Proof of Ecocide: Towards a Forensic Practice for the Proposed International Crime Against the Environment

Abstract

This article discusses developments in international environmental justice alongside contemporary environmental forensics techniques. The article begins by providing an introduction to ecocide, the proposed international crime for the protection of the environment under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and the concept of the legal threshold of harm. It argues that forensic awareness has a role to play in developing new legal frameworks for the protection of the environment. It describes one particular approach to the practice of environmental investigations, using the example of remote sensing. From an international justice perspective, the concern of the present article is a discussion of how innovations in remote sensing technologies have allowed non court actors, civil society groups and nongovernmental organizations access to scientific evidence. It concludes by making recommending towards establishing forensic standards for admissible evidence of ecocide crime.

A Horizon Scan of Emerging Global Biological Conservation Issues for 2020

“…Ecocide is defined as 'the extensive damage, destruction or loss of ecosystems of a given territory … to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been severely diminished' ( [43]). Research to establish forensic standards for admissible evidence of ecocide is advancing ( [44]).…”