Major step in criminalization ecocide!
February 12th 2025 marked a big step forward in the global fight against the large-scale destruction of nature, also known as ecocide. On this day, two initiatives dedicated to criminalizing ecocide at the national and international levels were launched in The Hague: the Ecocide Law Advisory and the Manual on the National Criminalisation of Ecocide. Criminalizing ecocide is more important than ever now that our natural environment is being destructed at large scales. While several countries already have or are considering criminalizing ecocide, this process remains challenging. Therefore, these two new initiatives provide essential guidance for any party interested in advancing the fight against ecocide.
The Ecocide Law Advisory (ELA) is a partnership between the UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe and the Climate Council that provides judicial advice and training on the design and implementation of ecocide laws.
Lammert van Raan
The Manual on the National Criminalisation of Ecocide, was initiated and chaired by Dutch Party for the Animals former MP Lammert van Raan. This manual provides lawmakers with guidance on how to implement the EU’s Environmental Crime Directive (ECD) in order to provide a stronger protection of the environment. The ECD obliges Member States to adopt environmental criminal laws within the next two years, including an offence against ‘ecocide-like’ cases. The Manual is the product of an international working group of legal experts which met during the autumn and winter of 2024-2025.
The launch in The Hague featured an outstanding panel featuring various experts and lawmakers involved in the fight against ecocide. Among others, Richard J. Rogers and Kate Mackintosh – co-founders of the ELA – shared insights into the initiative’s role in shaping environmental laws, while Lisette van der Linde (De Roos Lawyers) and Public Prosecutor Ingeborg Koopmans explained how the Manual and the ECD can help strengthen environmental protection. The recoding of the launch can be accessed here. The Manual can be downloaded here.
Together, the launch of these initiatives forms a crucial step forward in the legal fight against environmental harm. As the pace of ecocide increases, so must our efforts to prevent and penalize these crimes!