Environmental defenders play a crucial role in safeguarding the environment, yet every year hundreds are threatened, arrested, and killed. Since 2012, 2,253 environmental defenders have been killed or have disappeared worldwide. In 2024 alone, Global Witness documented 146 killings and disappearances. Many defenders are attacked after challenging extractive activities, such as mining, agribusiness, or illegal logging. These realities underscore the urgent need for stronger protections, better data, and coordinated institutional responses.
In this week’s episode of People, Places, Planet—a special edition recorded entirely in Spanish—this issue is brought to the forefront through a conversation with Kristine Perry, a Staff Attorney at ELI, and Luis Felipe Guzmán-Jiménez, Professor at Externado University of Colombia. They share their expertise on the risks faced by environmental defenders in Colombia and highlight ELI and its partners’ ongoing efforts to advance accountability for attacks against them. This blog post provides an overview of the episode, Defensores ambientales: hacia la rendición de cuentas en Colombia, and reflects the conversation and perspectives shared during that discussion.
The podcast episode dives into ELI and its partners’ efforts to develop a database that tracks the investigations and prosecutions of lethal attacks on environmental defenders over the past 10 years. The database currently focuses on attacks in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico, with hopes to expand to other countries in the future. ELI, in collaboration with in-country partners, aims to shed light on the impunity surrounding these attacks, identify connections between successful prosecutions, and strengthen accountability systems. The database is part of ELI’s Platform to Protect Environmental Defenders.
Kristine Perry leads the Institute’s work on environmental defenders, building on years of experience at the intersection of human rights and environmental law. Dr. Guzmán-Jiménez holds a Doctorate in Law with international distinction from Carlos III University of Madrid and serves as an environmental law research professor at Externado University of Colombia.
Who Are Colombia’s Environmental Defenders?
Dr. Guzmán-Jiménez explains that environmental defenders in Colombia are understood as individuals who work to protect, promote, and conserve nature. Attacks in Colombia also tend to occur in connection to territorial disputes. Violence takes many forms, from murder and forced disappearance to harassment, criminalization, sexual violence, and stigmatization.
Latin America accounted for 82% of documented instances of violence in 2024, with Colombia representing one-third of all lethal attacks that year. After the 2016 Peace Agreement, the Colombian state struggled to establish a strong presence in regions previously controlled by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Armed groups and criminal networks filled the vacuum, financing their operations through illegal economies like drug trafficking and mining, especially in biodiverse regions like Cauca, Nariño, and Putumayo.
Land conflicts remain a major driver of violence. Twenty defenders killed in Colombia in 2024 were small-scale farmers. Nineteen victims belonged to Indigenous communities, including 13 members of the Paéz (also known as Nasa) people in Cauca. At least six of these Nasa defenders served as Indigenous guards or as part of traditional authorities responsible for protecting their land and territorial rights. For many Indigenous Peoples, campesinos, and Afro-descendant communities, reporting environmental harm remains dangerous, especially in areas under the influence of armed groups or within active conflict zones.
Colombia’s Protection Efforts
Dr. Guzmán-Jiménez also highlights the institutional strategies Colombia has pursued to safeguard environmental defenders. In 2019, Colombia signed the Escazú Agreement, a landmark regional treaty that aims to guarantee access to environmental information, public participation, and environmental justice. Article 9 of the treaty specifically outlines state obligations to protect environmental defenders. The treaty was officially ratified in 2024 after a decision by the Colombian Constitutional Court; however, its full realization will now depend on effective implementation.
At the national level, a range of institutions are working to prevent and respond to threats. In 2024, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development received and addressed at least 37 reports of environmental defenders facing threats. The Ministry of the Interior increased the budget allocated to Decree 660, which defines and adopts protection measures for communities and organizations in Colombia, as well as the Human Rights Directorate’s budget. A Comprehensive Public Policy of Guarantees for Human Rights Defenders is also in development, though it has not yet been finalized.
The National Protection Unit is also carrying out urgent risk assessments in addition to granting individual and collective protection measures, as mentioned by Dr. Guzmán-Jiménez. Furthermore, the Attorney General’s Office has assigned specialized prosecutors to investigate crimes against environmental defenders, and the judiciary has established judges who travel to affected regions to hear cases, gather testimony, and advance judicial proceedings. The Ombudsman’s Office also plays a key role through its Early Warning System, which identifies and publicizes imminent, serious risks—alerts that now exist across much of the country. Municipal-level committees, victims’ roundtables, and regional mechanisms further contribute to monitoring threats and supporting affected communities.
Looking Towards the Future
Dr. Guzmán-Jiménez identifies areas where Colombia can strengthen its efforts. Expanding investigative capacity in rural regions remains crucial, as these are the areas where most attacks occur and where state presence is often weakest. He also emphasizes the need to investigate the role of private actors and illegal financial networks that frequently drive environmental crimes. Investigative methodologies rooted in strategic planning could make prosecutions more effective, but additional personnel and resources are needed, especially in the Attorney General’s Office. Stronger inter-institutional coordination, public reporting, and accountability are critical for people to gain awareness of and prevent the issues happening across the country.
Another priority is greater engagement and shared decision-making with marginalized groups, such as campesinos, Indigenous Peoples, and Afro-descendants. Each community faces distinct risks and requires personalized strategies. Protecting these groups means recognizing their community structures and traditional governance systems, as well as ensuring that territorial protection measures—such as preventing displacement and ensuring early monitoring in areas with illegal economies—are fully implemented. Finally, Dr. Guzmán-Jiménez underscores the transformative power of education, which equips communities with the tools to recognize environmental harm and defend their rights.
Through the Platform to Protect Environmental Defenders, ELI and its partners aim to strengthen protection measures and advance justice for environmental defenders. To learn more about the project, listen to our People, Places, Planet episode released earlier this year on the topic, Environmental Defenders: On the Frontlines of Conservation.
People, Places, Planet is ELI’s leading environmental law and policy podcast. Since its launch in 2019, we have published over 180 episodes featuring experts from across sectors who share their insights and solutions to today’s most pressing environmental challenges. To listen to more episodes, click here.
- Environmental Justice