Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders - APNED

01/10/2026

"The violence correlates closely with the expansion of the mining and resource extraction sectors. The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has actively fast-tracked the granting of foreign mining permits across approximately nine million hectares of mineralised land. This expansion was accelerated by Executive Order 122 and the country's entry into the United States-backed Pax Silica initiative in April 2026."

Global Witness reports 12 environmental defenders were killed in the Philippines in 2025, maintaining the country's position as the deadliest in Asia.

01/10/2026

"Anisha Buda, a program officer with the National Indigenous Women Forum in Nepal and a member of the Asia Pacific Network of Environmental Defenders, highlighted the impact of recent flooding on Indigenous communities in Nepal. 'The floods swept away our homes and lands but not our identity as Tamang Indigenous Peoples,' Buda said. She called for greater recognition of Indigenous communities’ role in protecting land and water."

NEW YORK — Members of New York’s Nepali diaspora joined frontline communities and climate activists outside United Nations headquarters on Wednesday to call for climate […]

30/09/2026

“The report adds an important dimension to what we already know about the situation of land and environmental defenders in the Philippines,” Manila-based environmental advocacy group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (PNE) told Mongabay in an emailed statement. “Attacks against defenders are entrenched in state policies and structures that facilitate extractive and development projects.”

The Philippines remains the deadliest country in Asia for land and environmental defenders, according to a new report by the non-profit Global Witness. In its report, Global Witness says it could verify the killings of 124 land and environmental defenders worldwide in 2025. While the majority, 85% o...

28/09/2026

"The urgency stems from a deeply alarming trend we are witnessing globally. Environmental defenders are not just ordinary protesters; they are individuals fighting for the survival of our ecosystems, biodiversity, and climate stability."

By and for international civil servants, UN Today brings to staff, diplomats, and the wider international Geneva community an introspective analysis of what affects our life and work in Geneva and how to make the best of it.

28/09/2026

"A just energy transition cannot be built without the meaningful participation of the people and communities whose rights, lands and livelihoods are affected. Human rights defenders individually and collectively must be able to participate, raise concerns and challenge decisions without fear of reprisals. Their voices are essential to ensuring that the energy transition is grounded in human rights," according to Andrea Bolaños, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders.

Check out this page via the Business and Human Rights Centre

23/09/2026

[PODCAST EPISODE🎙️] Presenting the third episode of our series "Enabling Climate Action, Defending Environmental Defenders"!

Amidst the worsening climate crisis in Indonesia, Nissa Amaliah of Serikat Perempuan Indonesia (SERUNI) emphasized the vital—yet increasingly dangerous—work of environmental defenders.

The episode can be accessed via the following links✨

🔊SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/56rbS7Ttl66NPvbeEI
▶️YouTube: https://youtu.be/m0UqRbVJA9I

📖Link to the publication: https://tinyurl.com/IDRC-publication

Stay tuned for our upcoming episodes!

22/09/2026

Solidarity action from our friends in Bangladesh. Thanks Afsana Rahman

16/09/2026

Happening today at the UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum!

14/09/2026

As part of the 8th UN Responsible Business and Human Rights Forum, Asia-Pacific 2026, APNED, Komnas Perempuan, APWLD - Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development SAFEnet Defend Nueva Vizcaya Movement together with its civil society networks, will present the session:

“Resilience Across Borders: How Women Reclaim Their Space”

The session will explore how women and communities across different regions confront challenges, build resilience, and reclaim safe spaces, spaces for participation, and spaces to advocate for their rights amid evolving changes and risks.

📅 15 September 2026
⏰ 3:45–4:45 p.m. ICT
📍 UN Conference Centre, Bangkok – Meeting Room A

Let us work together to build resilience that means not only being able to endure but also ensuring that women’s rights, safety, voices, and spaces remain protected and actively defended.

11/09/2026

"The Thailand-built Xayaburi Dam in north-west Laos, which began operations in 2019 with a generating capacity of nearly 1.3 gigawatts (GW), was the first Mekong mainstream hydropower project in the country and remains one of its largest. The dam had been mired in controversy during its construction due to a lack of transparency about its potential environmental and social impacts. But for local communities, the impacts are clear. Critics of the first “mega-dam” have cited adverse effects on downstream fisheries and the reduction of nutrient-rich sediment needed for the river’s biodiversity. They also raise concern about hydropeaking – sudden and artificial releases of water to meet short-term peaks in electricity demand – that affects riparian animals such as beach nesting birds."

IPCC experts have distilled this year’s many important reports on climate change into 10 conclusions