The term ecocide carries deep significance across languages and cultures, yet its exact legal definition remains elusive and contested. While it is recognized as a war crime under Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Rome Statute, there is no agreement on the criminalization of ecocide committed in peacetime, despite the fact that the majority of ecocide offenses occur in areas or regions entirely free of conflict.

The increasing impacts of anthropogenic climate change highlight the pressing need to define and address ecocide effectively. However, achieving this requires navigating the complex interplay of ecological, economic, legal, criminological, social, political, and cultural factors. Understanding and further acting upon ecocide demand an interdisciplinary effort to synthesize insights from multiple subjects such as ecology, law, philosophy, history, criminology, and cultural studies, while critically acknowledging colonialism as a fundamental driver of environmental destruction.

Discussions about ecocide and its links to colonial legacies have been shaped by the emergence of southern epistemologies (Global South), decolonial thinking, and Indigenous critiques of Eurocentric justice frameworks. Notably, the IPCC recently recognized colonialism as a key factor in environmental accountability in its 2023 Synthesis Report (Section C.5.3). This acknowledgment marks a critical shift in the conceptualization of ecocide and a challenge for the legal perspectives and potential criminal applications of ecocide at national and international levels.

Furthermore, the growing influence of ecocentrism, the rights of nature, and relational ontologies of justice provide further evidence of the need for a multifaceted understanding of ecocide and its criminalization. Such an understanding must encompass not only the widespread physical destruction but also the huge decrease and sometimes extinction of the planet’s epistemic heritage and human and more-than-human worlds, highlighting the interconnectedness of ecological and cultural dimensions in addressing environmental accountability.

Recognizing the critical importance of ecocide as a glocal threat (from the local to the global contexts), leaving no region on Earth untouched by its effects, this conference seeks to cultivate interdisciplinary dialogues among a wide range of stakeholders. It strives to deepen knowledge and understanding of ecocide by integrating diverse experiences, critical perspectives, and practical applications, with a particular focus on inclusivity and decolonizing efforts within glocal frameworks.