Ecocide

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