Abstract

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        This article examines the concept of ecocide, or the intentional destruction of the natural environment resulting in severe or long-term damage. The central problem is that there is no consensus definition of ecocide, and ecocide is not considered a core crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Therefore, there is a significant gap in addressing the human costs of intentional environmental harm. As a result, ecocide has caused vast amounts of death and human suffering, and its perpetrators often have not faced justice for their actions. 

        This paper traces the historical precedents for defining ecocide, as well as more recent efforts to adopt ecocide into the Rome Statute, including the ICC Prosecutor’s policy papers in 2013 and 2016, and a formal request by Pacific Island nations, including Samoa and Fiji, in the fall of 2024. While Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Rome Statute addresses “intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause [...] widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment (which is) clearly excessive in relation to the overall military advantage anticipated”, defining it in the context of war alone narrows its scope and the potential for addressing wrongdoing. While the 2015 Paris Agreement is the main international treaty addressing environmental protection and ecocide, it does not include provisions for criminal persecution of individuals who destroy the environment. However, defining ecocide as a crime against humanity could provide a much greater potential for persecution. This is especially important in a time when environmental destruction is increasingly used as a weapon against oppressed groups both during and outside of armed conflicts, and the environment is increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and exploitation by corporations. 

 

Introduction

        What is Ecocide? First, let's look at The Rome Statue. The Rome Statue serves as the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court. According to The Rome Statue, the ICC “currently codifies four crimes—genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and crimes of aggression—as of grave concern to the international community” [1]. Notably, crimes against humanity “are specific crimes committed in the context of a large-scale attack targeting civilians… these crimes include the most egregious violations of human dignity, especially those directed towards civilian populations” [2]. Specifically, Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Rome Statute establishes that “intentionally launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause [...] widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.” Essentially, this provision makes ecocide a war crime under international humanitarian law. The important distinction is that a crime against humanity can be prosecuted to the fullest extent, while Article 8(2)(b)(iv) is restricted to “war crime[s] of excessive incidental death, injury, or damage", and only applies in the context of an armed conflict [3]. Article 8(2)(b)(iv) can be traced back to the Geneva Convention of 1949, specifically to Article 55(1) of Additional Protocol, concerned with “protection of the natural environment” prohibiting “use of methods or means of warfare which are intended or may be expected to cause damage to the natural environment and thereby to prejudice the health or survival of the population” [4]. A proposed definition under Article 8(1) of the Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide is “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” [5]. Essentially, for something to classify as ecocide in the proposed definition, it must be intended to and cause severe damage to the environment that is either widespread or long-term. The Independent Panel was assembled by the Ecocide Law Alliance, “a foundation with the purpose to work for the introduction of the crime of ecocide in the Rome Statue” [6]. 

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[1] Ecocide and climate displacement: An urgent call to action 1 ᴜꜱᴄʀɪ. 2024

[2] Crime Against Humanity  ʟᴇɢᴀʟ ɪɴꜰᴏʀᴍᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ɪɴꜱᴛɪᴛᴜᴛᴇ 2022

[3] Elements of Crime 1 ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴄʀɪᴍᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʀᴛ 2010 1, 4

[4] Article 55, IHL Treaties ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ʜᴜᴍᴀɴɪᴛᴀʀɪᴀɴ ʟᴀᴡ ᴅᴀᴛᴀʙᴀꜱᴇ 2023

[5] Dior Sow, STOP ECOCIDE FOUNDATION ᴇxᴘᴇʀᴛ ᴘᴀɴᴇʟ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴇɢᴀʟ ᴅᴇꜰɪɴɪᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴇᴄᴏᴄɪᴅᴇ 2021 1,5

[6] Definition, Ecocide Law Alliance 2025 www.ecocidelawalliance.org/definition/

 

