WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- Worldwide killings of land and environmental activists increased by 20 percent last year, mostly in Central and South America.
The "How Many More?" report by U.K-based Global Witness found that at least 116 activists were killed worldwide in 2014. The organization said the death toll could be much higher, since many murders in remote areas may go unreported.
"A shocking 40 percent of victims were indigenous, with most people dying amid disputes over hydropower, mining and agri-business," according to the report. "Nearly three-quarters of the deaths we found information on were in Central and South America."
Brazil had 29 activists murdered, Colombia had 25 murders and the Philippines had 15. Brazil has had the most activists murdered since 2002 with 477.
"Each week at least two people are being killed for taking a stand against environmental destruction. Some are shot by police during protests, others gunned down by hired assassins," the report states. "As companies go in search of new land to exploit, increasingly people are paying the ultimate price for standing in their way."
Honduras is the most dangerous country for activists per capita, with 101 deaths between 2010 and 2014.
"In Honduras and across the world environmental defenders are being shot dead in broad daylight, kidnapped, threatened, or tried as terrorists for standing in the way of so-called 'development'," Billy Kyte, a campaigner at Global Witness, said. "Environmental defenders are fighting to protect our climate against ever-increasing odds."
Global Witness urges governments and the international community to monitor, investigate and punish the killings.
