In 2023, a staggering 196 land and environmental defenders lost their lives worldwide, according to a report by Global Witness. Since 2012, more than 2,100 defenders have been victims of violence, highlighting the increasing dangers faced by those who bravely advocate for the conservation of their lands and the environment. During the 2024 U.N. Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, Mongabay met with three environmental defenders from Colombia, Uganda and the Philippines. Though the host country limited protest within the city, these three activists joined several others from developing countries to make their voices heard. These three guardians of nature shared their personal experiences and the enormous challenges they face in their fight for environmental justice. They spoke about the motivations that drive them to continue their work, even in the face of daunting human rights records in their countries. Most importantly, they offered insights into what fuels their hope and resilience amidst such adversity. Gina Marcela Cortés Valderrama is from Colombia. Her advocacy focuses on climate and gender justice, with current emphasis on the intersections between feminism, decoloniality and degrowth. While a major peace accord between rebels and the military was signed in 2016, increasing numbers of human right defenders and social leaders have been killed in the Latin American country. In 2023 alone, 79 environmental human rights defenders were killed, most of them members of ethnic communities and campesinos fighting to defend their land, according to the Stokeholm International Peace Research Institute. Climate activists rally at the COP29…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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