In the world’s most dangerous region for environmental defenders, a partnership between the Climate Justice Working Group and Wikimedia Projects, and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung aims to bridge the gap between those on the ground and their representation on Wikipedia.
Latin America and the Caribbean is the most dangerous region for environmental defenders, according to Oxfam’s latest 2025 report. A reality that, according to the study, demands “urgent responses,” particularly in Central America. According to Front Line Defenders’ records, 177 human rights and environmental defenders were killed in Central America between 2018 and 2022 alone.
- How do we portray the reality, history, and challenges faced by those who are defending the environment there?
- How do we preserve this history without putting at risk those who today face multiple challenges, ranging from legal harassment to death threats?
- What does it mean to tell this story from a neutral perspective in the Global South?
These are some of the questions that inspire people like Julio López of the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, who has now become a Wikimedian in residence through a partnership between the organization, the Climate Justice Working Group, and Wikimedia Projects.
This is no coincidence. López was one of the participants in a series of workshops held as part of this partnership between July and August 2025 in San José, Costa Rica, at the University for Peace (UPAZ). The event brought together territorial defenders from Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, and Mexico, and provided a critical exploration of the potential of the Wikimedia ecosystem to document the situation of these defenders and create a network to collaborate on raising their visibility in the digital space.
What does it mean to be a Wikimedian in residence in Latin America
As a result of these training sessions, it became clear that there is a significant opportunity to bridge the existing information gap. “We realize that there are few profiles of human rights defenders in Central America. This leads to the conclusion that it is worthwhile to strengthen a Wikimedia network in Central America so that information about what is happening can be shared,” beyond high-profile cases such as that of Berta Cáceres in Honduras.
“One example we identified is in Nicaragua, where there are nine forest rangers who are currently imprisoned, and this is a case that is little known. Wikipedia, being a well-known source widely consulted by the general public, can help both preserve memory and prevent impunity in environmental issues,” says López, who is no stranger to the discussions taking place in the region regarding the Neutral Point of View. “It is important to reflect that there are other points of view—not just those of those in power—regarding what these people do to defend their territory.”
With these insights, developed in collaboration with environmental defenders and following their training, López will spend the next six months in his role as a Wikimedia fellow in residence at the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, working to improve information about defenders on Wikimedia projects and organizing a series of workshops in Costa Rica.
The objectives of these workshops are:
- Introduce the possibilities and teach how to use the various tools within the Wikimedia ecosystem: not just Wikipedia, but also, for example, Wikimedia Commons, whose photo walks can be useful for illustrating issues such as rising sea levels in Central America.
- Encourage environmental advocates to recognize the importance of Wikipedia: Both for preserving memory and for representing and documenting socio-environmental and climate conflicts in the region.
- Reduce preconceptions about Wikipedia’s reliability in academic and university settings working on the topic: By highlighting the added value of transparency in knowledge creation compared to other online content.
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