24. Guardians of the Earth: The Rise of Ecocide Law

Written By alexa firmenich

“At that time, Ecocide was such a fringe, radical idea. Very few people thought that this would become reality. For some people it was a joke, for other people, a utopian dream. And this has changed so fast.”

- Pella Thiel

 

SYNOPSIS:

Could the destruction of nature become considered as serious a crime as that of genocide? How does the structure of law shape a civilisation’s norms, behaviors and overarching story?

Today we’ll be discussing international Ecocide law, a massively growing movement that wants to embed the notion of ‘ecocide’ crime at the highest levels of law — at the International Criminal Court in The Hague — and create a powerful deterrent for the further damage to ecosystems and people globally.

Our guest is Pella Thiel, a maverick ecologist, farmer, author and who has co-founded the Swedish hubs of international networks like Transition Sweden,  End Ecocide Sweden and is an associate of the Centre for Environment and Development Studies at Uppsala University. Pella was awarded the Swedish Martin Luther King Award in 2023 and the Environmental Hero of the year 2019. We discuss: 

  • Why ecocide law is different & a game changer as compared with other environmental laws;

  • How it can help create a new moral baseline, shifting global values and mindsets;

  • Where the tensions or synergies might lie between the Rights of Nature and Ecocide law;

  • The notion of positive tipping points;

  • And how an Embassy of the Baltic Sea might play out as a practice center for ecological community building.

 
 

GUEST BIO:

Pella is a maverick ecologist, farmer, author and educator. She works with relational, systemic leadership for a society in harmony with nature at all levels, from local resilience to international legal frameworks.

She is a knowledge expert in the UN Harmony with Nature programme and has co-founded Swedish hubs of international networks like Transition Sweden, (part of Transition Network), End Ecocide Sweden (part of Stop Ecocide International) and Save the Rainforest Sweden.

Pella was awarded the Swedish Martin Luther King Award in 2023 and the Environmental Hero of the year 2019.

She is an associate of the Centre for Environment and Development Studies at Uppsala University and teaches regularly at several Swedish universities. She also leads a one-year ecopsychology programme with Lodyn.

QUOTES:

  • So the worst cases of the destruction of nature would now be a crime at the highest level international level, with an individual responsibility. So if you're involved with that, there is a risk that you could end up prosecuted in the Hague.

  • If we don't manage to protect the living systems of this planet, there is no way we can protect human rights. And it's directly the destruction of ecosystems and climate change that are leading to conflict and to war.

  • At that time, Ecocide was such a fringe, radical idea. Very few people thought that this would become reality. For some people it was a joke, for other people, a utopian dream. And this has changed so fast.

  • Eco psychology, that word , it comes from eco — the home, the psyche, the soul. The home of the soul. So eco psychology is saying that the psyche isn't something you have. The psyche is more a field of relationships that you are moving within.

LINKS:

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alexa firmenich
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