Environmental conflicts and defenders: A global overview

Highlights • Support of environmental defenders requires better understanding of environmental conflicts.• Environmental defenders employ largely non-violent protest forms.• Indigenous environmental defenders face significantly higher rates of violence.• Combining preventive mobilization, tactical diversity and litigation increases activists’ success.• Global grassroots environmentalism is a promising force for sustainability.


EJAtlas data set description
The data set analyzed in this study has a total of 2,743 cases of environmental conflicts (n= 2,743). For some charts, only a subset of data from the same sample was analyzed. This is, for example, the case for comparisons across world income regions, because income information was not available for all countries.
Environmental conflicts analyzed in this study are largely recent environmental conflicts. 95% of the 2,743 cases analyzed here started during or after 1970; 50% of all cases started during or after 2008 and reach the present. We assume this temporal coverage to be the results of several factors: i) the EJAtlas was created in 2011 and has largely focused on recent cases; ii) arguably more secondary sources documenting environmental conflicts have become available over the last decades due to the growth in internet media such as online news, conflict databases, repositories of civil society reports, etc., and iii) a potential increase in environmental conflicts may have occurred globally over the last decade. The latter is difficult to assess as the number of total environmental conflicts globally is unknown. An overall increase in environmental conflicts is however likely, given that increases have been documented in relation to particular sectors (e.g. land conflicts related to land grabbing (Borras et al., 2011;GRAIN, 2008)), and specific concerns (e.g. killings of environmental defenders (Butt et al., 2019;Global Witness, 2014)).
The uneven geographical coverage, resulting from constraint access to information for some regions, limits possibilities for country comparisons. However, global income regions are relatively homogenously covered in the EJAtlas in terms of numbers of documented conflicts per millions of people (supplementary table 1). Here we compare regions only in terms of global income groups as defined by the World Bank.

SUPPLEMENTARY RESULTS
This section shows the data tables that underlie the charts presented in the main article, as well as detailed results of the performed Pearson's Chi-square tests of independence. All data, if not stated otherwise, are taken from the EJAtlas dataset.
Supplementary Data are presented as frequency of cases and as percentages (in brackets). Data are presented as frequency of cases and as percentages (in brackets). Fisher people Fisherfolks Fisher communities, who obtain their main source of nutrition and/or income from fishing (both from marine and freshwater areas), and small-scale commercial fishers usually organized through cooperatives or associations.

International EJOs
Environmental justice organizations (international) Transnational civil society organizations supporting resistance and counter-knowledge production in conflicts over resource extraction or waste disposal. They have an international profile (scope and influence beyond national borders) and include NGOs, coalitions, formal and informal activist networks, etc. Government, political parties Government and political parties Actors within different levels of government (executive, legislative and judicial powers at national or local level, political parties and government bodies) involved in a specific environmental conflict, by supporting claims of affected populations.

Social movements
Social movements Networks of a plurality of individuals, groups and/or organizations that recognize themselves as part of one movement, operating on the basis of shared collective identities or scopes.

Street protests
Street protests A protest march is a type of protest or demonstration that generally involves a group of people walking from an assembly point to a predetermined destination, usually culminating in a political rally. Development of a collective action/network

Collective action
Creation of a collective subject and first organized actions that did not exist before the specific conflict, often in terms of a committee, an association or even a network. These can be at local, national or transnational level. Blockades Blockades Acts or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving, often preventing access to a disputed area. Involvement of (inter)national NGOs

Involvement of NGOs
The involvement of national and international NGOs to strengthen, support, increase outreach, or integrate the resistance into a broader overarching theme and agenda.

