Philippines Declared Deadliest Country For Defenders Of Environment

EL NIDO, PHILIPPINES - SEPTEMBER 18: Lights from establishments that cater to tourists light up a beach on September 18, 2019 in El Nido, Philippines. The island of Palawan in the Philippines took 1.8 million tourists in 2018, a 21 percent rise compared to the previous year. The steady rise of visitors also prompted the rise in numbers of hospitality businesses in the once idyllic island. With 178 land and environmental defenders murdered over the past six years and 30 confirmed killings last year alone, a recent report by UK-based watchdog Global Witness named the Philippines as the deadliest country for environmental activists. According to the annual report, most land and environmental activists had been murdered while defending their homes, land, and other natural resources from being exploited by mining, logging and agribusiness as countless more have been silenced through tactics such as death threats, arrests, lawsuits, as well as smear campaigns. Claimed as the Philippines Last Frontier for its vast untouched forests and untapped mineral deposits, the island of Palawan is one of the many provinces where attacks on environmental activists take place. Also known as a hotspot for logging and wildlife poaching, the surge in tourism at Palawan has created a strong demand for illegal timber used in hotel construction, which caused the islands forest cover to decline by 16 percent from 1992 to 2011, while fueling violence against environmental defenders within the province. (Photo by Jes Aznar/Getty Images)