Daily Times

Almost 200 environmental activists were murdered last year, with the toll especially heavy in South America, according to rights group Global Witness.

Here are the stories of three campaigners who have faced violence and repression trying to stop wildcat gold mining in Ecuador, illegal shrimp farming in Indonesia and a controversial oil project in Uganda.

Daniel Frits Maurits Tangkilisan has been assaulted, arrested and prosecuted for his activism to protect a national park, but he is unbowed.

“Why be afraid? Why back down? Your home should be defended,” the 51-year-old told AFP in Jakarta, where is awaiting a new ruling in legal proceedings against him.

Born and raised in the Indonesian capital, he “fell in love at first sight” with the remote Karimunjawa Islands National Park off Java on his first visit in 2011 and settled there.

Daniel began to notice the growing impact of illegal shrimp farms, which began to proliferate around 2017.

Run-off from the farms killed off seaweed and forced marine life to move further from shore, impacting the livelihoods of fishing communities, he said.

In 2022, Daniel helped start the #SaveKarimunjawa movement, which pushed for a local zoning law banning the shrimp farms.

But his activism made him a target — he was threatened, assaulted and put in a chokehold, and fellow environmentalists received death threats.