Just weeks after witnessing thousands of people in Croatia protesting against an invasion of giant chicken farms in their towns, I found myself packing my bags again. The Big Ag corporate interests planning to quadruple Croatia’s poultry production haven’t given up, and now have their eyes on another pristine corner of Croatia.

This time, I traveled to Croatia’s northeast, right on the border with Hungary, where a fiercely dedicated community is fighting to keep a megafarm from destroying an area widely known as the ‘Amazon of Europe’.

Grassroots resistance against the Chicken King

My journey started with a bus drive down from Budapest to the border, where the Drava River divides Hungary and Croatia. This region, right where the rivers Drava and Mura meet, is the stunning Mura-Drava-Danube UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.

Covering 930,000 hectares along 700 kilometres of rivers, this is a biodiversity hotspot with rare habitats such as floodplain forests, gravel and sand banks, river islands and oxbow lakes. It’s an ornithological haven packed with rare bird species including black storks, marsh harriers and the highest density of breeding pairs of white-tailed eagles in continental Europe. 

But Big Ag MHP Group, Europe’s biggest poultry player, led by the infamous billionaire ‘Chicken King’ Yuriy Kosiuk wants to turn this paradise into an industrial zone. 

The Legrad-Donja Dubrava Citizens’ Initiative, a grassroots group leading the opposition to the farm, warns that this facility will house a staggering 1.8 million chickens annually. The 50,000m² facility will pump 30 million liters of groundwater annually from its own wells for technology and cooling, while producing 1 million litres of wastewater per year.

I was invited here by Korina and Emil, a local couple who are spearheading the grassroots resistance. They are not your typical activists; rather they are ordinary people who are taking action to defend the place they live. Emil took me on a tour to see exactly what we are up against. First, he showed me an existing megafarm linked to Perutnina Ptuj–Pipo, the same company behind the new project, which is already operating nearby. We then visited the site of the proposed expansion.

Locals told me the company is rushing to open its doors as early as next month. The threat is immediate, but this community isn’t backing down.

The protestival on the riverbank against corporate greed

The community is incredibly  creative with their protest tactics. A few weeks before I arrived, they had already made waves with “kayaktivism,” with around 60 activists launching onto the river to take striking photos that exposed how dangerously close the facility is to the water. They traded paddles for microphones and organised a “Protestival” right on the riverbank, attended by hundreds of people and representatives from various organisations, musicians and local grassroots groups.

The energy was electric. Traditional Croatian folk musicians shared the stage with rock legend Darko Rundek, all standing united against corporate greed.

All waters are connected, different communities threatened by the same Big Ag playbook

Back in my hometown of Budapest, the Danube river is my favorite part of the city. And water doesn’t care about borders. The Danube River, which flows through Hungary and forms part of the border between Croatia and Serbia, joins the Drava, flowing into the sea and the global oceans. So what happens here matters.

The people of northern Croatia’s struggle against the Veliki Pažut industrial poultry farm is a real David and Goliath fight – a small community standing up to international corporations to defend an area they love. But sadly, it is the experience of many communities world over.

• In Spain, communities are organising against the construction of a new factory farm cramming one million hens and producing over 235 million eggs a year. 
• In Mexico, the iconic cenotes of the Maya rainforest are being polluted by illegal pig farms, threatening the water supply for indigenous communities across the region. 
• In Nigeria, the world’s largest meat company, JBS, is planning a US$ 2.5 billion expansion that locals fear will threaten livelihoods and undermine food security.

All over the world local communities are threatened by the same Big Ag playbook: bulldozing lands, extracting profit and leaving behind pollution and contamination. So this isn’t just a local dispute over a construction permit. It’s a battle between community and corporate extraction.

We can’t let Big Ag use our rivers as a sewer for their industrial waste.

Locals showed me the way. I proudly took a stand to protect their land, and the beautiful Drava river against corporations like MHP, that only serve billionaires and their shareholders.

Just like in Sisak, Croatia, where local people drew a line and the Chicken King backed down, today, on the banks of the Amazon of Europe, the message to Big Ag remains exactly the same.

Not here, not anywhere.

Stop Big Ag: End Toxic Greed Take action now

Dániel Nyitray is Global Campaign Lead for Big Ag at Greenpeace International based in Hungary.

Amsterdam – In regards to the North Dakota District Court issuing a “narrowly tailored” anti-suit injunction, Greenpeace International Senior Legal Counsel Strategic Defence Daniel Simons said: 

“Greenpeace International’s anti-SLAPP case against Energy Transfer in the Netherlands will continue and the central arguments are not impacted by the anti-suit injunction issued by the North Dakota District Court. As directed by the North Dakota Supreme Court, the anti-suit injunction is ‘narrowly tailored’ so as not to interfere with key claims in Greenpeace International’s anti-SLAPP case. 

“The North Dakota courts have cleared the way for Greenpeace International to continue pursuing justice under Dutch law. The only limitation imposed pertains to Greenpeace International asking for a finding that the North Dakota District Court case ‘lacked legal foundation.’ However, these are not central claims for the anti-SLAPP case.”

