Dominican Republic: Bill to Criminalise Ecocide Introduced
Summary
On June 5 (World Environment Day), Dominican Congresswoman Llaniris Espinal introduced a bill to criminalise ecocide—severe or irreversible ecosystem damage. The proposed law carries penalties of up to 20 years in prison, mandatory environmental restoration, and financial sanctions.
The bill also proposes:
A strengthened environmental justice system (specialised prosecutors/judges);
Bans on extractive activity in vulnerable zones;
Community co-management of protected areas;
Compensation for displaced persons;
A sustainability fund;
Advanced tech for environmental monitoring.
Despite existing environmental prosecutors, commentators cite resource gaps, impunity, and low public awareness as hurdles. Espinal’s bill explicitly aims to address these issues through bold legal and institutional reforms.
Rodrigo Lledó, Americas Director at Stop Ecocide International, said:
“This initiative in the Dominican Republic significantly reinforces a growing regional and global movement. Across Latin America, the momentum is gaining momentum: ecocide is already mentioned in court rulings in Argentina, a bill is also being debated in the parliaments of Argentina, Peru, and Brazil, it has the support of legislators in Mexico and Guatemala, and improved wording of ecocide is being studied in Colombia. We are witnessing a profound shift in the way societies understand environmental damage: not just as a regulatory issue, but as a crime that threatens the foundations of life, justice, and sustainability.
“To criminalise ecocide is to acknowledge that the destruction of ecosystems — on which all human health, security, and livelihoods depend — is not only morally intolerable, but legally indefensible. As legal frameworks evolve around the world, from Strasbourg to Santiago, this emerging norm sends a powerful message: the mass destruction of nature cannot be the price of development. It is a threshold our civilisation cannot afford to cross.”
For her part, the Member of Parliament who introduced the ecocide bill, Llaniris Espinal, expressed hope that ecocide would be recognised as a serious crime in the Dominican Republic, describing it as “an opportunity we have as a country to prevent and address the serious environmental harm that is increasing every day — and in doing so, to guarantee a planet for future generations.” She added: “I therefore call on my fellow legislators to support this bill.”
The official registry entry from the Chamber of Deputies of the Dominican Republic confirms the deposit of Legislative Initiative No. 04347-2024-2028-CD on June 5, 2025 can be found here. The full text of the bill is available here.