Strengthening Safeguards for Environmental Defenders in Brazil
Environmental human rights defenders are people who work to protect the natural world and communities from environmental harm. In Brazil, environmental defenders face unevenly distributed risks while protecting the health of rainforests and local populations. Indigenous peoples, Quilombolas, and other Afro-descendant communities are disproportionately affected by extractivist projects as a result of the legacies of slavery and systemic discrimination. Afro-descendants comprise 50% of Brazil’s population, and 78% live in poverty, making them vulnerable to environmental degradation and state-sanctioned violence. Policies and rhetoric under former administrations, like that of previous President Jair Bolsonaro, have exacerbated vulnerabilities by criminalizing the work of these defenders, justifying the ongoing violence against them.
Brazilian mobilization of Indigenous peoples in April 2023. Indigenous people across the region have been leaders at the forefront of the fight to protect the Amazon.
Photo Credit: Mídia NINJA
Brazil has become the global center of violence against environmental defenders. According to Global Witness, 145 “protector deaths” occurred in 2015 alone. 358 defenders were killed in 2021. High-profile cases, like the murders of Jose Claudio dos Santos and his family, who denounced illegal logging and environmental crimes, remain unsolved, illustrating the authorities’ ongoing impunity. These cases demonstrate how the Brazilian government takes action to target and silence environmental defenders and recent data confirms this persistent threat. In 2024, the Pastoral Land Commission reported 13 deaths and 272 death threats linked to land and resource conflict.
These threats are not only moral and social concerns; they constitute violations of international human rights law. Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) guarantees the right to seek and receive information from the government. Further, the Escazu Agreement of 2021, the first regional environmental treaty in Latin America, defines environmental information as including any data on natural resources and environmental risks. The Agreement protects participation and access to environmental justice. Although restrictions on these rights are permissible by law, Brazil’s weak enforcement mechanisms leave defenders exposed despite formal commitments.
Since the colonial period, the Amazon and other resource-rich regions have primarily been viewed as sources of wealth to exploit for economic growth. Brasilia historicallypromoted development in the Amazon through road building, agricultural expansion and natural resource extraction, framing these endeavors as necessary for national integration and security. Under President Getulio Vargas (1930-1945), the government began systematic colonization and exploitation of the rainforest, using state resources to extract timber, minerals and other resources.
The history of environmental exploitation intersects with the systemic oppression of Afro-descendant and Indigenous populations. As author Sarah A. Davila notes, minority communities are the most affected by the exploitation of the environment, due to the integration of white supremacist practices into governing structures. They are also the first to stand up to extractivist practices and work to combat the climate crisis because of how their cultures value the environment and all it produces for human life.
The expansion of agribusiness, mining and logging has driven conflict and environmental degradation in recent years. These industries frequently impinge on Indigenous lands, causing disputes over land rights and access to natural resources. During the Bolsonaro administration, the former President’s policies actively encouraged resource extraction and minimized environmental protections. Bolsonaro publicly supported deforestation and informal mining on Indigenous lands, reduced conservation areas and legitimized violence by private and state security forces. In 2019 and 2020 alone, the state destroyed over 21,000 square kilometers of forest, the highest rates in a decade. The combination of policy deregulation, economic incentives and state indifference has ingrained environmental conflict and violence into the history of Brazil.
President Bolsonaro at a press conference. During his presidency, Bolsonaro frequently pursued policies that criminalized the work of environmental defenders
Photo Credit: Palácio do Planalto
Brazil has enacted legal protections for Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, but enforcement has historically been weak. The 1988 Brazilian Constitution granted Quilombolas the right to ancestral lands, yet implementation is uneven and frequently obstructed by bureaucratic delays and competing development interests.
Federal programs intended to protect environmental defenders exist but remain underfunded and inconsistently enforced. For example, the Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders was formally established in 2007 to safeguard activists and environmental defenders alike. Simultaneously, the National Plan for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, also created in 2007, was never implemented. As a result, defenders remain vulnerable and a climate of impunity persists.
For environmental defenders, the current situation is dire, marked by rising murders, threats and criminalization. Violence is perpetrated by a combination of state security forces, private actors and economic interests that suppress resistance. Legal loopholes exacerbate this risk. For example, Bill 9432/17 allows authorities to use force when they feel fear in an armed conflict or risk of an armed conflict, effectively creating a “licence to kill” scenario.
Quilombola and Indigenous communities continue to face deadly confrontations, as seen in historical incidents, such as the 2017 Pau D’Arco massacre where 21 workers were killed and the 1996 Eldorado dos Carajas massacre, where 1500 protesters were killed, which show long-standing patterns of violence. State and private security forces frequently attack the marginalized communities, burning homes and destroying livelihoods. This further marginalizes those who resist land-grabbing and environmental exploitation.
Current approaches to protecting environmental defenders in Brazil have largely failed because they treat violence as an isolated security issue rather than the outcome of deeper political and economic structures. As author Matt McDonald argues, deforestation and conflict in the Amazon are rooted in state-led development strategies, global economic pressures and land inequality. These structural forces create incentives for land-grabbing, resource extraction and the removal of communities that stand in the way. In this context, enforcement-focused or security-based policies address symptoms rather than causes, leaving defenders exposed to systemic violence.
