Ecocide

Ecocide (from Greek oikos 'home' and Latin cadere 'to kill') is the destruction of the environment by humans.^[1] Ecocide threatens all human populations that are dependent on natural resources for maintaining ecosystems and ensuring their ability to support future generations.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] The Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide describes it as "unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts".^[6]^[7]

Common causes of ecocide include war, pollution, overexploitation of natural resources such as the Amazon rainforest, and industrial disasters. The term was popularised by Olof Palme when he accused the United States of ecocide at the 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment.^[8]^[9]

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (adopted 1998, enforced 2002) makes no provision for the crime of ecocide in peacetime, only in wartime.^[3]^[10] Ecocide in peacetime was to have been included in the Rome Statute, but was deleted due to objections by the United Kingdom, France, and the United States.

The disparity stemmed from the colonial powers' objections to inclusion of cultural genocide, during negotiations that had led to the creation of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the CPPCG, or Genocide Convention, adopted 1948, enforced 1951).^[11]

Ecocide has been made national law in several countries, with many more countries and the European Union considering introduction of such a law.^[12] Stop Ecocide International and others are working to introduce ecocide in peacetime into the Rome Statute, making it both international and national law.^[10]^[3] Several countries – including Fiji, Niue, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga, and Vanuatu – have supported criminalizing ecocide under international law.^[13]

Ecocide is a common theme in fiction, with many films and books set in a post-ecocide world, including James Cameron's Avatar films, Blade Runner, Mad Max, WALL-E, Interstellar, Threads, and Soylent Green.

^ Mehta, Jojo; Jackson, Julia (24 February 2021). "To stop climate disaster, make ecocide an international crime. It's the only way". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
^ Crook, Martin; Short, Damien (3 April 2014). "Marx, Lemkin and the genocide–ecocide nexus". The International Journal of Human Rights. 18 (3): 298–319. doi:10.1080/13642987.2014.914703. ISSN 1364-2987. S2CID 145716977.
^ ^a ^b ^c Eichler, Lauren (4 September 2020). "Ecocide Is Genocide: Decolonizing the Definition of Genocide". Genocide Studies and Prevention. 14 (2): 104–121. doi:10.5038/1911-9933.14.2.1720. ISSN 1911-0359. S2CID 225298981.
^ Crook, Martin; Short, Damien; South, Nigel (2018). "Ecocide, genocide, capitalism and colonialism: Consequences for indigenous peoples and glocal ecosystems environments". Theoretical Criminology. 22 (3): 298–317. doi:10.1177/1362480618787176. ISSN 1362-4806. S2CID 150239863.
^ Sarliève, Maud (2020). "Ecocide: Past, Present, and Future Challenges". Life on Land. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer International Publishing. pp. 1–11. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-71065-5_110-1. ISBN 978-3-319-71065-5.
^ "Legal Definition of Ecocide". Stop Ecocide International. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
^ Cite error: The named reference AutoS8-9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Watts, Johnathan (24 July 2019). "Make environmental damage a war crime, say scientists". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
^ Gray, Mark Allan (1995–1996). "The International Crime of Ecocide". California Western International Law Journal. 26: 215.
^ ^a ^b White, Rob; Heckenberg, Diane (2014). Green Criminology: an Introduction to the Study of Environmental Harm. Routledge. pp. 45–59.
^ Crook, Martin; Short, Damien (3 April 2014). "Marx, Lemkin and the genocide–ecocide nexus". The International Journal of Human Rights. 18 (3): 306. doi:10.1080/13642987.2014.914703. ISSN 1364-2987.
^ "European Parliament proposes including "ecocide" in EU law". Stop Ecocide International. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
^ "Stop Ecocide International". 6 pacific nations call for just transition to "fossil fuel free pacific" including strengthening law to prevent ecocide. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.

[Mehta-1] Mehta, Jojo; Jackson, Julia (24 February 2021). "To stop climate disaster, make ecocide an international crime. It's the only way". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 30 June 2022.

[:1-2] Crook, Martin; Short, Damien (3 April 2014). "Marx, Lemkin and the genocide–ecocide nexus". The International Journal of Human Rights. 18 (3): 298–319. doi:10.1080/13642987.2014.914703. ISSN 1364-2987. S2CID 145716977.

[:2-3] Eichler, Lauren (4 September 2020). "Ecocide Is Genocide: Decolonizing the Definition of Genocide". Genocide Studies and Prevention. 14 (2): 104–121. doi:10.5038/1911-9933.14.2.1720. ISSN 1911-0359. S2CID 225298981.

[:3-4] Crook, Martin; Short, Damien; South, Nigel (2018). "Ecocide, genocide, capitalism and colonialism: Consequences for indigenous peoples and glocal ecosystems environments". Theoretical Criminology. 22 (3): 298–317. doi:10.1177/1362480618787176. ISSN 1362-4806. S2CID 150239863.

[5] Sarliève, Maud (2020). "Ecocide: Past, Present, and Future Challenges". Life on Land. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer International Publishing. pp. 1–11. doi:10.1007/978-3-319-71065-5_110-1. ISBN 978-3-319-71065-5.

[:7-6] "Legal Definition of Ecocide". Stop Ecocide International. Retrieved 13 May 2023.

[AutoS8-9-7] Cite error: The named reference AutoS8-9 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Watts2-8] Watts, Johnathan (24 July 2019). "Make environmental damage a war crime, say scientists". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 July 2019.

[Gray19962-9] Gray, Mark Allan (1995–1996). "The International Crime of Ecocide". California Western International Law Journal. 26: 215.

[White-10] White, Rob; Heckenberg, Diane (2014). Green Criminology: an Introduction to the Study of Environmental Harm. Routledge. pp. 45–59.

[11] Crook, Martin; Short, Damien (3 April 2014). "Marx, Lemkin and the genocide–ecocide nexus". The International Journal of Human Rights. 18 (3): 306. doi:10.1080/13642987.2014.914703. ISSN 1364-2987.

[12] "European Parliament proposes including "ecocide" in EU law". Stop Ecocide International. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.

[13] "Stop Ecocide International". 6 pacific nations call for just transition to "fossil fuel free pacific" including strengthening law to prevent ecocide. 17 March 2023. Retrieved 13 May 2023.

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