When the people of Rio Blanco, in Honduras, decided to oppose the construction of a hydroelectric project in the Gualcarque River, their lives took a tragic turn.
“They follow me. They threaten to kill me, to kidnap me, they threaten my family,” recalls Berta Càceres – winner of the 2015 Goldman Environmental Prize. Berta is one of the many environmental activists in Latin America who have been threatened and harassed for trying to protect their land from the interests of transnational companies.
Since 2013, three of her colleagues have been killed for resisting the Agua Zarca hydro dam, which risks to cut off the water sources for hundreds of indigenous Lenca people.
In 2014 alone, 116 environmental and land defenders were killed worldwide, an average of more than two a week, with 75 percent of those living across Latin America. The highest number of victims per capita is registered in Honduras, followed by Colombia, Brazil, and Peru. more>>>
