The Batang Toru hydropower project could be the death knell for the Tapanuli orangutan, by flooding a key expanse of its habitat and, even more crucially, by slicing up its remaining forest home with new roads, powerlines, tunnels, and other built facilities.
Leading Scientists write to the President of Indonesia, 10 July 2018 Batang Toru, in North Sumatra, Indonesia, is a critical habitat for many endangered species, including Sumatran tigers, sun bears, agile gibbons, and pangolins. This rich and diverse ecosystem is threatened by the construction of a hydroelectric dam project, which, if completed, would have irreversible social and environmental impacts across the North Sumatran region. It is also well known as the only habitat so far found of the Tapanuli orangutan, only identified as a distinct species in 2017. Fewer than 800 Tapanuli orangutans currently remain – making them the most endangered great apes in the world. It is not an exaggeration to say that this project could lead directly to their extinction. About 38,000 people are estimated to live in the region, and many depend upon the Batang Toru river for their livelihoods. The Batang Toru dam would radically alter water flow, with significant impacts for local communities. Communities downstream of the dam, which normally experience drought and flood cycles a few times a year, would be affected on a daily basis. The dam’s construction has already cost the lives of 18 construction workers and local people, following a series of landslides and tunnel collapses. To make matters even worse, the project site sits adjacent to the Great Sumatran Fault and is an earthquake hotspot, leading to growing fears of a major earthquake in the future. A Riverscope case study of the project found “labour rights infringements and threats to employee safety”, as well as conflict between workers and local people. Local communities and indigenous groups dispute the state’s acquisition of land for the project. There has also been increased human-orangutan conflict between local people and the Tapanuli orangutan population as a result of construction, which has pushed apes out of their habitat and towards farms and homes on the edge of the forest. A Case of Ecocide "unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts" The Independent Expert Panel for the Legal Definition of Ecocide The long term impacts of this project, particularly on the future of the Tapanuli orangutan, mean a strong case could be made that it constitutes an instance of ecocide, in line with the definition cited by Monica Lennon MSP in her Bill consultation. It may differ in scale from examples typically understood as ecocide in the literature, such as the use of Agent Orange as a defoliant in Vietnam war, seen as the birth of the term ecocide itself, or, widespread deforestation by the palm oil industry in Indonesia and Guatemala. However, the richness of this ecosystem, and its value for the people and species that live there, means it would be hard to argue that the damage would not count as be ‘severe’, ‘widespread’ and ‘long-term’ - causing serious changes to the environment in a way that will be irreversible. We face the prospect of a development, following mining projects nearby, functionally destroying an entire species and endangering the lives and the culture of all who live there. This particular act of destruction cannot even be legitimised by its role in a renewable energy transition. Economic analysis from 2020 has demonstrated that the dam is no longer needed to provide electricity for the region (which is oversupplied), and that the price for generation - as a peaking power plant - will be higher than the market price. It is estimated that by the projected completion date of the dam project, solar power - which could readily be extended in the region - will be 46% cheaper than hydropower. It is important to understand this case in the context of wider extractive and exploitative industry, in Indonesia and in the global south more widely. Cases of land grabs and environmental destruction, often of indigenous peoples homes, for critical minerals needed for electric car batteries, for example, are on the rise globally, under the pretence that they have any part to play in a genuinely just transition to cleaner energy sources. The ecocide law currently being proposed for Scotland could be instrumental in preventing companies that commit such crimes from profiting from the transition to renewable energy at the expense of ecosystems elsewhere and the communities which rely on them. A Case for Scotland But why would a law in Scotland help? This case is an instructive example, and the key factor is the intensely globalised and interconnected economic system within which projects of this sort are proposed and developed. The Batang Toru dam is being developed by Beijing-based SDIC Power, owners of Red Rock Power, based in Edinburgh. Red Rock Power own and operate major wind farms across Scotland, including the substantial Beatrice and Inch Cape offshore projects. Following the trail of profits from Scottish renewable wealth to a project mired in controversy - potential ecocide and human rights abuses - risks undermining Scotland’s just transition as well as this country’s position as a global leader on the protection of biodiversity, not least through the 2020 Edinburgh Declaration. Global actors that commit ecocide must not be able to hide behind corporate ownership structures while profiting from both the cause of the climate crisis and the energy transition solutions. Campaigners in Indonesia report a pattern of intimidation against those who challenge this project in Indonesia, including the death of WALHI lawyer Golfrid Siregar under suspicious circumstances in 2019. In 2023, a public discussion on the dam was violently disrupted, prompting condemnation by free speech and press rights groups. They need our support, and, in this case, Scotland has a clear opportunity to act. It is therefore vital that we are able to fight this project in Scotland, to prevent all companies operating here from profiting from ecocide, environmental destruction and human rights abuse. Bringing ecocide into Scottish law would provide a mechanism to ensure these wilfully irresponsible companies cannot profit from participation in Scotland’s transition, and could yet become a central pillar in our wider defence of the environment and resistance to both climate change and biodiversity loss.
