EcocideAn international expert panel was assembled last November to define Ecocide and they have drawn up draft law. If successful, it could become the fifth crime against peace, next to war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression, all of which can be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague. The experts created a More and wildlife conservationWhy is animal conservation important? Animal conservation is important, because animals are the only mechanism to create biodiversity, which is the mechanism that creates a habitable planet for humans. Without animals, the energy from today’s plants (algae, trees, flowers etc) will eventually reach the atmosphere and ocean, much of it as carbon. The quantity of this plant-based waste is so More have a dual role to play in the future of humanity. Animals stabilise ecosystemsHow ecosystems function An ecosystem is a community of lifeforms that interact in such an optimal way that how ecosystems function best, is when all components (including humans and other animals) can persist and live alongside each other for the longest time possible. Ecosystems are fuelled by the energy created by plants (primary producers) that convert the Sun's heat energy More and without them, we cannot have food security, fair climate or water. This week marks an enormous step towards getting ecocide recognised as an international crime, which would make it the fifth crime against peace, next to war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and the crime of aggression, all of which can be prosecuted in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.
What is ecocide?
An international expert panel was assembled last November to define Ecocide and they have drawn up draft law, including the definition of ecocide 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.”
The work, which was originally championed by the late Polly Higgins has garnered considerable global support from leaders in Europe and further afield. It would be the first international crime to be added to the ICC’s portfolio in over 80 years. However, it will still take at least a two-thirds majority of States Parties (currently 82/123) to vote in favour of the amendment, if it’s to become law.
The ICC has been criticised for not doing enough to address ecological crimes and has preferred to address these under crimes against humanity, which some authors believe could be more appropriate. It’s argued that a separate ecocide law is needed to make crimes on the environment punishable in their own right. What makes this different is that the act of ecocide affects everyone equally, whereas the other crimes tend to apply to a specific group or collection of people. It seems to make sense to separate the two and by making it punishable, would send the strongest message to world leaders and others who flout the laws and conventions set up to protect biodiversityWhat is the definition of biodiversity? When we ask, what is the definition of biodiversity? It depends on what we want to do with it. The term is widely and commonly misused, leading to significant misinterpretation of the importance of how animals function on Earth and why they matter a great deal, to human survival. Here I will try to More.
As the Stop Ecocide website says:
Unlike suing and fining corporations (who simply budget for this possibility), making ecocide a crime creates an arrestable offence. It makes those individuals who are responsible for acts or decisions that lead to severe environmental harm liable to criminal prosecution.
Ecocide and wildlife conservation
As for wildlife conservation, there will be a long road ahead. It’s not widely acknowledged that animals are responsible for ecosystem stability. Crimes of ecocide might be more easily applied to the wanton killing of endangered species but it’s hard to see how it will be used to address the rapid acceleration of previously abundant animals towards mass extinctionAnimal life hasn't existed for very long on planet Earth. In the last 500 million years, there have been five mass extinctions, defined as events that wiped out at least 75% of animal life. The Devonian mass extinction is considered to have been caused by the rise of plants on land, which polluted the oceans in the absence of animals. More – our industrialisation of the land and sea for agriculture and fishing is destroying the very animal-led ecosystem processes that created them in the first place.
Before it’s likely that countries will support such needs in full, it will take a considerable change in human values. The whole world needs to accept the critical importance of wildlife and everyone collectively to address the problem, before anyone is likely to be held to account. And who do you take to court when every country is responsible and complicit?
But it is good news that it’s on the radar at least.
Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide – Printable transcript
It is widely recognised that humanity stands at a crossroads. The scientific evidence points to the conclusion that the emission of greenhouse gases and the destruction of ecosystems at current rates will have catastrophic consequences for our common environment. Read more …
