Should it be an international crime to destroy nature? A high-powered panel of international lawyers has said "ecocide" should be an offence comparable to genocide or crimes against humanity.

The panel of 12 global experts commissioned in late 2020 by the Stop Ecocide Foundation drafted a first legal definition of ecocide, which according to the group should be the fifth internationally recognized crime against the peace and security of humanity, alongside genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression.

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"By destroying the ecosystems on which we depend, we are destroying the foundations of our civilization and mortgaging the living conditions of all future generations," said Valerie Cabanes, one of the panelists. 

"This is no less serious than war crimes, crimes against humanity, or the crimes of genocide or aggression."

Under the draft, ecocide is defined as any "unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts."

If the crime of ecocide were to be added to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), it would allow for those who cause serious damage to the environment to be held responsible.

The concept of ecocide was first suggested by Sweden's premier Olof Palme in 1972, when he used the term at the UN environmental conference in Stockholm to describe the environmental damage caused by the Vietnam War.

In December 2019, the idea to make the destruction of nature an internationally recognized crime was once again suggested by the ambassador of Vanuatu, a small island state in the South Pacific, at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague.

Vanuatu is one of the places on the planet that is immediately threatened by the climate crisis, with sea levels rising to the point of challenging its existence.

Support for the recognition of environmental damage and abuses as international crimes has been increasing recently both in public opinion and in the agenda of political leaders, thanks to the growing global environmental movement and the involvement of activists such as Greta Thunberg and other high-level figures including Pope Francis and France's President Emmanuel Macron.

Although the law has been drafted, it needs a state to back it at the Hague. From there, at least half of ICC member states have to approve the draft before starting to ratify it and adopt it, a process that could take three to five years.

Experts believe recognition of ecocide by the ICC would be groundbreaking and able to shift moral opinion on the protection of the environment, together with influencing national policies towards valuing nature more and take better action to defend it.

_{Cover image: Mega Borg tanker oil spill in Texas, U.S. in 1990. /via VCG}