Media-based activism
Media-based activism Massive use of different forms of media-be it print or online-, as well as social media as one of the main strategies of the mobilization. A few examples could be video clips, alternative media channels, viral songs and videos in support of the communities' protests etc. Arguments for the right of nature

Rights of nature argument
Mobilization arguing that nature is not merely a property to be owned, but rather an entity which has an independent right to exist and flourish. Occupation of buildings/public spaces Occupation of public spaces Occupation of public spaces or buildings, which could include public offices, such as district headquarters or offices of the involved companies. In these cases, people protest by physically placing themselves, or other material, on strategic spots to make their demands heard. Land occupation Land occupation Protestors physically occupy an area of land for an extended period, frequently sleeping and living there. Such occupations usually take place on the site of a conflictive project or contested land, to physically prevent the project from taking off and/or continuing while engaging in forms of alternative living and collectivity building. Artistic and creative actions

Artistic actions
Use of creative ways, art and humor to draw attention to environmental conflicts. It can range from guerilla theatre, street plays, fairs and parties, music, puppet shows to murals, graffiti, banners, etc. Hunger strikes and selfimmolation Self-sacrifice Bodily harming oneself, by hunger strike or other forms of self-immolation. It brings across the message that if a particular project is carried forward, then the only option left for a person or community would be to perish.

Boycotts of companies/products
Collective action against or ban of a company, by not purchasing or using its products. It aims to diminish economic performance of conflictive companies, or/and generate awareness about a company's policies, plans or industries which are causing environmental injustices Official complaint letters and petitions

Formal petitions
Official or public complaint letters which are often directed at government bodies, financial actors and banks, or companies, as well as online and offline petitions to collect signatures against a specific project. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2020.102104

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Lawsuits, court cases, judicial activism Lawsuits Legal actions using the existing environmental laws and regulations, which can happen at local or national fora level, or international courts. It includes collective or individual legal initiatives. Objections to EIAs EIA objections Formal objections to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) through official, legal, procedural or administrative channels. Strikes Strikes Refusal to work or carry out a certain activity, performed in an organized fashion, typically used in an attempt to gain concessions from their employer or from the government. Referendum and other local consultations

Referenda
This refers to both regulatory or consultation process in which the public is asked to provide input in matters which directly affect them through official and publicly recognized procedures (sometimes even binding) as well as community organized consultations. This category includes both officially recognized and self-organized consultations, both at local and national level. Boycotts of official procedures

Boycotts of official processes
Intentional non-cooperation and non-participation in official procedures, such as public hearings or official consultations.

Refusal of compensation
Refusal of compensation Rejection of the form or criteria for assessing reparations, or directly rejecting money offered as compensation. Shareholder/financial activism

Financial activism
Actions by shareholders to support claims of affected groups. For example, buying shares in a publicly traded company that is causing environmental injustices so as to be able to attend the stakeholders' meetings and influence decision making. Creation of alternative reports, knowledge Alternative knowledge creation Production of new and alternative knowledge by activists, communities, or scientists, to challenge information produced by the state or companies. It includes performing alternative studies and preparing reports based on local knowledge and wisdom. Development of alternative proposals

Alternative proposals
Proposals for alternatives to the contentious project. It includes alternative proposals from communities' traditional knowledge and/or participative research with other collectives. It can be issued in the form of a formal report or through narrative claims-making. Community-based participative research

Participative research
Collection and analysis of data, performed by the communities themselves, or in collaboration with supportive organizations or committed researchers. Examples include popular epidemiology instances on local health and the local environment, forming coalitions with scientists and building citizen-scientist collaborations to advance their claims and seek legitimacy for their views. Property damage Property damage Physically targeting objects, infrastructures or buildings, as symbol of the causes of environmental injustices. It includes setting property or objects on fire, breaking or vandalizing houses and offices, puncturing tires of vehicles, burning effigies etc. Sabotage Sabotage Destruction or vandalism of property, often to prevent any project to begin or continue operating. An example of sabotage could be destruction of fences or walls created for enclosing common land.

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Threats to use arms Threats to use arms Non-peaceful and potentially violent forms of mobilization. It refers to the use of arms and ammunitions, be it guns and grenades, or even locally used arms such as bows and arrows, axes, etc. Public campaigns Public campaigns Actions aiming at generating awareness about the harmful impacts of certain projects or the destructive policies of certain companies involved in environmental conflicts. They can be of local, national or transnational nature, formally led by a set of organizations and promoters or animated by general slogans that are later picked up locally in multiple forms and narratives. Others All other forms of mobilization not included above. If checked, the contributors should explain.

