I am writing my PhD about the endeavour to criminalise ‘ecocide’ in international criminal law. Although the term ‘ecocide’ is dynamic and difficult to define, it is increasingly associated with environmental harm. Indeed, it has now gained significant traction in environmental activist circles, and it is often mobilised for political purposes to describe the impacts of climate change. Simultaneously, many high-profile lawyers are making the case for ecocide to be considered a crime of international concern.

Grounded in fieldwork in Vanuatu, my research considers the historical and socio-political processes that shape how the concept of ‘ecocide’ is being advanced; why certain actors find ‘ecocide’ useful (or not) in confronting existential environmental harm; and how ideas of ‘ecocide’ might be refined in the light of differing local perspectives on environmental harm.

Legal Geography, Legal Pluralism, Climate Change