Violence also extends far beyond killings. Environmental defenders regularly face repression, arbitrary arrest, judicial harassment and fabricated charges. For every defender killed, up to 100 more report death threats, illustrating a widespread climate of intimidation that discourages resistance. The rise in threats has coincided with the global commodity boom, as increased demand for agricultural and mineral exports has intensified land conflicts and resource extraction.
Brazil’s federal protection programs represent the primary domestic policy response to threats against environmental defenders. The Program for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders acknowledges that defenders face extraordinary risks and attempts to provide them with protective services. However, though it’s been close to 20 years since the program was launched, it remains weak. The reactive structure intervenes only after threats escalate and the program coordinates insufficiently with local communities and NGOs. Despite the existence of the program, violence and threats remain widespread and the current protection mechanisms are insufficient to deter violence. The program also struggles to address the structural drivers of conflict, particularly the expansion of agribusiness and mining, which generate most land disputes.
Human Rights Watch similarly reports that the National Plan for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders was created in 2007 but was never implemented. This failure reflects the broader pattern in Brazil: formal protection frameworks exist, but they are inconsistently applied and remain vulnerable to political shifts.
International agreements have also been used to protect environmental defenders in Brazil. The Escazu Agreement and the Esperanza Protocol expand environmental rights and increase access to information. These international frameworks represent significant progress in establishing legal norms across the Latin America region and provide clear standards on access to environmental information and justice. However, these agreements often fall short in enforcement mechanisms and can frame concerns, especially environmental-related issues, as threats to a nation’s sovereignty.
Lastly, security-based responses exist as a response to violence against defenders. These strategies rely on police or military intervention to address threats and conflicts. This approach can provide short-term deterrence in high risk situations. However, these responses often fall short, as when environmental conflicts become increasingly militarized, state security forces are implicated in abuses towards defenders. Additionally, deep mistrust between communities and government institutions proliferates. Authors Trish Glazebrook and Emmanuela Opoku argue defenders are frequently criminalized under such systems, with security frameworks used to delegitimize activism. Criminalization creates an ideological justification for repression, allowing authorities to portray defenders as threats to development or national security.
Taken together, these policy options fail to address the structural drivers of violence. A more effective approach must combine federal protections with nongovernmental organization partnerships and preventative, community-based mechanisms to address both immediate risks and underlying causes.
Claudelice dos Santos, a human rights defender from Brazil, claims “we don’t want more martyrs, we don’t need more martyrs. We need serious public policies. We need to be respected.” To strengthen federal protections for environmental defenders, it’s important to institutionalize formal partnerships with nongovernmental organizations, such as Amazon Watch and the Amazon Defenders Fund. This approach shifts existing protection programs from reactive and state-centered to preventive and community-focused, so that both immediate threats and structural risks are addressed.
Protection programs should also establish a dedicated funding stream modeled on the Amazon Defenders Fund to provide flexible, emergency grants to frontline communities. The scale of risk facing defenders demands rapid intervention. Traditional bureaucratic funding structures are too slow to address urgent threats, relocation needs or security infrastructure. The Amazon Defenders Fund has demonstrated that flexible, community-controlled funding can quickly support territorial monitoring, emergency relocation and community mobilizing. This reduces vulnerability and strengthens local resilience.
New and revised protection strategies should also prioritize community-led security measures, including territorial monitoring, early-warning systems and local security infrastructure. Evidence from Amazon Watch initiatives shows that investments in community checkpoints, mobilization capacity and local government structures can help communities exercise territorial control and prevent incursions by illegal actors. These preventative measures are more effective and less militarized than reactive state security interventions, which often deepen mistrust between communities and authorities.
Federal policy must include clear mandates for the investigation and prosecution of crimes against federal defenders. Without accountability, violence persists because perpetrators operate with impunity. Author Claudi Ituarte-Lima claims that it is the obligation of states to mandate practices to deter crimes against environmental defenders and align Brazil with its international legal obligations. Protection frameworks should ensure defenders’ access to environmental information, in line with Article 19 of the ICCPR and the Escazu Agreement. Defenders cannot effectively protect their territories without access to data on environmental risks, resource concessions and development projects. Guaranteeing this access would strengthen transparency, empower communities and reinforce Brazil’s commitment under regional and international agreements.
This policy model addresses the key failures of existing approaches by centering trust, prevention and community leadership. But, challenges may arise with these new methods. Agribusiness and other extractive industries may resist stronger protections for defenders, particularly where protections challenge land claims or extraction projects. There may also be budgetary constraints, as expanding federal protection programs requires additional funding and administrative capacity.
To overcome these barriers, it's important that Brazilians understand that protecting environmental defenders is essential to achieving climate goals. Brazil’s leadership in global climate negotiations and international commitments provides strong incentives to strengthen protections. The nation can use this endeavor as an opportunity to reinforce its global reputation as a leader in environmental governance and democratic accountability.
Brazil now stands at a critical juncture. Environmental defenders, a community largely made up of minorities, remain on the frontlines of the climate crisis while facing escalating threats, violence and politicians’ impunity. Despite strong legal commitments, existing protection frameworks have failed to provide effective and preventive solutions. Strengthening protection programs and integrating the voices of active organizations offers a practical and immediate actionable solution. Protecting environmental defenders is not only a legal and moral obligation, but essential to advancing environmental justice, strengthening democracy and securing Brazil’s climate future.