What is Ecocide?

Ecocide is a term that refers to actions which create heavy damage to the environment. In other words, it can also be referred to as ‘environmental genocide.’

We can look at the etymology of the term ecocide to understand it better. Ecocide is made up of the term oikos=eco which refers to ‘house, dwelling place, habitation’ and which is used today to refer to ‘habitat, natural life’ and the term ‘cide’ which comes from ‘caedere’ in Latin (to kill, to murder).

As a term inspired by the term ‘genocide,’ ecocide today refers to: “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.”

This definition has been used in 2021 by ‘Stop Ecocide Foundation’ to define the extent of the crime. So, why do we need the term ecocide? Why do we have to explain the damage to the environment using different terms?

Why We Need the Term Ecocide?

We are all aware that there are many factors that harm the environment and pollute nature. Increasing world population and consumption, oil industry, damages of urbanization on the natural environment… In short, we know that human activities have negative impacts on biodiversity and nature.

Ecocide, in its simplest form, covers severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment. In other words, it refers to severe damage to the environment, and a long-term and widespread impact of this damage.

The term of ecocide has the following criteria:


• Severe Damage: Causing severe impact, negative changes, disruption or damage to human life, nature, cultural resources, i.e., any component of our environment.

• Widespread Damage: Damage to all ecosystems, species, or many people by going beyond a limited geography and country borders.

• Long-term Damage: Irreversible damage that would be irreparable through natural recovery.

• Damage Through Wanton Acts: Damages caused by ignoring clearly substantial damages or negligence.

So which environment disasters are called ‘ecocide,’ let us explain through examples.

Ecocide Examples

Now that we are familiar with the term ecocide, we can take a look at ecocide examples experienced throughout the world.

1. Chernobyl Disaster
In 1986, an explosion occurred at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident triggered a radioactive cloud which was dispersed over Europe. As a result of the Chernobyl Disaster, toxic radioactive materials were emitted into the atmosphere, amounting to even more than the resulting emission from the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. The Chernobyl Disaster has been recorded in the literature as an ecocide since it affected a large area for a long time.

2. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
This oil spill, which occurred at Mexican Gulf in 2010, covered an incredible surface area of 149,000 km2 in total and polluted approximately 1,770 kilometers of coastal strip. Following this disaster caused by BP, the world’s leading oil company, thousands of oil barrels leaked into the gulf for days.

3. Deforestation in the Amazon
There have been many harmful deforestation events across the world, but the most famous and worst one was the deforestation in the Amazon forests. Trees on a land which is almost equal to the size of France were taken down in Amazon forests for the sake of creating new land for husbandry or timber harvesting. Amazon forests lost 20% of land in the last 50 years.

4. Plastic Problem in the Pacific Ocean
Human activities, bad waste management and trillions of plastics thrown into the ocean… Plastic Problem in the Pacific Ocean is considered as one of the biggest environmental problems today. There is an incredible amount of plastic in the Pacific Ocean: 1.8 trillion! This situation in the Pacific Ocean deeply impacts all ecosystems. Also called as ‘‘Great Pacific Garbage Patch’’, this is the largest floating garbage accumulation in the world.

5. Loss of Aral Sea
The Aral Sea was once the fourth largest sea in the world! Located in Central Asia, the Aral Sea went almost completely dry after the water of two rivers, which were supporting its water sources, were redistributed. This ecocide deeply impacted not only Aral and its vicinity, but also all Central Asia’s ecosystem. For more information on the Aral Sea, please click here.

6. Toxicity in Niger Delta
Water in the Niger Delta was polluted by successive oil spills and resulted in inability to produce or harvest crops there. Excessive production of nonrenewable resources such as oil effects both wild life and food supply; local people living in the vicinity of Niger Delta are faced with famine and drought.

How We Came to the Point of Ecocide?

Currently considered as an international crime, ecocide has been laid before the public after local people and wildlife experienced severe damage due to agent orange used by the US during the Vietnam War in 1970s. It has been officially declared as a crime by the International Criminal Court in 2019. Defining destruction of environment as a crime was critical for a “sustainable future.”

Thus, ecocide is about to be included into the fifth criminal category, following war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, and crimes of aggression. As ecocide is increasingly accepted as a crime by larger communities, it is starting to be a category in international crimes literature. As the numbers of geographies facing the destructive results of climate crisis and ecocide increase, eyes turn to the countries which have the greatest carbon footprints.

Why Ecocide Should Be Considered an Offense?

Why ecocide having a clear definition and being considered as a crime is important? Let’s have a look together.

1- With the environment being considered as a “subject of right” and protection of ecosystem having a legal provision, compensation of the damages to the environment results with decisions of material sanctions. As ecocide was officially declared as a crime, criminal liability/criminal sanction concept stepped in. Now, for example, executives of an X company responsible for an oil spill may be investigated or criminally charged. Thus, a deterrent effect is created. National governments and institutions take particular care of developing strategies which are respectful towards and protective of the environment when making decisions. To learn more about the international crime status of ecocide, click here.

2- International Criminal Courts (ICC) have would make ecocide an international crime when they create a universal effect by being accepted. However, domestic laws of countries may be shortcoming in sensitive subjects such as ecocide; in such cases, ICC sanctions step in or deterrence factor would be effective. For example, nearly 10 countries, including Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine, have enacted ecocide crime in the domestic laws.

3- With the newly attained international crime status of ecocide, it becomes impossible to use legal gaps. For example, a company, which operates in another country because of the existence of laws that protect the environment in its own country evade audits/charges.

Why the Term Ecocide is Important?

Definition of an environmental disaster as ecocide and clear criminal status of ecocide according to the international laws are extremely important developments. This opens the way to criminal sanctions against severe and long-term damage which harms nature, environment, humanity, and cultural resources. And this is why it is necessary to ‘give a name’ to ecocide!