ENDS

North Dakota District Court order

Contacts: 

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

Join the Greenpeace SLAPP Trial WhatsApp Group for our latest updates

Oman – New satellite imagery analysis by Greenpeace Germany indicates that oil leakage from the Russian shadow fleet tanker Caroline Bezengi, grounded in Oman’s Al Hallaniyat archipelago, has accelerated and is now estimated to have spread across roughly 600 square kilometres – a fourfold increase over just the last two days. 

Nina Noelle, international environmental disaster expert at Greenpeace Germany, said: “This is a drastic increase, indicating a deterioration of the vessel’s condition. Satellite imagery analysis suggests that the oil spill covered 45 square kilometres up until 26 July. By 2 August it had expanded to around 150 square kilometres, and imagery from 4 August indicates that it now extends across roughly 600 square kilometres .

Hanen Keskes, campaigner at Greenpeace MENA said: “Even relatively small oil spills can have long-lasting consequences for marine ecosystems with chemical residues that persist in marine sediments for years, compromising their ecological resilience. With the oil leak from the stranded Caroline Bezengi now accelerating, the environmental consequences will be severe, threatening coral reefs, seagrass meadows and coastal habitats that support endangered sea turtles, migratory seabirds and marine mammals in the Hallaniyat Islands. Sea turtles rely on the islands’ beaches for nesting and egg-laying, while many seabird species depend on the islands as critical breeding sites. The surrounding waters are also home to the rare Arabian Sea humpback whale.”

Large stretches of Al Qibliyah Island’s shoreline appear to have been affected, while additional oil slicks extend far out to sea, further polluting and damaging this protected marine ecosystem. The tanker has reportedly been leaking oil since it ran aground in June, following a suspected limpet mine attack that resulted in the flooding of the engine room, and urgent action is needed to contain the spill and prevent further harm to marine life and local livelihoods.

The situation surrounding the tanker Caroline Bezengi is yet another alarming example of the serious environmental risks posed by Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. Sanctions are being circumvented using ageing and poorly maintained tankers, putting coastlines and marine ecosystems at risk in order to maintain revenues that help finance Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.

With oil apparently leaking at an accelerating pace and the tanker stranded in a difficult location, there is an imminent risk of an unprecedented oil disaster from a broken tanker, with devastating consequences for the region’s coastlines and marine ecosystems.

Greenpeace urges the Omani authorities and all relevant regional bodies to act immediately to assess all remaining options to contain the spill, secure the tanker’s cargo and conduct a comprehensive, independent assessment of the ecological damage. Where additional capacity is needed, Oman should urgently request international assistance for expertise, equipment and resources as required.

The Caroline Bezengi is stranded close to Al Qibliyah, an uninhabited island in the Al Hallaniyat archipelago, within a marine protected area. According to reports, the tanker was nearly fully loaded when it ran aground and estimated to be carrying around 800,000 barrels of oil.

The difficulties surrounding the Caroline Bezengi reflect wider concerns raised by previous Greenpeace investigations into Russia’s shadow fleet.[1] The vessel lost its flag registration in Cameroon on May 29, and is since listed as ‘flag unknown’ by the International Maritime Organisation. Omani authorities reportedly ordered the Shanghai-based owner to act, but received no response. The tanker is not insured by any recognised Protection and Indemnity (P&I) club, but an opaque insurer called Arsenal Kyrgystan, apparently based in the Kyrgyz Republic, according to information for October 2025 obtained by Greenpeace Nordic from Danish authorities.[2] It is unclear whether that cover remains valid and will make sufficient funds available for emergency measures, clean-up, ecological restoration and compensation. 

Without an accountable owner and clear, adequate insurance or even a responsible flag state, Oman and affected communities risk being left to fully bear the environmental and financial consequences of this unfolding disaster.

ENDS

Satellite images from the Greenpeace Global Mapping Hub available in the Greenpeace Media Library 

Notes: 

[1] Previous Greenpeace investigations into Russia’s shadow fleet: Greenpeace has actively targeted Russia’s “shadow fleet”, a network of aging, underinsured oil tankers used to evade sanctions, through a combination of direct ocean protests, investigative research, and environmental modeling. Activists from Greenpeace Germany, Greenpeace Nordic, and Greenpeace CEE/Ukraine have staged direct peaceful actions, such as painting messages on offshore bunker refuelers and protesting in European waters to highlight the double threat of war funding and catastrophic oil spills. To hold governments accountable, Greenpeace Germany published a comprehensive report cataloging 192 high-risk shadow fleet tankers, which helped inform subsequent EU sanctions, and developed interactive oil spill simulations to visually demonstrate how potential leaks from these decaying vessels would devastate coastal ecosystems. 

[2] Information obtained via an FOI request to the Danish Marine Authority (DMA) by Greenpeace Nordic in 2026. The web-site for a company under this name, claiming to provide marine insurance services can be found here: https://arsins.kg/en/about. The DMA obtained this information from the captain of the Caroline Bezengi, when it moved in and out of the Baltic in 2025 and 2024.  

