As the demand for palm oil, timber and minerals continues, governments, companies and criminal gangs are exploiting the land with little consideration for the people who live there. This becomes a battlefield for violations of human rights, and earth and environmental defenders lose their lives through their peaceful environmental actions worldwide.
In a Global Witness report entitled On Dangerous Ground Published June 20, 2016, Indonesia has had more than 10 documented killings of environmental activists since 2014. Compared to Brazil, had more than 200, which is relatively small, but with three deaths in the decision of the archipelago in 2015 only that global Witness call the "deadliest year", this is not an issue to be taken lightly.
Brazil has had 50 murders recorded in 2015 and the Philippines 33, with a large percentage of people in the Philippines being indigenous populations.
in Indonesia, September 26, 2015, Salim Kancil was beaten to death by a mob for being one of the organizers of a protest against a mining damaging sand beach passes Watu Pecák, Lumajang. More than 30 people were arrested, including two officials village would master mind attacks (one was also charged with illegal mining and money laundering). WALHI (Indonesian Forum for the Environment) has discovered that the previous threats against the victims had not been answered.
Felipe Milanese, former deputy editor of National Geographic Brazil said, "Killing has become politically acceptable to achieve economic goals ... I've never seen working for the past decade in the Amazon, a situation so bad. " For many of the murders that global Witness has documented many are not registered.