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One day last November, Julia Chuñil called for her canine companion, her loyal pet, and they set off into the woods around her residence to look for lost farm animals. The cattle came back but Julia, who was 72 at the time, and Cholito did not.

Over a hundred individuals joined her family in a hunt lasting multiple weeks in the steep, wet and densely overgrown terrain of the nation of Chile’s pristine Valdivian woodland. A month later, they even kept an eye on vultures for any grim signs. However, they discovered no evidence of the missing woman.

Julia Chuñil is one of 146 territorial and ecological activists who were murdered or went missing around the world in the previous year, according to a report by the advocacy organization Global Witness. Roughly one-third of those, like Chuñil, were from Indigenous communities – a heavy burden for peoples who collectively make up just six percent of the global population.

Chuñil, a leader of Chile’s indigenous Mapuche, was residing in contested territory. A decade earlier she had moved on to a protected forest area, a 2,200-acre section of the ancient Valdivian forest 800 kilometers below the capital, which her people asserted as an historical territory.

For many years she advocating to obtain property titles for the site for her tribe. But the legal proprietor of the land, the heir of colonizers, declined to relinquish control. His intention was the area for timber extraction – Chile is a significant exporter of lumber to the US – and he sought to remove Chuñil. Prior to her disappearance, Julia told allies: “If anything happens to me, it will be clear who did it.”

Global Documentation on Attacks Against Activists

Global Witness began recording cases of deaths and vanishing acts of territorial and ecological protectors in the year 2012. Since then, it has gathered a overall count of 2,253 instances. For the past decade, the most dangerous place has been Central and South America. Last year it represented 82% of cases, which involved 45 native individuals.

“Land conflict lies at the core of violence against defenders, and Indigenous peoples are paying the highest price,” stated an expert at the group. “Communities with historical ties to territory often form the frontline of resistance when their territories come under threat from resource extraction and invasion. However, regardless of their critical function, they are often denied acknowledgment and justice, and subjected to grave danger for protecting their legitimate territories.”

Country-Specific Data and Unrecorded Cases

Chuñil’s was the only case documented in her country during that period, even though it matched a pattern of the singling out of Mapuche activists in the country. Colombia recorded forty-eight cases, making it the deadliest nation overall for environmental defenders, followed by the country of Guatemala with 20 cases, the deadliest country per capita. Mexico had 19 cases, putting it in third place in the ranking.

Under-reporting continues to be a problem, particularly in the Asian continent and the African region, which recorded sixteen and 9 cases each, Global Witness said. In general, last year the fewest incidents of murders and disappearances of environmental defenders were documented for a decade.

The lead researcher, who led the investigation for Global Witness, said: “It would be gratifying to report that this suggests a reduction of violence and an improvement in the conditions for defenders, but unfortunately that’s not true. Rights advocates face realities of brutality that extend well past homicide. What violence often does is evolve, grow more complex, change its face.”

Ongoing Struggle for Accountability

Chuñil’s family have continued to pursue legal resolution but their activism has made them a target of threats and harassment, too. In April, two animals from Chuñil’s home that they had intended to sell to finance court expenses were found killed, one shot and one poisoned. “It is, above all, a deliberate attempt to block us from pursuing this legal matter,” her son Pablo San Martín informed Global Witness.

The group’s report calls on authorities to take steps to halt the impunity of the perpetrators of land activists by addressing the absence of legal entitlements defenders have over property, strengthening ineffective national legal systems, and guaranteeing endangered advocates are given sufficient government security.

“Our sole request is a full, fair probe to be conducted,” the son remarked of his mother’s situation. “Nearly twelve months have passed since she disappeared and we’re remain unaware about what happened. We want the responsible parties to be identified and prosecuted.”