Ecocide: In 2008, 3000 corporations caused $2.2Trillion of biodiversity ecocide
Ecocide is defined as the mass “damage, destruction to or loss of ecosystems of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been severely diminished”. Territory includes not only land, water and air, but also communities. In 2008, a staggering 3,000 corporations caused US$2.2 trillion of biodiversity ecocide; the figure for the following year is a rumoured doubling to US$4 trillion. 2010 was the International Year of Biodiversity, and yet the continued destruction of our ecosystems is expected to be exponentially higher: “Our ecosystems are at the tipping point,” says the United Nations; world systems are at risk of “rapid degeneration and collapse”. We need to implement the crime of ecocide to halt the march of the destruction of our ecosystems and impose upon governments a legal duty of care to assist those suffering or at risk of ecocide.
Polly Higgens, "What Will Your Legacy Be?" Resurgence and Ecologist, Jan/Feb 2012, http://www.resurgence.org/magazine/article3554-what-will-your-legacy-be.... [verified 4/17/14]