Contacts: 

Nina Noelle, crisis communications and international relations manager, Greenpeace Germany, +49 151 10622733, nina.noelle@greenpeace.org

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org

Last week I woke up to a hazy, orange sky, a red sun, and the smell of burning wood drifting through the Montreal city air. 

Smell is one of our strongest ties to memory.¹ As someone who has spent years camping with friends, I have always associated the scent of burning wood with warmth, laughter by the fire, and a deep connection to nature.

This time, the smell made my stomach sink.

That scent did not come from a nearby campfire. It was millions of hectares of boreal forest burning across the continent. My throat tightened as I thought of the thousands of people, especially Indigenous communities, forced to evacuate while their homes burned to the ground.

Smoke Knows No Borders

We are actually witnessing a global ecological shift. Canada’s devastating 2023–24 wildfire seasons saw 20.4 million hectares burn down. These were not isolated events. We’re seeing forests burn around the world, from Australia’s bushfires and Mediterranean blazes to the burning Amazon; climate-driven fire seasons are increasingly common occurrences.

Climate change and wildfire smoke do not respect geopolitical borders. In 2023, haze from Canadian fires crossed the Atlantic and caused air quality alerts in western Europe. Pollution anywhere speeds up climate disruption everywhere. If we treat ecological collapse as just a local problem, we miss how interconnected the climate crisis really is.

And right about now, the images of wildfires surging from across the world create a real sense of global emergency. Do you feel this, too?

Health Risks of Wildfire Smoke Exposure

We can’t keep seeing wildfire smoke as just a seasonal problem. The fine particles found in wildfire haze carry toxic chemicals, heavy metals, and black carbon that go deep into our bloodstream.

Recent research confirms that breathing in wildfire smoke raises the risk of heart disease, stroke, and lung problems for months after the smoke is gone. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) also warns that extreme fires could increase by up to 50% worldwide by the end of the century if emissions are not reduced.

We must urge our leaders to consider this: What is the point of short-term economic growth or rising stock markets if the simple act of breathing outside becomes dangerous for our health?

Need for Political Courage and Systemic Change

One of the most frustrating aspects of this dire situation is the gap between what politicians say and what they actually do.

Governments may issue air quality warnings and talk about climate targets, but many still use public money to support fossil fuel projects and support industrial practices that worsen global warming. For example, in Canada, billions of tax dollars are set to fund fossil fuel projects, even as the country falls behind on its emissions targets.

Calling fossil fuel expansion short-sighted during a climate crisis is an understatement. While oil company CEOs rake in excess profits, frontline communities and families pay the real price through health problems, food insecurity and higher living costs.

Forest Management & Indigenous Fire Stewardship

For over a century, industry-led forest management has focused on putting out all fires, clear-cut logging and planting monoculture tree plantations. Unfortunately, this has led to dense, uniform forests, turning them into giant tinderboxes during climate-exacerbated heatwaves. 

To change this, we need to move from just fighting fires to caring for forests in a holistic way that respects nature and Indigenous knowledge:

1. Restoring Indigenous Fire Stewardship 

For thousands of years, Indigenous Peoples in North America, Australia, and South America have practiced cultural burning, which means controlled, low-intensity fires during cooler seasons. Recent research shows that returning land and fire management to Indigenous communities helps clear dangerous undergrowth, restore biodiversity, and prevent major wildfires.

2. Resilience from Diversity 

Instead of managing forests by planting fast-growing trees that benefit the timber industry, experts recommend focussing on ecological diversity. A mix of tree species, ages, other vegetation and structures in the forest makes ecosystems stronger in the long run.

3. Protecting Primary & Old-Growth Forests

Ancient forests store huge amounts of carbon and keep soil moist much better than young tree plantations. Protecting these old-growth forests is one of the most affordable and effective ways to fight climate change.

Reason for Hope: Global Climate Solutions for Wildfire Prevention

The solutions we need already exist. If we recognize how serious this crisis is, we can move forward together and achieve real change by:

• Respecting and supporting Indigenous-led solutions → For millennia, Indigenous Peoples and local communities have respected and defended nature. Their experience shows that the resiliency of forests is strongest when the local people who rely on them have the power to care for and manage their territories.
  
• Stopping the flow of government subsidies to fossil fuels and Making Polluters Pay → Moving government support from fossil fuels to green energy, forest restoration, and community resilience can address the real causes of climate change. And instead of making wealthy polluters wealthier, we should make them pay for the harm they cause.
  
• Global Climate Accountability → We need to treat the climate emergency as a real international health and security crisis. Countries must keep their promises under the Paris Agreement and work quickly to cut methane and carbon emissions. If we lower global temperatures, forests will be less likely to burn to the ground.

Taking Back Our Future

The smell of firewood should continue to remind us of nights under the stars with friends, not the loss of our homes or our future. We already have the knowledge, tools, and solutions to protect and restore forests. Now is the time to ask our leaders for a long-term vision, while we can still safely breathe the air around us.

Defend the defenders

Demand the recognition of Indigenous rights and their territories.

Join now

Julie Amira Byrnes is Engagement Manager at Greenpeace International

1. Molly McDonough (2024), The Connections Between Smell, Memory, and Health, Harvard Medicine Magazine ︎