I stumbled upon an article regarding environmentalism in Honduras, only to realize a horrible story about environmentalist Berta Caceres being shot dead at her home in March. Simply for leading the opposition of a “proposed dam on the Gualcarque river, considered sacred by the Lencas.” Berta Caceres was an environmental leader in Honduras and winner of multiple environmental prizes. She had previously complained about receiving death threats from police, soldiers, and local landowners as a result of her work.
I decided to do some research, only to find out that Berta Caceres is most definitely not the first environmentalist to be murdered because of her work. Two defenders of the Amazon forest, José “Zé Cláudio” Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo, were gunned down in 2011 in Brazil. I can’t help but feel so lucky to live in a place where I am allowed to express my concern for the environment, among other opinions of mine.
Honduras now has the highest murder rate in the world for environmentalists. The main reasons that countries such as Honduras and Brazil see some of their brightest and bravest environmentally-forward thinking minds get taken away is because of the world’s immense consumption of natural resources and the fact that these countries are trying to become more developed by supplying them. It is astounding at how backwards this seems to me, as a Canadian/Vancouverite, that someone could be killed for trying to protect the world that we live in- but unfortunately I am not surprised at the greed of some of the world’s individuals.
It’s clear that the idea of sustainability and environmental friendliness is NOT a universally accepted idea. Living in Vancouver, it especially seems as though most people accept it (even if they don’t agree or don’t wish to participate). Sustainability is weaved throughout our daily lives here, and we are even able to take courses on Sustainability in Marketing, while others around the world are being murdered for standing up for those same ideas. Truly saddening.
