In this era of war, the imprint of conflicts on the environment continues to deepen. Citing a report compiled by the Initiative of Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War and another philanthropic entity, an official of the Ukrainian government has pointed fingers at Russia for inflicting at least 11,000 instances of environmental damage in that besieged country. The methodological challenges of such an enumeration are numerous. But they cannot deflect attention from the fact that four years of the war have led to the generation of an estimated 311 million tonnes of additional GHGs. This is the largest record of environmental losses in modern Europe’s history. Worse, Ukraine is not the only sufferer; there is concern regarding transborder adverse effects, with marginalised communities suffering disproportionately.
War’s depredation on the environment — indeed its weaponisation of ecology — is, however, not new. Numerous other nations have dipped their hands in similar blood. The United States of America’s defoliation of Vietnam’s forests is one of the earliest examples of such perversity. Israel, following its master’s voice, has been accused of perpetrating ecocide against Palestine. A world battling an existential crisis in the form of climate change does not have the wherewithal to be accommodating of such transgressions on the environment. Yet, international law continues to look away. Ecocide is not expressly banned or defined under the framework of international law. Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Rome Statute has proved to be inadequate in this regard. Little wonder then that the International Criminal Court is yet to prosecute any nation under this particular provision. Only a handful of nations recognise war’s predations on the environment: ironically, Russia, accused of being a culprit of such a crime, is among these countries. Some legal and diplomatic momentum has been achieved in recent times with reports suggesting close to 30 nations are considering recognition for ecocide. Yet, as Russia’s actions in Ukraine have shown — has there been any attempt to document the ecological damages from the recent West Asia crisis? — very few aggressors are willing to honour the stipulations. This is, in fact, one more manifestation of the erosion of the rules-based order wherein the rules do not apply or are applied selectively, creating a dangerous chasm that shows no signs of getting filled.