2017 on course to be deadliest on record for land defenders

Deaths of environmental activists locked in conflict with mining, logging and agricultural companies across three continents has passed 150

" Interactive: recording the deaths of environmental activists around the world

The number of people killed this year while defending their community's land, natural resources or wildlife has passed 150 - meaning 2017 is on course to be the deadliest year on record.

Environmental activists, wildlife rangers and indigenous leaders are locked in fierce conflicts with mining, logging and agricultural companies in hundreds of places around the world. The Guardian is working with watchdog Global Witness to record all the deaths in 2017, and this week that figure reached 153 with a spate of killings across three continents.