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Dr Suwita Hani Randhawa is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of the West of England in Bristol, UK. She is currently undertaking a research project on ecocide – "The Criminalization of Ecocide: A Novel Response to the Climate Emergency? – as part of a Vice-Chancellor's Early Career Research Fellowship.
In the aftermath of the end of the Second World War, four acts were recognized by the international community as ‘international crimes’: genocide, crimes against humanity, aggression and war crimes. Widely regarded as ‘unimaginable atrocities that deeply shock the conscience of humanity’, the perpetrators of these acts can be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), which was established in 2002 and now constitutes the primary global body responsible for bringing the perpetrators of international crimes to justice. Since 1945, no further acts have been recognized as international crimes but unprecedented developments currently underway indicate that this may soon change. Against the background of a global climate/ecological emergency, a worldwide campaign has been calling for the recognition of a fifth international crime. Spearheaded by Stop Ecocide International, this campaign is pushing for the mass damage and destruction of the natural environment to be criminalized as a distinct crime of ecocide under international law. This campaign sees ecocide’s recognition as an international crime as a necessary precondition for securing meaningful climate and ecological justice. Crucially, it would make it possible for the International Criminal Court to prosecute those responsible for committing acts of ecocide, such as oil spills, deforestation and radioactive contamination. This ongoing campaign to recognize ecocide as an international crime differs from historical efforts of international criminalization in the past in two central ways. Firstly, international conversation on a proposed international crime of ecocide has been driven by global social activism. Since its establishment in 2017, Stop Ecocide International has expanded to national branches in over 30 countries and it collaborates with a fast-expanding global network of politicians, lawyers, corporate leaders, NGOs, indigenous and faith groups, influencers, and academic experts. Amongst some of its key achievements thus far include the formulation of a legal definition of ecocide, drafted by an Independent Expert Panel that it convened, and which is presently the subject of international discussions. Stop Ecocide International maintains a regular and strong presence at high-profile international diplomatic conferences, including UN Climate Change Conferences, where it hosts official side events on ecocide. At COP28, taking place this year in Dubai between 30 November and 12 December, Stop Ecocide International has put together an exciting programme of events to profile the need for greater international action on ecocide. It has also employed novel and creative ways to mobilize international awareness on ecocide, particularly through art, music, and social media campaigns. Secondly, far from being a topic of global dialogue, ecocide is simultaneously the subject of increasing national political discussions and legislative action. In November 2023, the European Union became the first international body to criminalise wide-scale environmental damage by including acts comparable to ecocide within its revised crime directive. And although only 13 countries currently recognize a domestic crime of ecocide, national bills or proposals on ecocide are presently being discussed in over 10 national parliaments. In the UK, Camden become the first local council to pass a motion calling for ecocide to be recognized as an international crime – and following Monica Lennon’s (MSP for Central Scotland) proposals to introduce a law on ecocide before the Scottish Parliament, Scotland may soon be the first UK nation to recognize the crime of ecocide. These developments stand in sharp contrast to the story behind genocide’s recognition as an international crime at the end of the Second World War. In this case, it was principally diplomats within the United Nations who pushed for genocide to be made into an international crime. As this process took place behind closed doors, civil society actors had very little say in the drafting of genocide’s legal definition or the Genocide Convention, the international treaty dedicated to the prevention and punishment of this international crime. Furthermore, national laws on genocide were only introduced in individual countries after the adoption of the Genocide Convention in 1948. In contrast, we are seeing national laws on ecocide being progressively introduced well before agreement on an international law on ecocide. What we are witnessing with ecocide, therefore, is not only an altogether unique and different path towards becoming an international crime but crucially, one that stands out for being the only instance of international criminalization since 1945. As ecocide’s unfolding story as an emerging international crime demonstrates, it is not simply international diplomats who hold the power to create international crimes. Rather, there are unique ways in which a diverse range of actors, including individuals, can contribute towards ecocide’s recognition as a 21st century international crime. The public consultation on the proposed Ecocide (Prevention) (Scotland) Bill is underway.
