Chapter 1

THE LAW OF ECOCIDE

Ecocide is the extensive damage to, destruction of or loss of ecosystem(s) of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been severely diminished.

AT certain points in history the world changes gear. We abolished slavery, apartheid was outlawed and we criminalised genocide. Each time humanity reached a tipping point; no longer could we justify using blacks as slaves, destroy lives and allow others to determine the outcome of a man’s life. We get to a stage that we turn and face the truth, even when it is not a sight we wish to see, we give it a name and we say,‘no more’.

We are now at another point of acceleration; we are poised to move the gear stick up to the next level. We have our foot on the pedal and we are ready to go. But wait. To go to the next level we need new rules. Number one rule is set out below, others are contained within this book. Collectively they make for a safe journey into the unknown. Treat this book as your guide to take with you on your journey, to equip you with the language and the route map to the new world.

Ecocide is‘the extensive damage, destruction to or loss of ecosystems of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been severely diminished.’

The Law of Ecocide is a law which will change the world. The ramifications for business are huge and the lives of all who live on Earth. It will signal the beginning of business taking full responsibility. Humanity will celebrate the end of a polluting and destructive era. The earth will be given a chance to heal.

Ecocide comes in many forms and is either human-made or caused by catastrophic disaster. Human-made ecocide is corporate-driven activity such as deforestation, pollution dumping, mining. Natural ecocide includes tsunamis, floods, earthquakes, rises in sea-levels– in short any event which causes mass ecosystem collapse.

The Law of Ecocide imposes a superior obligation and a pre-emptive legal duty upon individuals who are in a position of superior responsibility within corporations, banks and governments to prohibit profit, investment and policy which causes or supports ecocide. The crime of ecocide criminalises damage, destruction or loss of ecosystems over a certain size, duration and impact. Make ecocide unlawful and a legal framework of nation-to-nation responsibility can be set up to finance humanitarian and environmental aid for ecocide-affected territories.

CRIME AGAINST PEACE

There are certain principles of universal validity and application that apply to humanity as a whole. They are the principles that underpin the prohibition of certain behaviour, for example apartheid and genocide. Such abuses arise out of value systems based on a lack of regard for human life and are now universally outlawed. The most serious of all have been declared Crimes Against Peace by the United Nations and they apply across the world, superseding all other laws. A value system based on a lack of regard for all life now needs to be universally outlawed as well. Kill our planet and we kill ourselves. Ecocide is death by a thousand cuts: each day the life-source which feeds and nourishes our human life is damaged and destroyed a little more. Restoration of territories which have been subjected to human ecocide is not being undertaken voluntarily and as a result conflict and resource wars are expected to escalate over time.

Creation of the Law of Ecocide will close the door to investment in high-risk ventures which give rise to ecocide. Decision-making will be determined on a value-driven basis premised on intrinsic values, not permit allocations. Protection of the interests of the wider Earth community will then become the over-riding consideration for business, driving innovation in a new direction.