By Mary Beth Gallagher, Director of Engagement
Excerpted from Domini’s Third Quarter 2024 Impact Update
Nature and forests are under threat from development and private interests, such as mining, fossil fuels, food and agriculture, and transportation and infrastructure. Environmental human rights defenders (HRDs) are advocates on the front lines who defend nature, often at great personal risk, in the face of private sector development. Through their actions, HRDs can support the objectives of investors by reducing risks stemming from climate change and biodiversity loss. According to Global Witnes1, Latin America is the most dangerous region for HRDs, where they experience violence, threats, harassment, and intimidation for opposing resource extraction that may harm the environment or contribute to climate change. In 2023, there were 196 reported deaths of HRDs killed globally, with 84% of those killings occurring in Latin America. Within the region, threats to HRDs often originate from the private sector in the context of concerns around land use and tenure, resource extraction, deforestation, and biodiversity. Indigenous Peoples, community leaders, and women are often the most impacted.
In our engagements with companies, we often encourage the adoption of a human rights policy that explicitly states they will respect HRDs and refuse to contribute to reprisals. As this becomes more common, we often ask companies about how this is implemented in practice. Public policies regarding protections for HRDs, such as the Aarhus Convention in the European Union (EU) or the Escazú Agreement in Latin America and the Caribbean, set norms and establish expectations for companies on human rights due diligence, meaningful consultation, and respecting the rights of both defenders and the environment.
The Escazú Agreement, which was adopted in 2018, has been signed by 24 countries and ratified by 17 of them. While Brazil has signed it, it has not yet ratified it. We recently wrote to the government of Brazil to encourage its ratification for several reasons. First, ratification and implementation of the Escazú Agreement will contribute to sustainable development and benefit the stability of the investment climate in Brazil, which will further contribute to economic growth. Second, it will facilitate participation, transparency, and access to information by civil society on environmental issues, which will support stable business relationships with community stakeholders, while also offering protection for civil society. This will help companies to understand the local context and potential impacts associated with business activity and establish appropriate risk management procedures to reduce conflicts around land use and also natural resources. We believe this will in turn help them to reduce local opposition to projects, secure necessary permits, and maintain the social license to operate. Finally, it will help address climate change, nature loss, and deforestation in particular by protecting those people who play an essential role in protecting and preserving biodiversity and addressing climate change.
1. Global Witness. “More than 2,100 land and environmental defenders killed globally between 2012 and 2023.”10 September 2024.