This milestone takes us a step closer to making ecocide a crime in Scotland. Environmental destruction puts everyone at risk. Time is running out to tackle the climate and nature crisis, and without ecocide law it will be an uphill battle. Those who commit wanton acts in the knowledge there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts, currently do not fear the law. Even when legal action is pursued, the number of prosecutions and convictions for crimes against wildlife and the environment is low, calling into question whether the current regulatory approach is robust enough. The campaign so far In the months leading up to COP26 hosted in Glasgow, I became increasingly inspired by the global movement to criminalise ecocide, led by Stop Ecocide International. Campaigning for ecocide law was the life’s work of Scottish barrister and environmental activist Polly Higgins, who died in 2019. Polly, a co-founder of Stop Ecocide International, understood that to protect nature, we need to change the rules. A motion that I lodged in the Scottish Parliament in 2021 paid tribute to Polly and coincided with the publication of the legal definition of ecocide by an independent expert panel gained cross party support. The campaign has support from organisations and people around Scotland, including the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland. Protecting Scotland’s Environment The proposal would protect the environment in Scotland by creating a crime of ecocide in Scots law aimed at preventing and prosecuting the most extreme forms of environmental destruction. The four primary aims of the proposed Ecocide (Prevention) (Scotland) Bill are 1) Make harming the environment a serious offence 2) Set clear rules for everyone to follow 3) Prevent harm before it happens 4) Align with European and International environmental developments The current rules for protecting the environment in Scotland are spread out and unclear. Building on the work of the Stop Ecocide Foundation’s Independent Expert Legal Panel, a new law would set a clear and long-term framework with ecocide defined as “unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the Scottish environment being caused by those acts”. This law will make it the responsibility of anyone with high-level decision-making power in industry or government to make sure their actions do not result in severe harm to nature. The intent is not solely to punish or get even. We must stop ecocide from ever happening. By using tough sanctions, we can deter serious environmental harm and achieve the system change needed to address the climate and nature crisis. Ecocide laws around the world There is a clear and growing trend towards the adoption of ecocide laws around the world. A dozen countries around the world already have laws criminalising ecocide, including France, Ukraine and Vietnam. The European Union recently decided to criminalise severe environmental harms “comparable to ecocide”. This decision represents a significant victory for anti-ecocide campaigners and for the planet. The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 was introduced by the Scottish Government and passed with the stated intention of ensuring that environmental standards remain aligned with the EU. By backing ecocide law, Scotland can keep pace with EU and international environmental law. The Continuity Act does not allow for the creation of criminal offences so separate legislation is needed. By passing my proposed bill, Scotland can play our part in the global effort to stop ecocide. We can choose to be bystanders, or we can choose to be Earth protectors. I believe that an ecocide law is a necessary guardrail for our fragile planet, and that the time has come for Scotland’s environmental criminal law to be updated. Have your say before 9 February 2024. Please respond to the consultation and share your views here https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/EcocidePrevention/. Please also encourage your friends and family to respond. You can also write to your local representatives via https://www.writetothem.com/ and ask that they support ecocide law in Scotland. A template response in support of the consultation’s aims is available here. https://www.ecocidelaw.scot/have-your-say.html Together we can change the law, save nature and stop ecocide. Thank you for your support. Over the summer months, there has been growing public, political and media interest in how ecocide law could be introduced in Scotland, and its potential to address climate crisis and nature loss. This blog post provides a recap of some of the global and Scottish developments that are building momentum for ecocide law. June 2023 Brazil became the first country in the Americas to introduce a proposed ecocide law. The opposition party PSOL tabled a bill in the national legislative chamber. You can read more about it here I lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament to recognise this development. The motion is available at this link July 2023 In Europe, Belgium edged