Ecocide

Ecocide describes attempts to criminalize human activities that cause extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of ecosystems of a given territory; and which diminish the health and well-being of species within these ecosystems including humans. It involves transgressions that violate the principles of environmental justice, ecological justice and species justice. When this occurs as a result of human behaviour, advocates argue that a crime has occurred. However, this has not yet been accepted as an international crime by the United Nations. Ecocide describes attempts to criminalize human activities that cause extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of ecosystems of a given territory; and which diminish the health and well-being of species within these ecosystems including humans. It involves transgressions that violate the principles of environmental justice, ecological justice and species justice. When this occurs as a result of human behaviour, advocates argue that a crime has occurred. However, this has not yet been accepted as an international crime by the United Nations. As a concept, ecocide refers to both naturally occurring processes of environmental or ecosystem decline and destruction of the environment that is caused by human activity. For instance, the migration of invasive species to a given area which leads to the diminishment or extinction of endemic species in that area is a form of ecocide. The term is also used to refer to the destructive impact of humanity on its own natural environment. One example is the extensive damage caused by the use of defoliants such as Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. This strategy by the US Government was conducted with the deliberate intention of causing environmental destruction in pursuit of military goals. The geological era we are living in, known as the Anthropocene, is so named because the activities of humans are influencing the Earth's natural state in a way never seen before. The most notable example is the atmosphere which is being transformed through the emission of gases from fossil fuel use: carbon dioxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons etc. Criminologists argue this is a symptom of ever-growing demand from consumers associated with capitalism, combined with an almost total disregard for the long term damage, primarily global warming and rising sea levels caused by these emissions. U.S. environmental theorist and activist Patrick Hossay argues that the human species is committing ecocide, via modern industrial civilization's effects on the global environment. The concept of ecocide as an international crime originated in the 1970s, after the use of Agent Orange by the United States during the Vietnam War devastated the local people and wildlife. Currently, there is only one provision in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, related to War Crimes, which explicitly mentions damage to the environment. Article 8(2)(b)(iv) makes it a crime to: “Intentionally launch an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated”. In 2010, environmental lawyer Polly Higgins proposed that the Rome Statute be amended to include the crime of Ecocide. The proposal was submitted to the United Nations International Law Commission which is 'mandated to promote the progressive development of international law and its codification'. She defined ecocide as: 'The extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of ecosystems of a given territory, whether by human agency or by any other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been severely diminished'.