Over the past decade, an environmental defender has been killed every two days, on average. With the continued rise in impacts from the climate and biodiversity crisis, environmental groups are putting pressure on corporations and governments to act. However, that work is increasingly dangerous for both defenders and the journalists that cover them. 

Event details

When: September 7th, 2023 at 1 pm UTC

Recording: Live on Mongabay’s YouTube Channel.

Register: Closed

Pitch Mongabay a story

If you have a story idea, please submit your pitch via Mongabay’s Opportunities page.

The experts

Milka Chepkorir 

Based in Kitale, Kenya, Milka is a member of the Sengwer Indigenous Peoples of Cherang’any Hills, Kenya. For the last six years, she has been working for the recognition of her community’s land rights. Currently, Milka coordinates Community Land Action Now (CLAN), a network of Kenyan rural communities striving to register their community lands. In 2020, she was an environmental justice fellow at Natural Justice, Kenya. Milka has represented her community and presented their issues in different UN processes and was an Indigenous Fellow at OHCHR in 2016.

Rachel Cox

Rachel Cox is the interim campaign leader on Land and Environmental Defenders at Global Witness where she investigates and advocates for the rights and protection of land and environmental activists worldwide. She has led investigative projects with a focus on Asia, that expose harm caused by governments and businesses linked to the exploitation of land and natural resources. The Defenders campaign records and publishes globally recognized data on reprisals. Since July 2023, she has served as a member of the Board of Trustees for Peace Brigades International UK. Follow her at Rachel_Cox01

Maria Isabel Torres

Maria Isabel lives in Peru and is the project manager at Mongabay Latam, Mongabay’s Spanish-language bureau. She has been an investigative journalist in politics and economics for mainstream and online media for over 15 years. She has worked for the public sector and was part of the team who organized COP20 in Lima. She specializes in environmental issues such as climate change negotiations and illegal mining.

Lucy Westcott

Lucy Westcott became director of CPJ’s Emergencies Department in October 2021. She oversees CPJ’s assistance and safety work worldwide. Prior to joining CPJ as a James W. Foley research associate in 2018, Westcott was a staff writer for Newsweek, reported for outlets including The Intercept, Bustle, The Atlantic, and Women Under Siege, and was a United Nations correspondent for the Inter Press Service.

About Mongabay

Mongabay is a nonprofit environmental science and conservation news platform focused on providing cutting-edge independent journalism from nature’s frontline. We pride ourselves in producing reporting that has substantial, tangible impacts around the world.