Violence against environmental journalists rises, UNESCO says

FILE PHOTO: A man rides past journalists reporting on the aftermath of the Shady Fire after it advanced into the Skyhawk neighborhood of Santa Rosa, California, U.S. September 28, 2020. REUTERS/Adrees Latif/File Photo

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Journalists who report on environmental issues face increasing violence around the world from both state and private actors, UNESCO said on Thursday, highlighting that 44 of these journalists have been murdered between 2009 and 2023.

More than 70% of the 905 journalists the agency surveyed in 129 countries said they had been attacked, threatened or pressured, and that the violence against them had worsened - with 305 attacks reported in the last five years alone.