A member of Peru’s government sits in a boat as a dead bird floats in the water after Repsol spilled more than 10,000 barrels of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, February 9, 2022. Photo: Reuters/Sebastian Castaneda
- Ecocide refers specifically to actions that cause the conscious and willful destruction of an ecosystem or natural environment that has an adverse effect on human, animal, or plant life.
- It is a major issue because its effects are severe and widespread.
- Activists want ecocide to become an international crime. They believe this would help to hold polluters accountable and address climate change.
Kochi: We know that dumping untreated industrial products or sewage into rivers can pollute them. However, local governments and industries do it anyway.
Our unsustainable thirst for minerals like coal and gold is destroying entire hills, accelerating biodiversity loss, and affecting those who live near these areas as much as those who work there. These minerals are still mined by corporations and governments.
Ecocide is the term for these deliberate, sustained actions we take despite knowing their massive and widespread environmental and ecological consequences.
It is literally the death of the environment.
Origins of war crime
Ecocide is an act that causes the conscious, willful destruction of the natural environment, with the consequences for all life, including human, animal, and plant life.
This is the context in which Arthur Galston, a biologist, was born. UsedThis term was first used in 1970 at the Conference on War and Responsibility, Washington, D.C. He called the US’s use Agent Orange, a herbicide used in the defoliation of jungles during Vietnam War, an ecocide. Galston was the first person to link the willful destruction and genocide of nature, which is now an international crime.
This term became more popular after 1972 when the Swedish prime minister referred at the UN Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment to the Vietnam War in ecocide. In passing, Indira Gandhi, Indias prime Minister, also attended the conference. AdvocatedThe destruction of ecosystems should be considered a crime against mankind.
As of yet, Ecocide does not have a legal definition. A panel of lawyers representing different countries met last June to discuss the issue. Offer one. Ecocide refers to illegal or wanton acts that are committed with the knowledge of severe and/or long-term damage to the environment. The Independent Expert Panel for the Lawful Definition of Ecocide .
Why is ecocide so important to you?
Today, Ecocide is all around. Ecocide is a significant issue because of its grave and widespread effects, which are difficult to ignore.
Either direct or indirect impacts can occur. Oil spillages that directly affect ocean life are considered ecocide. Unsustainable overfishing can also be a problem in our oceans. This can indirectly affect us by reducing the populations of fish species, which in turn affects other species within the food web.
There are many instances of ecocide in India. According to the non-profit Stop Ecocide InternationalThe 1984 Bhopal gas disaster is an example. According to the WHO, as many as 5 lakh people were exposed by an insecticide plant gas leak to toxic levels of methyl isocyanate. Some 20,000 people also died. Some reports.
Activists continue to witness the health effects of COVID-19, which has a significant impact on gas victims. Have said.
Famous personalities from all over the globe are well-known drawn attentionEcocide is a serious issue. Greta Thunberg donated 100,000 Euros to the Stop Ecocide Foundation. Pope Francis also called for ecocide be made a crime by international law.
Ecocide is a crime
Only a few countries, including Russia and Ukraine, recognize ecocide as a criminal offense at the moment. Its association with war crimes from the beginning has led to much discussion on the need for ecocide to be classified as an international crime. Currently, there is the International Criminal Court (ICC), an international court that operates under the UN. RecognizeOnly four distinct international crimes are covered by the Rome Statute: genocide, crimes against humanity and crimes against peace.
In 2010, British lawyer-turned-campaigner Polly Higgins urged the UN to accept ecocide as an international crime, on a par with genocide. She suggested Modifications to the Rome StatuteICC to do so. This would make ecocide an offence. Many other activists and organizations around the globe (such as Stop Ecocide International) have also been and continue to push this idea.
In the Anthropocene age, ecocide appears to be a more pressing issue. A sixth mass extermination is currently taking place around the world. Climate reports such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change show that human activity is accelerating and aggravating climate change.
The ICC could bring ecocide under its umbrella, which could make climate change more accountable. Some have said. An international law on ecocide Could also be trueTo be accountable for major polluters. Since 1988, more than 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions have come from just 100 companies. 2017 report found.
There is still a lot of work to do. Some AskIf ecocide is to be considered an international crime, it would be a miracle cure since only individuals and not corporations can be tried at ICC.
This could be the first step towards defining ecocide legally.