The West Asia crisis is being principally looked at from the angle of economic and energy challenges. There is though an equally serious consequence of this conflict that is being ignored — its ecological impact on the region. War’s devastation of the environment — ‘ecocide’ — has a long and worrying history. Ecocide was previously mentioned at the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in 1972 to refer to the massive, long-term environmental devastation that was witnessed during the Vietnam war. The term’s acceptance widened as conflicts continued to degrade environments. Russia, Ukraine, Chile, France and Belgium have incorporated ecocide (or its equivalent) into their laws; India continues to be an exception. There have also been heartening attempts at conceptual clarifications: in 2021, a specialist group formed by the non-profit, Stop Ecocide International, drafted a formal definition that described ecocide as wilful, unlawful or wanton acts that lead to a substantial likelihood of severe, widespread or long-term damage to the environment.
But the international legal position on ecocide is not foolproof. For instance, ecocide lacks universal recognition as an independent crime: both the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions are found wanting in this aspect while the Environmental Modification Convention only prohibits deliberate manipulation of natural processes. There is now an urgency to address this legal lacuna given the spate of ecological crimes that have accompanied the widening theatres of conflict. A recent Lebanese report accused Israel of reshaping the country’s physical and ecological landscape during an attack. Similarly, Iran’s foreign minister stated that the bombing of fuel depots in Tehran, which caused toxic black rain, violated international law. Strengthening the legal architecture of ecocide would involve leveraging existing frameworks like the Council of Europe’s 2025 convention, which provides a legally binding treaty to criminalise environmental destruction. Furthermore, a State party can amend the Rome Statute to establish ecocide as a distinct international crime; this would require a two-thirds majority at the Assembly of States Parties and, crucially, enhanced enforcement beyond mere moral force. The tardy conviction rate on the basis of existing legal instruments is another challenge. A global conversation on ecocide and legal gaps is the order of the day.