Ecocide
Encyclopedia
The neologism ecocide can be used to refer to any large-scale destruction of the natural environment
or over-consumption
of critical non-renewable resource
s. An early reference in 1969 described it as "Ecocide - the murder of the environment - is everybody's business." The term was also used in relation to environmental damage due to war such as the use of defoliant
s in the Vietnam War
, and the use of glyphosate in the Colombian civil war.
Ecocide is also a term for a substance that kills enough species
in an ecosystem
to disrupt its structure and function. Another example would be a high concentration of pesticide due to a spillage.
It has also been defined as the extensive destruction, damage to 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 severely diminished.
A weaker definition of ecocide is that in which an organism
destroys ecosystem
s other than its own. (e.g. cancer). For example, it could be said that during the Precambrian
era, blue-green algae committed ecocide upon the prevailing reducing-chemistry-based ecology, by releasing oxygen into the environment. Organisms to which oxygen was a poison died off, while the algae and other organisms adapted to and created a new oxidation-chemistry-based ecology
.
According to this interpretation and because humankind well-being is directly related to numerous environmental factors such as rainforest, climate warming, chemistry of the air and water our negative impact on these factor can't be viewed as a part of the weaker definition, but really for what it is: a threatening unbalance in the environment and a symptom of fundamental errors in managing how many we are and how much we pollute per capita.
U.S. environmental theorist and activist Patrick Hossay argues that the human species is committing ecocide, via industrial civilization's effects on the global environment. Much of the modern environmental movement stems from this belief as a precept.
At the heart of the ecocide issue are practical and moral questions: is human activity destroying the ecological support system necessary for our own survival? Is global ecocide actually happening?
In 1996, Canadian/Australian lawyer Mark Gray proposed an international crime of ecocide, based on established international environmental and human rights law. He demonstrated that states, and arguably individuals and organisations, causing or permitting harm to the natural environment on a massive scale breach a duty of care owed to humanity in general. He proposed that such breaches, where deliberate, reckless or negligent, be identified as ecocide where they entail serious, and extensive or lasting, ecological damage; international consequences; and waste.
In April 2010 UK Lawyer Polly Higgins proposed to the United Nations that ecocide be recognised as an international Crime Against Peace alongside Genocide, Crimes of Humanity, War Crimes and Crimes of Aggression, triable at the International Criminal Court
.
To establish ecocide the 5th crime of genocide
, public engagement via new institutionalism
is one way to initiate global governance
to protect the global commons for future sustainability. First and foremost establishing ecocide as a crime is a way to establish peace between all nations to avoid wars based on resource depletion and utilize established theories and cornerstone laws to protect Earth.
The Athabasca tar sands (The Dead Duck Trial) was successfully prosecuted in The mock trial of the Athabasca Tar Sands 30th of September 2011, in the UK Supreme Court and if ecocide was a crime then real punishment could bring those responsible imprisonment and make other corporations more vigilant in environmental protection. Corporations have claimed they are immune from prosecution under the Human Rights Act Corporate Personhood
. Article 5 (d) of the Crime of Genocide uses the language “superior responsibility”, when applying the concept of responsibility to environmental degradation, corporations should be held responsible.
Ecocide set within international law has now been defined by Polly Higgins in her award winning book Eradicating Ecocide (Shepheard-Walwyn 2010) and the rules by which corporate activities should be carried out to avoid ecocide have been etched from statutes laid down as pillars of international law and agreements. An institution that has already passed such laws that could apply to ecocide is the United Nations.
Institutionalism
The United Nations operates through sets of codified rules ( Evans 2012, p47) and operating as an institution allows governments to work with merged strategies levied as international agreements and multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) to address climate change and environmental damage. The 1945 UN Charter promotes governance and a way to a democratic, decentralized system in which others are able to participate (Higgins, 2010).
Elinor Ostrom
developed the Institutional Analysis and Design framework (Ostrom et al. 1994) where she discusses in their book Rules, Games and Common Pool Resources, closed rules which are set in stone (Evans, 2012, p53). Two such laws with which ecocide, a crime of consequence could be made, is the crime of genocide and the UN Charter.
Many corporations are exploiting NSGTs
and under Chapter XI indigenous people can apply for protection of their territory and existing states have a fiduciary duty. Chapters XI, XII, XIII are about self-governance and the mechanisms to facilitate it. Under Chapter XII trusteeship would be a tool for all peoples well-being and protect territories at risk of ecocide.
Global governance
Voluntary governance, market trading and offset mechanisms have all failed to halt environmental destruction in the name of free market globalization. To abate this the UNEP and OHCHR have passed resolutions on the interrelationships between human rights and environmental protection UNEP and OHCHR.
Because collective action is hard to attain for several reasons, scientific uncertainty, elusive subjective concerns, competitive states breeding a lack of international cooperation and difficult coordinated action planning of environmental issues, (Evans, 2012 p7) guardianship is possibly an answer posed by Christopher D. Stone in his essay Should Trees Have Standing? (Stone, Chap 3).
