Tierra de Maíz

“Sin la tierra no podemos vivir”  “Without the land we cannot live”

Land of Corn is the story of four environmental and land rights defenders in Mexico, Guatemala, Colombia and Honduras. In 2014, a Global Witness report found 116 cases of killings of land and environmental defenders in 17 countries. Central and South America account for more than 75% of all deaths.

Human rights defenders (HRDs) working on land and environmental issues face a unique set of risks. As well as standing up against extremely powerful interest groups, they work in isolated rural areas, often with poor communications and limited access to traditional protection mechanisms and support networks.

PBI provides protective accompaniment to a total of 20 organisations supporting or representing indigenous and campesino communities seeking to defend their land, cultures and environments. In doing so, the communities and the people who support them - their leaders, lawyers, journalists or NGOs – can face a range of threats.

The documentary was produced by Peace Brigades International thanks to support from Open Society Foundations and Ziviler Friedensdienst.

Honduras is the country with the most killings of environmental and land defenders per capita.

In 2014, 47 indigenous people were killed defending their natural resources

More about Land and Environmental Defenders PBI accompanies

Read about the 2015 visit to London of Guatemalan Land and Environment Defender Omar Jeronimo