Remembering the unsung heroes: over 70 environmental defenders lost in 2025

A sobering reminder of the human cost of environmental protection emerged this year as obituary writers documented the deaths of more than 70 conservationists, scientists, activists, and environmental defenders in 2025. These individuals shared a common mission that transcended professional labels: they positioned themselves as guardians between the natural world and the forces threatening to destroy it.

While some of these environmental champions achieved public recognition, many others worked in obscurity, their contributions largely unknown beyond their local communities. This imbalance reflects society’s tendency to value visibility over actual impact, often overlooking the most consequential figures in environmental protection. These unsung heroes operated far from media attention and high-profile conferences, instead focusing on the essential groundwork of conservation: negotiating land boundaries, training park rangers, translating scientific research into action, and maintaining their posts even when departure would have been easier.

The obituaries reveal a striking pattern in these lives: an initial encounter with a threatened place or species, followed by decades of unwavering commitment to its protection, and years of persistence within systems that were frequently indifferent or actively hostile to their mission. Their influence was cumulative rather than headline-grabbing, built through small daily actions that collectively created lasting change.

Success for these environmental defenders was often partial, failure was common, but quitting was rarely an option. Their stories serve as both inspiration and sobering reminder of the personal sacrifices required to protect our planet’s most vulnerable ecosystems and species for future generations.