This is echoed by Higgins’s proposal to reinstate Article 75 Charter of UN International Trusteeship System.
Another solution could be to form a unified group of environmental ‘guardistees’ to use The Human Rights Act in the same way corporations have to protect Earth as a nonperson but, a living entity nonetheless, on which we all depend for our lives.
Environment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
or over-consumption
Over-consumption
Over-consumption is a situation where resource-use has outpaced the sustainable capacity of the ecosystem. A prolonged pattern of overconsumption leads to inevitable environmental degradation and the eventual loss of resource bases...
of critical non-renewable resource
Non-renewable resource
A non-renewable resource is a natural resource which cannot be produced, grown, generated, or used on a scale which can sustain its consumption rate, once depleted there is no more available for future needs. Also considered non-renewable are resources that are consumed much faster than nature...
s. An early reference in 1969 described it as "Ecocide - the murder of the environment - is everybody's business." The term was also used in relation to environmental damage due to war such as the use of defoliant
Defoliant
A defoliant is any chemical sprayed or dusted on plants to cause its leaves to fall off. A classic example of a highly toxic defoliant is Agent Orange, which the United States armed forces used abundantly to defoliate regions of Vietnam during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1970.Defoliants differ...
s in the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, and the use of glyphosate in the Colombian civil war.
Ecocide is also a term for a substance that kills enough species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
in an ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
to disrupt its structure and function. Another example would be a high concentration of pesticide due to a spillage.
It has also been defined as the extensive destruction, damage to 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 severely diminished.
A weaker definition of ecocide is that in which an organism
Organism
In biology, an organism is any contiguous living system . In at least some form, all organisms are capable of response to stimuli, reproduction, growth and development, and maintenance of homoeostasis as a stable whole.An organism may either be unicellular or, as in the case of humans, comprise...
destroys ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s other than its own. (e.g. cancer). For example, it could be said that during the Precambrian
Precambrian
The Precambrian is the name which describes the large span of time in Earth's history before the current Phanerozoic Eon, and is a Supereon divided into several eons of the geologic time scale...
era, blue-green algae committed ecocide upon the prevailing reducing-chemistry-based ecology, by releasing oxygen into the environment. Organisms to which oxygen was a poison died off, while the algae and other organisms adapted to and created a new oxidation-chemistry-based ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
.
According to this interpretation and because humankind well-being is directly related to numerous environmental factors such as rainforest, climate warming, chemistry of the air and water our negative impact on these factor can't be viewed as a part of the weaker definition, but really for what it is: a threatening unbalance in the environment and a symptom of fundamental errors in managing how many we are and how much we pollute per capita.
U.S. environmental theorist and activist Patrick Hossay argues that the human species is committing ecocide, via industrial civilization's effects on the global environment. Much of the modern environmental movement stems from this belief as a precept.
At the heart of the ecocide issue are practical and moral questions: is human activity destroying the ecological support system necessary for our own survival? Is global ecocide actually happening?
In 1996, Canadian/Australian lawyer Mark Gray proposed an international crime of ecocide, based on established international environmental and human rights law. He demonstrated that states, and arguably individuals and organisations, causing or permitting harm to the natural environment on a massive scale breach a duty of care owed to humanity in general. He proposed that such breaches, where deliberate, reckless or negligent, be identified as ecocide where they entail serious, and extensive or lasting, ecological damage; international consequences; and waste.
In April 2010 UK Lawyer Polly Higgins proposed to the United Nations that ecocide be recognised as an international Crime Against Peace alongside Genocide, Crimes of Humanity, War Crimes and Crimes of Aggression, triable at the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
.
Institutionalism, Global Commons and Global Governance
- “Corporations are the ones gambling our planet away and our governments are running the casino”
- Polly Higgins, Eradicating Ecocide (Shepheard-Walwyn 2010 pp 165)
To establish ecocide the 5th crime of genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, public engagement via new institutionalism
Institutionalism
Institutionalism can refer to:* Old Institutionalism: An approach to the study of politics that focuses on formal institutions of government* New institutionalism: a social theory that focuses on developing a sociological view of institutions, the way they interact and the effects of institutions...
is one way to initiate global governance
Governance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
to protect the global commons for future sustainability. First and foremost establishing ecocide as a crime is a way to establish peace between all nations to avoid wars based on resource depletion and utilize established theories and cornerstone laws to protect Earth.
The Athabasca tar sands (The Dead Duck Trial) was successfully prosecuted in The mock trial of the Athabasca Tar Sands 30th of September 2011, in the UK Supreme Court and if ecocide was a crime then real punishment could bring those responsible imprisonment and make other corporations more vigilant in environmental protection. Corporations have claimed they are immune from prosecution under the Human Rights Act Corporate Personhood
Corporate personhood
Corporate personhood is the status conferred upon corporations under the law, which allows corporations to have rights and responsibilities similar to those of a natural person. There is a question about which subset of rights that are afforded to natural persons should also be afforded to...
