Ecocide – Three Case Studies

Critical Conversations on Human Rights: The Promise Institute Podcast

How would a crime of ecocide work in practice, and what would it contribute to the struggle against climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation?

In this episode, our three guests speak with the Promise Institute's Kate Mackintosh to consider the difference an international crime of ecocide would make to the practice of bauxite mining in Jamaica; deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, and global wildlife crime.

Paulo Busse is a Brazilian criminal, environmental and human rights lawyer with over 20 years’ experience advising and representing human rights and environmental organizations. In collaboration with other lawyers, he has spearheaded a number of cutting-edge legal actions to protect the environment in Brazilian courts and advised on national ecocide laws.

Tameka Samuels-Jones is an Assistant Professor at York University and the Associate Director of York University’s Centre for Research on Latin America & the Caribbean. Her research interests include environmental crime, Indigenous law in the Caribbean and regulatory law and emphasizes inclusivity in the development of environmental policies and laws particularly in countries in the Global South. 

Olivia Swaak-Goldman is the Executive Director of the Wildlife Justice Commission. She has almost three decades of experience in international justice and diplomacy, including as Head of the International Relations Task Force of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Senior Legal Advisor at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legal Advisor at the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal, and Legal Assistant at the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. 

This podcast is one in a series of conversations with authors of the 15 short papers in our online symposium: The Crime of Ecocide – New Perspectives, which you can find on www.ecocidelaw.com/symposium. The site also hosts a regularly updated annotated bibliography, which lists and summarizes publications on ecocide, as well as information on proposed definitions and legal developments around the world.