Defenders against Deforestation: Analyzing the links between environmental defender deaths and regional extractivist activity in the Peruvian Amazon since 2010.

Keywords: Environmental Defenders, Deforestation, Indigenous peoples, extractivism, illegal economies, Amazonia
Abstract Type: Poster Abstract

Abstract

Between 2010 and 2022, an estimated 29 Peruvian environmentalists and Indigenous leaders have been murdered while protecting various parts of Peru’s Amazon Basin from invaders seeking to exploit its resources. Recent increases in the occurrence of these assassination highlight the growing need for action, with 14 of the 29 deaths occurring since 2020. While all 29 cases can be tied to instances of deforestation, forest clearing also connects to other extractivist activities. Many of these deaths occurred in geographic clusters that coincide with regional trends in environmental conflict, and are oftentimes located in or just outside of culturally rich Indigenous territories and ecologically diverse protected areas. The most common activities tied to environmental defender deaths include Illegal gold mining, Illegal logging, and Illicit crops. Despite the growing frequency of attacks, environmental defenders continue to face increasing criminalization, legal harassment, and threats, while the perpetrators remain largely unpunished. This disparity highlights the urgent need for institutional action from the Peruvian government to protect environmental defenders, their homelands, and thereby this vital region of our planet.