In 2025, 124 environmental and indigenous land defenders were killed globally. This spike in violence was fueled by a combination of state neglect, rising criminal influence, and a sharp decline in international financial support.
The 23-percent plunge in development aid
A critical driver of this violence is the sudden evaporation of financial safeguards. according to the report, there was a historic 23-percent drop in development aid throughout 2025, with the United States significantly reducing its support. This funding gap has left environmental NGOs, small-holder farmers, and indigenous communities without the resources necessary to secure their territories or seek legal protection.
The lack of funding creates a power vacuum that hostile actors are quick to fill. When international aid vanishes, the capacity for these communities to resist illegal land grabs diminishes, leaving them exposed to actors who view indigenous lands as mere obstacles to resource extraction.
Colombia's 39 deaths and the colonial legacy
While the crisis is global, Colombia emerged as the most dangerous territory for environmentalists, recording 39 deaths in the calendar year. This concentration of violence highlights a persistent colonial pattern where indigenous and afro-descendant lands are treated as conflict zones. As the report details, over three-quarters of all land defenders killed in 2025 belonged to these marginalized groups or were small-scale farmers.
The systematic silencing of these voices suggests that the violence is not incidental but structural. By targeting the leaders of land-right groups,attackers are effectively erasing the legal and cultural claims these communities hold over their ancestral territories.
Boundary disputes and the Kakataibo group's peril
The violence is frequently triggered by tangible disputes over land borders. More than half of the 2025 killings were sparked by boundary issues, often involving indigenous guards who patrol their territories. In Peru, the Kakataibo group has become a primary target, with their commanders noting that the act of protecting ancestral land has become exponentially more dangerous for the younger generation.
Organized crime networks have weaponized these disputes to secure contested territories. One-third of the murders in 2025 were carried out by hit-men and criminal syndicates, operating with relative impunity due to a lack of state-led land demarcation and a crumbling rule of law.
State repression in 10 of 15 recorded countries
The danger is not limited to criminal gangs; in many regions, the state itself is the aggressor. in 10 of the 15 countries where killings were documented, governments imposed restrictions on public assembly and criminalized dissent. This state-sponsored intimidation makes the actual death toll difficult to verify, as data collectors face legal barriers and threats of reprisals.
Significant gaps remain in the current reporting. While the report mentions "projects" related to transition metals and renewable energy, it does not name the specific corporations or the exact minerals driving the conflict. Furthermore, it remains unclear which specific state intelligence agencies are monitoring the advocacy groups in those 10 countries.
Frank Conde-Tangberg's warning on climate mitigation
The disconnect between global climate goals and local realities is stark.. Amnesty Norway's policy adviser Frank Conde-Tangberg has emphatically stated that the fight against climate change cannot succeed while those defending the environment are being murdered. There is a growing tension where "green" projects—such as those mining for transition metals—ignore the rights of the people who have stewarded these ecosystems for centuries.
Indigenous organizations are now demanding a seat at the decision-making tables of global environmental policy. They argue that sustainable climate mitigation is impossible if the custodians of the earth are excluded from the dialogue or eliminated by the very industries claiming to save the planet .
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