What is Ecocide?

Why in the News?
“Ecocide” is increasingly being discussed globally in the context of strengthening environmental accountability and exploring its recognition as an international crime.

About Ecocide
Ecocide refers to large-scale, severe, and long-term damage to the environment caused by human activities, often industrial in nature and affecting vast regions.

Origin of the Term
The term was coined in 1970 by Arthur W Galston, who used it to describe environmental devastation such as that caused by the use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. It gained prominence when Olof Palme referred to it at the 1972 United Nations Conference on the Human Environment.

Legal Status
Ecocide is not yet universally recognised as an independent international crime. However, some countries—such as Vietnam, Russia, Ukraine, Chile, France, and Belgium—have incorporated it (or similar provisions) into domestic laws. Vietnam was the first to codify ecocide in 1990.

Related International Frameworks

• Rome Statute: Recognises severe environmental damage as a war crime if it is widespread, long-term, and severe, especially when it affects human populations.
• Geneva Conventions: Prohibit warfare methods causing extensive environmental damage.
• Environmental Modification Convention: Bans deliberate environmental modification causing widespread or severe harm.

Significance
Recognising ecocide as an international crime could strengthen global environmental governance, hold corporations and states accountable, and deter large-scale ecological destruction.

Source: IE