Assassinations
Death of one or more protestors, intentionally caused by a third party. Death can occur on the spot, for example when shooting to death environmental defenders, or be caused following wounds, rapes, tortures, etc.

Criminalization of activists Criminalization
It includes criminal prosecutions of individuals and abuses of civil and human rights, the opening of criminal investigations unlikely to reach the trial stage used to disarticulate, demoralize and discourage social protest, and the use of disproportionate sentences for offenses to punish practices often deployed in social protests. Repression Repression Threat to subdue or act of subduing protests by institutional or physical force. Includes a variety of tactics (frequently including violent and coercive actions, violating rights) taken by government, or security staff, militias or corporate actors, to quell dissent and protests. Violent targeting of activists Violence against activists Physical harassment, injuring or assassinations of specific targeted persons, usually key activists, or to implant fear to defer environmental defenders' actions. Examples include violent threats to activists and their relatives, death threats, sexual threats, accident attempts, etc.

Strengthening of participation
Increased civic engagement and public participation in consultation, planning and politics as an outcome of mobilization and collective organizing in the conflict. Project canceled Project canceled The contested project, or activity, is stopped. The decision can be made by the government or the company itself, both in initial, or later stages. The decision is usually confirmed in official documents or announcements. However, it does not necessarily mean that the conflict is over, nor that impacts are not there anymore. Environmental improvements, rehabilitation/restoration of area

Environmental improvements
Reparations, interventions or restoration of the environment so as to improve the ecological conditions of the area.
Court decision (victory for environmental justice)

Successful court decisions
Cases where legal action is taken, and the courts rule in favor of the environmental defenders. Such legal victories can include for example cancellation of projects, orders for creating better regulations, total ban on the conflictive activity or for a stipulated period, orders for reevaluation of impact assessments, compensation demands, etc.

Undecided court decisions
Cases where legal action has been taken but no clear decision has yet been issued or the case is ongoing. Court decision (failure for environmental justice)

Failed court decisions
Cases where legal action has been taken but the ruling is in favor of the industries or the projects which triggered the conflict, or cases that dismissed the claims of affected people. Negotiated alternative solution Negotiated alternative solution Cases where some project parameters are modified, or where some affected groups gain benefits, through processes of negotiation with involved actors such as companies, governments and project authorities. Such negotiated solutions do not necessarily meet the demands and claims raised by all. Application of existing regulations Application of existing regulations Cases in which regulations that already existed before the conflict but were not being applied, are applied following court order, government action or as a result of public pressure. Compensation Compensation Compensation by the state or company to address loss and impacts related to the project, either through financial transfers or through in-kind compensations (goods and services aiming to amend the impacts suffered). Corruption Corruption Abuse of entrusted power for private financial or political gain. Here, this category captures those cases where corruption has been proven and/or condemned by a court judgment or evidenced and documented by mobilizing groups. Fostering a culture of peace Fostering a culture of peace Despite the conflict, communities and mobilizing groups have worked for peaceful resistance and for fostering a culture of peace.

Institutional changes
Institutional changes Cases where the conflictive situation has brought to changes in the institutional systems, for example by setting up government bodies for monitoring impacts, or new local authority systems.

Land demarcation
Land demarcation Demarcation of lands is the formal process of identifying the actual locations and boundaries of Indigenous lands or territories or more broadly of clarifying territorial boundaries. Migration/displacement Migration and displacement Forced or otherwise induced movement of peoples due to the conflictive project or activity. It includes displacement according to resettlement programs or without any such scheme. It can be a direct impact of the conflictive project or an indirect, gradual consequence of it across time.

Moratoria
Moratoria Temporary or indefinite suspension of the conflictive activity beyond a specific project, through legal tools. Moratoria delay in time the contentious activity but do not necessarily ban it over longer periods. It includes moratoria to future projects, or specific aspects and practices of current activities. Examples are provincial or countrywide bans on timber logging, large-scale agricultural concessions, fossil fuel extraction, open cast mining, GMOs, approval of new nuclear power plants, etc.