Date of publication: May 2024
The concept of ecocide is gaining traction globally, with several countries, including Member States of the European Union, adopting or considering legislation. The EU is moving towards greater environmental corporate responsibility by revising its Environmental Crime Directive (2008/99/EC) directive to include “offences comparable to ecocide”. Both jurisdictions on the island of Ireland have environmental laws, but neither effectively criminalise severe environmental destruction comparable to ecocide. Cross-border cooperation to establish a common legal framework is necessary to criminalise and prevent ecocide on the island of Ireland in accordance with the principles of the Good Friday Agreement. The criminalisation of ecocide in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland may need to be accompanied by other policy instruments or governance reform to protect the well-being of ecosystems and local communities. This will require enhanced implementation of existing regulatory instruments, but also new initiatives such as legislation recognising the rights of nature, inter-agency cooperation, enhanced crossborder/ all-island cooperation and more robust public participation in environmental decision-making. The worst-ever contamination of Lough Neagh, the largest waterbody on the island of Ireland, should be considered an ‘all-island ecocide’ due to its ecological importance on the island of Ireland (and indeed internationally) and the extent of the pollution and destructive practices such as sand mining, habitat destruction, water pollution and waste dumping which have caused catastrophic degradation.
