Criminalising Environmental Damage through the Introduction of an International Ecocide Law

Scholarship on ecocide is a relatively recent development, with discussions around the potential benefits and approaches of introducing ecocide legislation on the international level remaining divided and undeveloped. This provides scope for further research on the topic (Weisberg 1970; Burke and Celermajer 2021; Higgins 2016). In 2021, there was a pivotal development when an Independent Expert Panel (IEP) drafted a proposed legal ecocide definition for an amendment to the Rome Statute (Burke and Celermajer 2021; IEP 2021). However, it remains unspecified how an international ecocide legal framework could be implemented.

Ecocide is defined as the progressive human-induced destruction of species and habitats, typically linked to specific locations and campaigns (Broswimmer 2015; Zierler 2011; End Ecocide 2010). Forms of environmental and ecocide legislation have been implemented under national jurisdictions (Ecocide Law 2022; Bettis 2022). International law challenges environmental damage during wartime, yet not during peacetime (Ecocide Law 2022; UNEP 2009). Interdisciplinary academics, campaigners and non-governmental organisations support ecocide legislation as it provides an opportunity to hold perpetrators accountable (Mehta and Merz 2015; IEP 2021; Mwanza 2018). However, some scholars remain more cautious of the practical challenges of ecocide legislation, suggesting the International Criminal Court (ICC) is insufficient for prosecuting ecocide and questioning the appropriate approach to criminalisation given the complexity of ecocide acts (Killean 2022; Heller 2021; Bauer 1997; Minkova 2021; Jeffrey 2020).

This research aims to explore the scope and importance of criminalising environmental damage through the introduction of an international ecocide law.

Objectives:

* To explore approaches for criminalising ecocide under international law.
* To determine the value of these approaches for challenging global environmental damage.
* To examine indigenous communities' inclusion or exclusion in environmental legal practices.
* To identify what approaches for criminalising ecocide provide vulnerable individuals with the greatest voice.

This research will use qualitative methods to investigate the scope and importance of introducing an international ecocide law. Data will be collected in two phases. First, using ethnographic methods, the research will collect data from environmental trials and other relevant international trials. This data will develop an understanding of relevant legal practices, particularly on how environmental trials are conducted and how indigenous communities are included or excluded. The second phase will involve conducting around 30-40 semi-structured interviews with key actors. Individuals will be identified through purposive and snowball sampling and include court system actors alongside individuals lower to the ground, such as indigenous representatives and activists. This illustrative sample will provide an insight into the perspectives of relevant practitioners and those closer to the ground, who are often most effected, on the appropriate approach for implementing an international ecocide law.

The research aims to provide the first in-depth examination of alternative methods for ecocide criminalisation through developing, reframing, and enriching existing scholarly and policy debates, towards protecting vulnerable communities and nature from harm. Therefore, the research aims to produce both scholarly and empirical impact.