Introducing Defenders of the Earth
09/21/21 • 1 min
From Liberia, to Honduras, to the Philippines, to Russia, land and environmental defenders put their lives on the line to protect the world’s forests from destruction, block water pollution, and halt mining on ancestral lands, and advocate for climate action. Each episode draws upon hours of interviews with defenders and high-profile activists and campaigners like Bill Browder, Gretchen Malalad and many more.
Episode 1 — Defenders of the Earth: Russia
17-year-old Rita Naumenko is one of just a handful of Fridays for Future activists in Russia. Rita’s protests target her Government and the large corporations showing no interest in curbing harmful emissions, but restrictive laws and a repressive government present activists with nearly insurmountable challenges.
Episode 2 — Defenders of the Earth: Liberia
A profile of Silas Siakor, the Liberian campaigner who exposed Charles Taylor’s regime’s toxic dependence on the timber trade. Siakor continues to campaign today against illegal logging.
Episode 3 — Defenders of the Earth: The Philippines
We follow Derek Cabe, coordinator of the Coal-Free Bataan Movement, as she continues the work of Gloria Capitan, a murdered campaigner against coal plants in Bataan province. The movement opposes a coal storage facility and power plants which they believe polluted their town, sickened families, and covered the coastline in ash.
Episode 4 — Defenders of the Earth: Honduras
A community in Honduras faces criminal persecution as they take on the companies building an open pit mine in a national park. You’ll meet Juan Antonio López and Juana Zúniga, both activists in Tocoa, Honduras, who want to see their relatives and fellow campaigners released from jail.
From Liberia, to Honduras, to the Philippines, to Russia, land and environmental defenders put their lives on the line to protect the world’s forests from destruction, block water pollution, and halt mining on ancestral lands, and advocate for climate action. Each episode draws upon hours of interviews with defenders and high-profile activists and campaigners like Bill Browder, Gretchen Malalad and many more.
Episode 1 — Defenders of the Earth: Russia
17-year-old Rita Naumenko is one of just a handful of Fridays for Future activists in Russia. Rita’s protests target her Government and the large corporations showing no interest in curbing harmful emissions, but restrictive laws and a repressive government present activists with nearly insurmountable challenges.
Episode 2 — Defenders of the Earth: Liberia
A profile of Silas Siakor, the Liberian campaigner who exposed Charles Taylor’s regime’s toxic dependence on the timber trade. Siakor continues to campaign today against illegal logging.
Episode 3 — Defenders of the Earth: The Philippines
We follow Derek Cabe, coordinator of the Coal-Free Bataan Movement, as she continues the work of Gloria Capitan, a murdered campaigner against coal plants in Bataan province. The movement opposes a coal storage facility and power plants which they believe polluted their town, sickened families, and covered the coastline in ash.
Episode 4 — Defenders of the Earth: Honduras
A community in Honduras faces criminal persecution as they take on the companies building an open pit mine in a national park. You’ll meet Juan Antonio López and Juana Zúniga, both activists in Tocoa, Honduras, who want to see their relatives and fellow campaigners released from jail.
Next Episode
Defenders of the Earth: Russia
Defenders of the Earth captures the gripping and inspiring stories of activists around the world who are taking on powerful interests to protect our planet. Our presenter is Vanessa Nakate, climate justice activist from Uganda. Our episodes profile activists in Russia, Liberia, Honduras, and the Philippines. In this episode, we meet 17-year-old Rita Naumenko, one of just a handful of Fridays for Future activists in Russia.
As climate activist and journalist Bill McKibben wrote in Last Line of Defence, a report from Global Witness released in September 2021, land and environmental defenders ”are at risk, in the end, not just because of another local person who pulls the trigger or plunges the blade; they’re at risk because they find themselves living on or near something that some corporation is demanding.”
In 2020, 227 activists were murdered for taking a stand to defend human rights, their land, and our environment. Over a third of the attacks were reportedly linked to resource exploitation — logging, mining, and large-scale agribusiness — and hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure. And that number is likely to be higher due to poor reporting.
Defenders of the Earth is produced by Global Witness and Whistledown Productions. Find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.
More info at Global Witness.
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