The Death of Nature Is the Death of Humanity
India, one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, is facing a slow-moving but devastating crisis. Rivers are dying, forests are shrinking, and air is growing more toxic each day. This is not just environmental decay—it’s ecocide, the large-scale destruction of ecosystems that sustains life itself. With climate change intensifying and environmental crimes often going unpunished, legal scholars, activists, and citizens are increasingly calling for India to criminalise ecocide to prevent irreversible ecological collapse.
What Is Ecocide?
Coined in the 1970s and popularised in recent years by legal thinkers like Polly Higgins, ecocide refers to acts that cause severe and lasting damage to the environment. It includes:
Unlike environmental regulations, criminalising ecocide would elevate environmental destruction to a crime comparable to genocide and war crimes, placing moral and legal responsibility on perpetrators—be they corporations or governments.
India’s Ecological Emergency
India is currently grappling with:
Air pollution that causes 1.6 million premature deaths annually (Lancet, 2020)
Rivers like Yamuna and Ganga facing toxic foam, untreated sewage, and industrial effluents
Forest loss, especially in biodiversity hotspots like the Western Ghats and Northeast India
Wetlands destruction, reducing natural flood buffers
Rising temperatures and erratic monsoons, impacting agriculture and livelihoods
Despite these indicators of ecological distress, enforcement of environmental laws in India remains weak, fragmented, and heavily influenced by corporate and political interests.
The Legal Gap: Why Existing Laws Aren’t Enough
India has numerous environmental laws—the Environment Protection Act, Forest Conservation Act, Wildlife Protection Act, and the Air and Water Acts. However, most of these:
Treat violations as civil offences or attract minor fines
Allow project clearances with token environmental impact assessments (EIAs)
Lack criminal liability for irreversible ecosystem damage
This legal leniency has allowed repeated offenses, like industrial spills or illegal mining, to continue with impunity. Criminalising ecocide would close this gap by making it legally possible to hold corporations and state actors accountable for destroying life-sustaining systems.
Global Momentum: What the World Is Doing
Countries and organisations are increasingly supporting the idea of ecocide as an international crime:
The Republic of Vanuatu and Maldives proposed the inclusion of ecocide in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC)
France introduced an "ecocide" law in 2021 for polluters
European Parliament is discussing including ecocide in its Environmental Crime Directive
Stop Ecocide Foundation has drafted a legal definition to support global efforts
India, with its rich biodiversity and vulnerable climate zones, has every reason to lead, not lag, in this global movement.
Why Criminalising Ecocide Matters for India
Protects Vulnerable Communities: Tribals and rural communities rely directly on forests, rivers, and soil. Ecocide disproportionately affects them.
Prevents Repeat Offenders: Criminal liability would deter corporations from flouting laws for profit.
Supports Climate Goals: India’s Net Zero commitments need robust legal backbones.
Elevates Nature’s Rights: It shifts legal focus from human-centric to eco-centric justice.
Fulfills Constitutional Duties: Article 48A and Article 51A(g) urge protection of the environment as both a state and citizen duty.
What Criminalising Ecocide Might Look Like in India
To integrate ecocide into India’s legal system:
Amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC) or introduce a separate Ecocide Act
Create ecocide-specific investigative bodies and prosecutors
Impose stronger penalties, including imprisonment and corporate sanctions
Ensure independent ecological assessments, not EIA consultants hired by corporations
The Risks of Inaction
If India continues its current trajectory:
Food and water security will worsen
Urban flooding and heatwaves will rise
Biodiversity loss will reach irreversible levels
Public health crises will deepen
Ecocide is not just an environmental issue—it is a human survival issue.
Conclusion: Time for a Legal Revolution
The planet is not a resource bank for endless withdrawal. India, facing the dual pressures of development and climate change, must take a bold step forward. Criminalising ecocide is more than a law; it’s a moral and civilisational necessity to preserve the ecosystems that preserve us. Without protecting nature, we end up losing the very foundation of our existence.
By making ecocide a crime, India would be telling the world: the death of nature will no longer go unpunished.
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