Brazil Had 26 Environmental Activists Murdered in 2025, Ranks Second Globally - 18/09/2026 - Science and Health - Folha de S.Paulo
Brazil recorded 26 murders of environmental activists in 2025, more than double the 12 deaths recorded in 2024, and rose from fourth to second place in the global ranking by NGO Global Witness, released Wednesday (16). Brazil returns to the position it held in 2023 and 2022.
The increase came in the same year Brazil hosted COP30 in Belém (PA), the UN climate summit that saw record Indigenous participation and commitments on territorial rights. Nearly all cases in Brazil were linked to land disputes, including seven involving Indigenous territories and 14 involving family farmers. Rondônia and Pará account for half of the deaths, under pressure from the expansion of the agricultural and extractive frontiers.
"The lack of resolution over their land rights leaves Indigenous peoples and small farmers exposed to land grabbing, intimidation and violence," said Gabriella Bianchini, Global Witness's head of partnerships. She noted that these communities "are organizing, turning to the law and developing their own strategies to defend their territories and rights."
Latin America remains the most dangerous region for activists, with 105 deaths in 2025. Colombia tops the ranking with 39 killings, concentrated in the department of Cauca, a cocaine trafficking corridor.
The global figure fell 15% from 2024, when there were 142 killings, but the organization warns that the numbers "are likely far below the real total" due to underreporting.