. Article 5 (d) of the Crime of Genocide uses the language “superior responsibility”, when applying the concept of responsibility to environmental degradation, corporations should be held responsible.
Ecocide set within international law has now been defined by Polly Higgins in her award winning book Eradicating Ecocide (Shepheard-Walwyn 2010) and the rules by which corporate activities should be carried out to avoid ecocide have been etched from statutes laid down as pillars of international law and agreements. An institution that has already passed such laws that could apply to ecocide is the United Nations.
InstitutionalismInstitutionalismInstitutionalism can refer to:* Old Institutionalism: An approach to the study of politics that focuses on formal institutions of government* New institutionalism: a social theory that focuses on developing a sociological view of institutions, the way they interact and the effects of institutions...
The United Nations operates through sets of codified rules ( Evans 2012, p47) and operating as an institution allows governments to work with merged strategies levied as international agreements and multilateral environmental agreement (MEA) to address climate change and environmental damage. The 1945 UN Charter promotes governance and a way to a democratic, decentralized system in which others are able to participate (Higgins, 2010). Elinor Ostrom
Elinor Ostrom
Elinor Ostrom is an American political economist. She was awarded the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, which she shared with Oliver E. Williamson, for "her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons." She was the first, and to date, the only woman to win the prize in...
developed the Institutional Analysis and Design framework (Ostrom et al. 1994) where she discusses in their book Rules, Games and Common Pool Resources, closed rules which are set in stone (Evans, 2012, p53). Two such laws with which ecocide, a crime of consequence could be made, is the crime of genocide and the UN Charter.
Proposals to protect the commons
For future sustainability and to avoid wars, desperate times call for desperate measures. Two such measures proposed by Higgins are to utilise Chapters XI, XII, XIII of the .Many corporations are exploiting NSGTs
United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories
The United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories is a list of countries that, according to the United Nations, are non-decolonized. The list was initially prepared in 1946 pursuant to Chapter XI of the United Nations Charter, and has been updated by the General Assembly on recommendation...
and under Chapter XI indigenous people can apply for protection of their territory and existing states have a fiduciary duty. Chapters XI, XII, XIII are about self-governance and the mechanisms to facilitate it. Under Chapter XII trusteeship would be a tool for all peoples well-being and protect territories at risk of ecocide.
Global governanceGlobal governanceGlobal governance or world governance is the political interaction of transnational actors aimed at solving problems that affect more than one state or region when there is no power of enforcing compliance. The modern question of world governance exists in the context of globalization...
-
- “If you come only to help me, you can go back home. But if you consider my struggle as part of your struggle for survival, then maybe we can work together.”
- “If you come only to help me, you can go back home. But if you consider my struggle as part of your struggle for survival, then maybe we can work together.”
- — An Aboriginal Woman
Voluntary governance, market trading and offset mechanisms have all failed to halt environmental destruction in the name of free market globalization. To abate this the UNEP and OHCHR have passed resolutions on the interrelationships between human rights and environmental protection UNEP and OHCHR.
Because collective action is hard to attain for several reasons, scientific uncertainty, elusive subjective concerns, competitive states breeding a lack of international cooperation and difficult coordinated action planning of environmental issues, (Evans, 2012 p7) guardianship is possibly an answer posed by Christopher D. Stone in his essay Should Trees Have Standing? (Stone, Chap 3).
This is echoed by Higgins’s proposal to reinstate Article 75 Charter of UN International Trusteeship System.
Another solution could be to form a unified group of environmental ‘guardistees’ to use The Human Rights Act in the same way corporations have to protect Earth as a nonperson but, a living entity nonetheless, on which we all depend for our lives.
See also
- EcophagyEcophagyEcophagy is a term coined by Robert Freitas that means the literal consuming of an ecosystem. It derives from the Greek "οικος" or Late Latin "oeco-", which refers to a "house" or "household", and Greek φᾰγεῖν phagein "to eat"...
- EcotageEcotageEcotage is a portmanteau of the "eco-" prefix and "sabotage". Ecotage is often used as a descriptive term for the direct actions of environmental groups such as Earth First! and similar groups throughout the Western world. The term is only applied for actions of sabotage committed within the...
- Environmental disasterEnvironmental disasterAn environmental disaster is a disaster to the natural environment due to human activity. It should not be confused with the separate concept of a natural disaster.-History:...
- List of environmental issues
- WALL-EWALL-EWALL-E, promoted with an interpunct as WALL•E, is a 2008 American computer-animated science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by Andrew Stanton. The story follows a robot named WALL-E, who is designed to clean up a waste-covered Earth far in the future...
, ecocide in fiction - Operation Ranch HandOperation Ranch HandOperation Ranch Hand was a U.S. Military operation during the Vietnam War, lasting from 1962 until 1971. It was part of the overall herbicidal warfare program during the war called "Operation Trail Dust"...
- The story of stuff
- Polly Higgins on YouTube