliest year yet for eco-warriors – and Brazil was the worst offender, according to the latest report from UK-based Global Witness.
The nonprofit watchdog group said Tuesday that 207 people lost their lives last year in their fight against companies and governments that seize land and harm the environment, with Latin America accounting for nearly 60 percent of the killings, Al-Jazeera reported.
At least 57 such activists were killed in Brazil, the largest number ever recorded in a single country in the course of a year.
The news channel noted that Brazilian President Michel Temer and his predecessor Dilma Rousseff both weakened the country’s laws and institutions designed to protect environmental activists and made it easier for corporations to undertake projects without the consent of local communities.
Colombia recorded 24 environment-related killings, while Mexico saw the largest spike in deaths, from three in 2016 to 15 last year.
No comments:
Post a Comment