This paper, on the international movement to criminalize ecological harm to the planet, was written for Professor Bonventre’s International Law of War and Crime Seminar at Albany Law School.
International ecocide has long been at the heart of legal debates. As a broad concept, it refers to the destruction of the environment caused by human activity. Polly Higgins, a leading proponent of the movement to criminalize ecocide on an international scale, has defined ecocide as the “extensive damage to, destruction of, or loss of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been or will be severely diminished.” Higgins’ work has brought ecocide to the forefront of international discussion, though the act of ecocide is not yet criminalized on an international scale.
Despite increasingly credible scientific findings on the effects of climate change, as well as a broadened view of the importance of global-humanitarian efforts and long-term sustainability, the acceptance of criminalizing ecocide remains a significant obstacle in the consciousness of the international legal community.
The beginnings of the modern ‘ecocide movement’ stem from the early 1970s and are inherently related to anti-Vietnam war efforts. The term ‘ecocide’ was first recorded at the 1970 Conference of War and National Responsibility by bioethicist and scientist Arthur Galston.
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To read the entire paper, open HERE.
