The Associated Press reports, “A report released Tuesday by the London-based Global Witness said more than 700 people – more than one a week – died in the decade ending 2011 ‘defending their human rights or the rights of others related to the environment, specifically land and forests.’ They were killed, the environmental investigation group says, during protests or investigations into mining, logging, intensive agriculture, hydropower dams, urban development and wildlife poaching. …Global Witness believes even more killings have gone unreported and said there is an ‘alarming lack of systematic information on killing in many countries and no specialized monitoring at the international level.’ …Environmental groups say it is time to build a comprehensive database of such violence and mount unified campaigns.”
Among those mourned by the Council of Canadians and Blue Planet Project are:
Bernardo Vásquez Sánchez in Mexico, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=15638
Mariano Abarca Roblero in Mexico, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=6626
Beatriz Carino Trujillo in Mexico, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=3035
Father Jose Reinel Restrepo Idairraga in Colombia, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10305
Kimy Pernia Domico in Colombia, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=9307
Dora Alicia Sorto Recinos in El Salvador, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=3263
Marcelo Rivera Moreno in El Salvador, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10517
Ramiro Rivera Gomez in El Salvador, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=10517
Juan Francisco Duran Ayala in El Salvador, http://canadians.org/blog/?p=9403
They will not be forgotten.