closer to implementing an ecocide law. The Belgian Council of Ministers approved the second reading of a draft bill that reforms the Belgian penal code to include a crime of ecocide. You can read more about it here The Netherlands saw the introduction of a proposal to criminalise ecocide from Member of Parliament Lammert van Raan. This proposal was subject to four weeks of public consultation prior to being submitted for advisory opinion to the Council of State. The bill needs the approval of the Dutch Parliament before it can become law. You can read more about it here Catalonia made progress towards an ecocide law. The Catalan Parliament initiated a procedure to bring before the National Congress of Deputies a bill to include the crime of ecocide in the Spanish Penal Code. This process may take several months before it is brought to a final vote in Parliament. You can read more about it here August 2023 In Mexico, Congresswoman Karina Marlen Barrón Perales, submitted a bill to the Mexican congress seeking to criminalise ecocide and punish perpetrators with up to 15 years in jail. You can read more about it here September 2023 Filiberto Zaratti, Member of the Chamber of Deputies, submitted a bill aimed at preventing and criminalising ecocide to the Italian Parliament. The proposed bill is directly based on the wording of the legal definition of ecocide adopted by the Stop Ecocide Foundation’s Independent Expert Panel. It was formally submitted to parliament, with debate and votes expected in the months ahead. You can read more about it here Momentum in Scotland Over summer months, there has been growing support for ecocide law in Scotland. The campaign has attracted interest from journalists and political commentators, helping to build public and political support. In July, the Scotsman published a comment piece from me on the need to criminalise ecocide in Scotland. In August, the campaign made the front page of one of Scotland’s biggest selling daily newspapers. The Daily Record interviewed Stop Ecocide International Co-founder Jojo Metha, highlighting Scotland’s important role in the campaign as the home of her friend and fellow co-founder, the late Polly Higgins. You can read more about it here
The Daily Record also published an editorial article endorsing my proposed members’ bill to criminalise ecocide. You can read more about it here Another milestone in the campaign was the Scottish Green Party indicating its support for my proposal for an ecocide law in Scotland. You can read more about it here Ahead of Make Polluters Pay Day on 23 September, I submitted a parliamentary motion marking the day and calling for the Loss and Damage Fund to adhere to the polluter pays principle. The motion highlights the links to the stop ecocide campaign. You can find a link to this motion here Following an announcement by the UK government regulator to grant a license to Rosebank oilfield, I submitted a parliamentary motion calling for the reversal of this decision. The motion references ecocide. You can find a link to this motion here In celebration of local campaigners, I submitted two parliamentary motions celebrating Young Eco Heroes in Central Scotland. Seven-year-old Caylie McKenzie from Kilsyth May 2023 and the eco-committee of St. Patrick's Primary & Nursery Coatbridge. You can find the links to these motions here and here Engaging with children and young people as part of the Stop Ecocide campaign has been a priority for me. I enjoyed my tour of schools in Central Scotland to talk to children about the campaign to stop ecocide and find out their thoughts on how to protect our planet. It has been over two years since I first proposed the idea of an ecocide law in Scotland. I am thrilled that the international campaign is moving forward in so many countries. I look forward to launching my consultation on the members’ bill proposal soon and to strengthening Scotland’s laws to protect our planet and stop ecocide once and for all. Get Involved Please share these stories on social media and rally your friends and family to join the cause as Earth Protectors by signing up here Keep updated with my members’ bill here, you can sign up for updates here Write to your local MSPs to indicate your support for my members’ bill and ask them to sign up to my website; they too should sign up to be an earth protector and join the campaign to stop ecocide in Scotland. You can find your local representatives here Last month was another momentous milestone in the international campaign to criminalise ecocide. On Tuesday 28 March, the Legal Affairs Committee of the European Parliament unanimously recommended that the European Union should criminalise ecocide in a revised directive on the protection of the environment. This comes after four other committees made the same recommendation, signifying the growing momentum in Europe for an ecocide law Several European countries already have ecocide laws, including France, Belgium and Ukraine. With our European partners moving towards ending ecocide, it is imperative that Scotland’s