An Indigenous activist was killed on average every other day in the Amazon region in 2020, according to research from Catholic aid group, Adveniat.
Intensive agriculture, illegal mining and and huge energy projects are putting Latin America’s indigenous peoples at risk, the organisation said in a release marking the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on Monday.
Since 2014, around 600 indigenous environmental activists have been violently killed, according to Adveniat, which said its research on the ground revealed increased violence against environmentalists in the last 12 months.
A survey showed that many indigenous organisations see a growing threat to the safety of their members.
Indigenous peoples play a key role in the fight against climate change and environmental destruction, and have been murdered when they resist economic activities in their traditional settlements in the Amazon, the agency said.
“If we don’t stop the killing of indigenous environmentalists, we will not succeed in protecting the rainforest and thus the climate,” Adveniat’s executive director Michael Heinz said.
In Brazil, the right-wing government of President Jair Bolsonaro is accused of trying to use legal means to deprive indigenous people of their land.
A few days ago, lawmakers in the Chamber of Deputies approved legislation under which land squatters will in future be able to obtain legal property titles for stolen areas.
AAP
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