New Global Witness figures bring the total number of land and environmental defenders that were killed or disappeared in the region to at least 126 between 2012 and 2024 with countless more criminalised and attacked across the continent
By Edu Abade
Land and environmental defenders across Africa continue to face different forms of attack in a bid to shut down dissent, a new Global Witness report has revealed.
Published on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, the report titled: Roots of Resistance highlights the number of killings and disappearances of land and environmental defenders globally in 2024. In total, Global Witness documented 146 cases worldwide last year, down from 196 in 2023. On average, this is around three defenders killed or disappeared each week.
The Global Witness report documented nine defender killings across Africa in 2024, stating that there were four in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), three in Liberia, one in Cameroon and one in Madagascar.
“All four of those killed in DRC last year were working to protect Upemba National Park from exploitation. Two were park rangers working to prevent poaching and mining. Two other defenders, who were helping to track the movements of elephants within the park, were kidnapped and found dead days later.
“With 78 cases between 2012 and 2024, DRC ranks as the deadliest country in Africa and eighth in the world. The new figures bring the total number of defenders killed or disappeared in Africa since 2012 to at least 126-with DRC accounting for almost two-thirds of the cases. Other cases have been documented in Kenya (six), Liberia (six), South Africa (six), Chad (five) and Uganda (five) over the last 12 years, among several others,” the report stated.
However, the report notes that these statistics are likely to be an underestimate, highlighting issues around data collection on lethal attacks across the region, with poor recognition of environmental and land rights, conflict, and restricted civil space all playing a role.
Unveiling the report in a virtual media briefing, Global Witness Senior Advisor Laura Furones said: “These already chilling figures are most likely a gross underestimate. The continued difficulty in building an evidence base on the situation faced by defenders in Africa has led to the under-reporting of attacks and the under-representation of defenders in this region.
“Just because we are not recording as many cases in Africa that does not mean it’s not dangerous for defenders. In fact, the opposite is true, with the severe repression of civic space leaving many defenders too scared to speak out in the first place.”
The new Global Witness report highlights the many other ways defenders are attacked and silenced beyond killings and disappearances-such as criminalisation-for protecting the planet and its resources they depend on from exploitation, with a focus on forest protection efforts.
It highlights the case of the Ekuri Community in Cross River State, south-eastern Nigeria, on the borders of the Cross River National Park.
Once hailed as a model for community-led conservation, Nigeria’s Ekuri community is now on the frontlines of a battle to save its ancestral forest. Despite winning a UN prize for their pioneering efforts, the Indigenous Nkukorli Peoples have seen their sustainable forest management system undermined by government policies that have paved the way for illegal logging and expansion of corporate interests.
As a result, community activists have been subjected to escalating threats, violence and criminalisation as they fight to protect their land and livelihoods.
At the Nigeria Launch of the 2025 hosted by the Renevlyn Development Initiative (RDI) in Lagos, Ekuri Initiative Chairman and Executive Director of Panacea for Developmental & Infrastructural Challenges for Africa Initiative (PADIC-Africa), Martins Egot said:
“Like so many communities across the country, continent and the world, we have seen the devastating effects of rampant resource exploitation and corruption-and devastation of our land and environment-all in the name of profit.
“We know how powerful community-led conservation can be in protecting forests, and the planet- we have seen it for ourselves. The international community must recognise the role we play. When communities like ours are empowered, they become the most effective guardians of the environment.”
In January this year, an environmental defender, Odey Oyama was arrested by a team of over 40 police officers wearing masks and armed with guns. Along with four others, he was charged with promoting inter-communal war, which carries a penalty of life imprisonment.
Executive Director of Rainforest Resource Development Center (RRDC), Odey Oyama, said, “My arrest was a clear attempt to silence me for standing up to corporate logging interests and official corruption. It’s a tactic used to intimidate those who oppose the destruction of our forests.
“Defending our environment is a perilous job. You can easily be killed. I have just been lucky. It is vital that international bodies support forest defenders like me and hold accountable those who facilitate illegal logging.”
Criminalisation of defenders is an issue across the African continent.
In 2023, Global Witness published an investigation into abuses linked to East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP)-a proposed $5 billion, almost 900-mile long pipeline that would run through both Uganda and Tanzania. There were at least 96 reported cases of people being detained or arrested for opposing the pipeline from December 2023 to August 2024.
“While DRC features most heavily in the dataset, Global Witness has found in its documentation process that killings of park rangers-often working for national park or other institutions in the country-tends to be more visible and therefore easier to document,” it added.
The methodology for the report indicated that since 2012, Global Witness documented killings and disappearances of land and environmental defenders globally. Historically, disappearances have been included in the headline “killed” figure where a defender has been missing for more than six months. For greater clarity, Global Witness now indicates a distinction between the two and will continue doing so for future reports.
“Global Witness is an investigative, campaigning organisation. We expose how the industries fuelling the climate crisis profit from destruction, and stand with the people fighting back to defend their communities and their rights.
“Using cutting-edge investigative methods, we shine a light on the financial and political systems that enable corporate abuses of power that harm people and planet. We work with the people who are directly impacted to ensure they are protected from threats when speaking out, and included in climate decision-making as the world transitions to clean energy.
“Every year, Global Witness publishes a report on land and environmental defenders containing statistics on the number of defenders killed or disappeared worldwide the year prior. It highlights global hotspots, key drivers of attacks, and the urgent need for greater protection and accountability,” it stated.
Through its case studies, the report exposes violence and threats those in the front lines of the struggle to protect the planet and communities face, as well as documents the often-lethal consequences for those who stand up against destructive industries and environmental exploitation. It also puts forward recommendations to a range of actors for how to end this devastating violence.
