At least 124 land and environmental defenders were killed worldwide in 2025, according to a report by the environmental and human rights advocacy group Global Witness. Latin America accounted for 85% of these deaths, with 105 killings recorded in the region. Colombia had the highest number at 39, followed by Brazil with 26. Honduras and the Philippines each recorded 12 killings. While the global death toll fell for the second consecutive year, the report warned that this decline does not necessarily mean defenders are safer, as underreporting and ongoing threats from land disputes, organized crime, and competition for natural resources remain significant risks. The report documented 142 killings and four disappearances in 2024 and 196 in 2023. Trends varied by country: in Colombia, killings dropped from 48 in 2024 to 39 in 2025, and in Mexico from 19 to 10. In contrast, Brazil saw a sharp increase, with killings more than doubling from 12 to 26. Honduras also recorded twice as many killings as the previous year, with 12. Since 2012, when Global Witness began tracking these cases, the organization has documented 2,375 killings and disappearances of land and environmental defenders. More than three-quarters of those killed in 2025 were Indigenous people, small-scale farmers, or Afro-descendants. Forty-seven victims were small-scale farmers, and 44 were Indigenous. Land disputes were linked to 84 of the killings, more than half the global total. Mining and extractive industries were associated with 11 deaths, logging with eight, and agribusiness with six. Organized crime and hitmen were suspected in more than a third of the killings. In Colombia, nearly half of the 39 defenders killed were Indigenous, and 15 were small-scale farmers. Thirty-five of the deaths were linked to land conflicts. The report identified suspected links to organized crime in 17 killings and five to contract killers. Thirteen of the killings occurred in the southwestern department of Cauca, including four members of the Indigenous Guard, community-led groups that patrol and protect Indigenous territories. Since 2012, 171 defender killings have been documented in Cauca, the highest number in any Colombian department. Killings were documented in 15 countries in 2025. Asia accounted for 12% of the global total, with the Philippines recording 12 killings, the highest outside Latin America. Five of these involved suspected participation by the military amid counterinsurgency operations. Killings were also recorded in India, Indonesia, Turkey, Guatemala, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and France. In Africa, three killings were verified — two in Tanzania and one in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The report cautioned that armed conflict, restrictions on civil society, and insecurity make attacks especially difficult to document in these regions. Community-led protection strategies are being increasingly adopted by Indigenous groups to respond to threats that governments have often failed to address. These include territorial patrols, early warning systems, and community monitoring networks. In Peru, where four defenders were killed in 2024, the Kakataibo Indigenous Guard patrols Amazonian territories threatened by illegal coca cultivation and organized crime, illustrating the growing reliance on grassroots initiatives to protect land and environmental defenders.