Background 

        International criminal law under the ICC has not adopted a new crime since 1945 [7]. Multiple historical examples of ecocide exist, with ecocide dating back to the fifth century BC when Scythians burned farms and poisoned wells to slow the advancing Persian army. During World War II, German forces flooded the Pontine Marshes in order to slow the advances of Allied Forces. During the Gulf War, retreating Iraqi troops ignited Kuwaiti oil wells and dumped barrels of oil into the sea. However, the term ecocide was not coined until 1970 by Professor Galston, a leading biologist who identified the defoliant effects of a chemical developed into Agent Orange, a toxic herbicide used by the US military during the Vietnam War [8][9]. In 2013, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court released  Policy Paper Preliminary Examinations, which established, “the impact of crimes may be assessed…in light of…the environmental damage inflicted” . In 2016, the prosecutor released a Policy Paper on Case Selection and Prioritisation that established the office “will give particular consideration to prosecuting Rome Statue crimes that are committed by means of, or that result in…the destruction of the environment” respectively [10][11]. In September of 2024, “Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa filed a formal request to recognize ecocide—purposeful and severe environmental destruction—as a crime in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court” [12].

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[7] Dior Sow, STOP ECOCIDE FOUNDATION ᴇxᴘᴇʀᴛ ᴘᴀɴᴇʟ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ʟᴇɢᴀʟ ᴅᴇꜰɪɴɪᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏꜰ ᴇᴄᴏᴄɪᴅᴇ 2021 1,5

[8] Elements of Crime 1 ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴄʀɪᴍᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʀᴛ 2010 1, 4

[9] Definition, Ecocide Law Alliance 2025 www.ecocidelawalliance.org/definition/

[10] Elements of Crime 1 ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ᴄʀɪᴍᴇ ᴄᴏᴜʀᴛ 2010 1, 4

[11] Definition, Ecocide Law Alliance 2025 www.ecocidelawalliance.org/definition/

[12] Ecocide and climate displacement: An urgent call to action 1 ᴜꜱᴄʀɪ. 2024

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Modern Implications 

        Ukraine’s Prosecutor General has highlighted the impact of the Ukraine-Russia war on the environment. The Nova Kakhova Dam was destroyed by Russian forces, allowing the Kakhovka Reservoir to flood “3,000 square miles” [13]. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General compared this behavior to the 1986 Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster. In February 2024, Ukraine served “notices of suspicion for the crime of ecocide…to the former Russian colonel general” [14]. Traction has been made in support of criminalizing ecocide internationally: already “around a dozen countries, including Belarus, France, and Vietnam, already view ecocide as a crime” [15]. Notably, Belgium has recently adopted a penal code that includes ecocide as a domestic and international crime. In terms of support for recognizing ecocide under the Rome Statue, the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe have all been identified as supporters. Currently the Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, serves as the main international treaty in regards to environmental protection and ecocide. Unfortunately, such treaties “don’t directly provide for criminal punishment of individuals who destroy the environment”, meaning the introduction of ecocide into the Rome Statue could “help fill the gap” [16]. As the International Criminal Court prosecutes individuals, it may actually act more efficiently than other international institutions. Ecocide, according to Jojo Mehta, co-founder of Stop Ecocide International, is “largely a corporate crime”, meaning “the potential breadth of prosecutability is actually quite high” [17]. Additionally, if ecocide is added to the Rome Statue, “corporations labelled as supporting ecocide would potentially see a negative impact on their investments and revenue” [18].

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[13] Andriy Kostin, Ecocide as a Weapon of War 1 ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ʙᴀʀ ᴀꜱꜱᴏᴄɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ 2024

[14] Andriy Kostin, Ecocide as a Weapon of War 1 ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ʙᴀʀ ᴀꜱꜱᴏᴄɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ 2024

[15] Rebecca Root, Climate Crisis: Push for Ecocide to be added to Rome Statute 1 ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ʙᴀʀ ᴀꜱꜱᴏᴄɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ 2024

[16] Rebecca Root, Climate Crisis: Push for Ecocide to be added to Rome Statute 1 ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ʙᴀʀ ᴀꜱꜱᴏᴄɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ 2024

[17] Rebecca Root, Climate Crisis: Push for Ecocide to be added to Rome Statute 1 ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ʙᴀʀ ᴀꜱꜱᴏᴄɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ 2024

[18] Rebecca Root, Climate Crisis: Push for Ecocide to be added to Rome Statute 1 ɪɴᴛᴇʀɴᴀᴛɪᴏɴᴀʟ ʙᴀʀ ᴀꜱꜱᴏᴄɪᴀᴛɪᴏɴ 2024