Brief Context
Context The term “ecocide” has gained renewed attention amid allegations of large-scale environmental destruction during recent conflicts, including the wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran. What is Ecocide? Ecocide refers to severe, widespread, or long-term destruction of the environment caused by human actions.
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Syllabus: GS3/ Environment
Context
- The term “ecocide” has gained renewed attention amid allegations of large-scale environmental destruction during recent conflicts, including the wars in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.
What is Ecocide?
- Ecocide refers to severe, widespread, or long-term destruction of the environment caused by human actions.
- The term was coined in 1970 by Arthur W. Galston during debates surrounding the environmental devastation caused by Agent Orange in the Vietnam War.
- In 1972, Olof Palme used the term at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.
- Vietnam became the first country to criminalise ecocide domestically in 1990.
- Countries such as Russia, Ukraine, France, Belgium, and Chile have incorporated similar provisions into their legal systems.
Existing International Laws on Environmental Damage
- Geneva Conventions: The Geneva Conventions prohibit methods of warfare causing widespread, long-term, and severe environmental damage.
- The Environmental Modification Convention bans deliberate environmental manipulation for hostile purposes.
- The International Criminal Court’s Rome Statute recognises four core crimes: Genocide, Crimes against humanity, War crimes, and Crime of aggression.
- Intentionally launching attacks causing widespread, long-term and severe environmental damage during war can qualify as a war crime. However existing international laws are largely anthropocentric, meaning they focus on harm caused to humans.
- Hence environmentalists are demanding that ecocide be recognised as the fifth international crime under the Rome Statute.
Recent International Developments
- IUCN Recognition: In 2025, the International Union for Conservation of Nature formally recognised ecocide as a crime concept, encouraging states to incorporate it into domestic and international law.
- Council of Europe Convention (2025): The Council of Europe adopted the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law in 2025.
Source: IE