Blue Planet, Green Ideas | Is destroying an ecosystem soon a crime against humanity?

Once ecocide is adopted, it has the potential to imprison those responsible for mass destruction of forests or wetlands, illegal fishing of bluefin tuna, oil spills, water pollution with chlordecone, illegal export of waste to African countries, and agro-industrial pollution. Or carbon market fraud.

Talks of European countries around Ecocide are not new. They began 50 years ago when the US military used Agent Orange, a powerful herbicide, to destroy the forest canopy used as cover by the Vietnamese military. Today, an international coalition of parliamentarians is campaigning against the environment to bring people or nations to trial before the Supreme Court.

Ecocide is defined as “an act that causes serious and widespread or lasting or irreversible damage to the environment”.

In Canada, the concept of ecocide is not on the table of federal elected officials. Not for now, at least. Major environmental crimes are punishable by different fines, prohibitions, strict rules. There is also the famous carbon tax. and laws for each province.

River protection

In the spring of 2022, New Democratic Party (NDP) MNA Alexandre Boulerice introduced a bill in Parliament to protect the St. Lawrence River as a system in its own right.

In the interview Pres, MP, recalled defending the legal status of our river waters last year in front of the United Nations together with the International Watch for the Rights of Nature. He believes that strengthening the laws is necessary to remove “holes and loopholes”.

“The idea is to find new angles to protect our ecosystems, because currently, there is nothing if we destroy ecosystems, whole areas of animals, or destroy habitats,” Mr. Bouleris underlines.

Wetlands at risk

In Quebec, a report released by Sustainable Development Commissioner Janic Lambert at the end of April warned that wetlands and aquifers are at risk. The Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) said there were “significant deficiencies” in their management.

Citizens fear that one of these wetlands is threatened by plans to expand a hazardous waste site. It is located north of Montreal. This is the great Plainville Beat Bog.

Sundew Intermediate, Sunday rotundifolia And Sarracenia purpurea : These are the names of rare carnivorous plants found there. An oasis with an area of ​​3.6 km² A habitat for moose. Green snakes.

During a walk in the heart of a peat bog, Matthew Bryan, founding ecologist of the Carnivorex organization, explains that peat bogs are the “kidneys of the planet”. According to the Canadian Wildlife Federation, they make up 14% of Canada’s land area. But here it is surrounded by discarded tires, rusting barrels, and we even found a toilet bowl.

“In short, a peat bog is an old lake that stores carbon and acts as a filter. At first glance, it is not majestic, but peatlands are connected, which are necessary for the balance of our ecosystems. Here, we lose the opportunity to turn it into an eco-tourism destination. »

Member of the Quebec Center for Environmental Law (CQDE) Mr.^e Anne-Julie Asselin believes that scientifically, debates are ripe for expanding “responsibility” in environmental matters.

“In the case of ecology, the Rome Statute should be amended to include serious damage to the environment. Taking the example of Viet Nam, the question to be asked is whether there was intent to destroy vegetation. There are still many questions to be clarified. But it is clear that human survival depends on the stability of ecosystems. »

President of the Quebec Association of Doctors for the Environment D^D Claudel Pétrin-Desrosiers added that ecocide can act as a lever to identify the health impact of water, air and soil pollution. “We often react to chronic exposure. It’s unfortunate, but Canadian Environmental Protection Act Not opened for twenty years. »