environmental legislation keeps pace with the international environment. In 2021, the Scottish Parliament passed the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021, with the explicit aim of maintaining existing EU environmental standards after Brexit. Whilst the Act makes no legal requirement for Scotland to keep pace with EU law, the intention behind it was clear and Scottish Ministers explicitly stated that the goal of this legislation was to keep EU environmental standards in Scots law. We have a legal, political, and moral obligation to move forward and criminalise ecocide in Scotland. Before Nicola Sturgeon resigned as First Minister, I asked her if she supported the moves taken towards criminalising ecocide at an EU level. You can see the positive response from the former First Minister, supporting the law in principle here. https://www.ecocidelaw.scot/blog/monica-lennon-asks-the-first-minister-if-she-supports-criminalising-ecocide-in-scotland Following the election of a new First Minister in Scotland, I have submitted a written question to the Scottish Government, asking what it intends to do in response to the latest EU developments. Meanwhile, I will continue my work in campaigning for an ecocide law in Scotland and fight to protect our planet. We cannot delay. We need to stop ecocide everywhere, now. To get involved, sign up at https://www.ecocidelaw.scot/ There has been another momentous decision in the campaign to Stop Ecocide. The European Union’s Parliamentary Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted to back the inclusion of a crime of ecocide in the EU’s Directive on protection of the environment through criminal law, which is currently under review. This makes LIBE the fourth committee out of five tasked to review the EU’s directive to back the inclusion of criminalising Ecocide, following on from the earlier support of the Committees on Environment, Health and Food Safety, Development and Petitions (“PETI”) This decision is yet another win for Stop Ecocide International’s (SEI) campaign to criminalise Ecocide. The definition of ecocide approved by SEI’s Independent Expert Panel in summer 2021, was endorsed, along with recommended sanctions of 10 years in prison for natural persons and monetary penalties of 12 to 23% of turnover for legal persons (i.e. companies). The next step for Ecocide at the EU level is the Legal Affairs Committee (“JURI”). This fifth and final review of the Directive will hopefully recommend the inclusion of Ecocide. After this, the Directive will go forward to consideration by the full EU Parliament before final discussions with the EU Commission and Council of Ministers. The vote in the JURI committee is currently anticipated to take place on the 28th February 2023. As the campaign to criminalise Ecocide at the EU level accelerates, I will continue to pursue similar action in the Scottish Parliament. Given our legal commitment to maintain alignment with Europe, the EU moving towards criminalising ecocide has massive implications for Scotland. The time for a new law to protect the earth is now. We need to protect our planet; we need an ecocide law for Scotland. To raise awareness of ecocide laws in Scotland, you can write to your MSP today or become an earth protector. To learn more about the campaign please contact me at monica.lennon.msp@parliament.scot Zoe Bicat, an equine owner from Oxfordshire and her pack-mule Falco set off in May 2022 on their walk around the earth in the name of ecocide. The walk, from Oxford to Loch Lomond took three months in total, finishing just last week on the 6th of October.
Zoe and her mule have spent the 400-mile walk meeting other campaigners, engaging on the issue of ecocide and raising a staggering £12,000 for the cause. Finishing in Loch Lomond was sentimental to Zoe, as it is the home of the founder of Stop Ecocide, Polly Higgins QC. Polly Higgins was a Scottish barrister and environmental lobbyist who paved the way for the green movement and has inspired many others, such as Zoe, to take action. Polly Higgins sadly died from lung cancer in 2019, but her determination to hold the government to environmental account lives on through the Stop Ecocide movement. Zoe’s aim for the walk was to raise awareness about ecocide law but also to bring people together and connect to the land. She invited anyone who works with textiles to contribute to creating a collaborative textile piece using only natural yarns and dyes to be given to Vanuatu’s Ambassador, the most climate-vulnerable island. On Ecocide, Zoe said that “this law would protect ecosystems anywhere in the world from large-scale damage or destruction. It would be a steer for business, industry and government funding away from what destroys the living world, and towards what restores and protects it”. To raise awareness of ecocide laws in Scotland, you can write to your MSP today or become an earth protector You can see Zoe and Falco’s full route here: Walk for Earth Route Map | Walk for Earth |
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