Rights of Nature

There is a movement to have ecocide recognized as an international crime ².  Currently, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court ³ lists four crimes: genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of aggression.  It is proposed – by Stop Ecocide International – that the crime of ecocide be added ⁴. As a crime, individuals responsible for ecocide may be liable to a criminal prosecution.

In Canada, a petition was submitted to the House of Commons seeking a declaration of support for inclusion of ecocide as an international criminal offence ⁵.  In response, the Canadian government responded that it “will continue to follow closely the discussions on ecocide at the international level” ⁶.

In Canada, there are numerous environmental laws that set out environmental offences and penalties. Typically, Canadian environmental laws set up a regulatory system of approvals with failure to comply constituting a non-criminal offence that triggers penalties.  Usually, these regulatory systems are established on a sectorial basis (i.e. deal with oil and gas activities, forestry activities and so forth).  But there is no crime of ecocide in Canada ⁷.

However, there are some places where ecocide has been adopted as a domestic criminal offence.  For example, in the Ukraine, Article 441 of the Criminal Code ⁸ states:

Article 441: Ecocide

Mass destruction of flora and fauna, poisoning of air or water resources, and also any other actions that may cause an environmental disaster shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of eight to fifteen years.

Other countries that have recognized a criminal offence of ecocide domestically include Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova and Armenia ⁹.

In Ecuador, the Penal Code includes crimes against nature which are subject to penalties.  These crimes include: crimes against biodiversity, mistreatment of animals, and crimes against soil, water and air (although there is no express crime of ecocide per se ¹⁰.

In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, an ordinance was passed to prevent fracking ¹¹.  Section 618.03 of Pittsburgh’s Code of Ordinances states that “natural communities and ecosystems, including, but not limited to, wetlands, streams, rivers, aquifers, and other water systems, possess inalienable and fundamental rights to exist and flourish” ¹².  Further, the Code states that residents of the City possess legal standing to enforce those rights on behalf of the natural communities and ecosystems ¹³.

There are also ordinances in Mora County, New Mexico; Spokane, Washington; Barnstead, New Hampshire; Blaine, Washington County; Shapleigh, Maine; Santa Monica, California; and others ¹⁴.