Calls have been made in Ghana’s Parliament for legislation to criminalise ecocide, amid growing concern over the environmental devastation caused by illegal mining, known locally as galamsey.

In a statement to Parliament, Frank Annoh-Dompreh, Member of Parliament for Nsawam-Adoagyiri and Minority Chief Whip, urged lawmakers to introduce legislation recognising ecocide as a national-level crime in Ghana, to champion ecocide law in continental fora like the African Union, and to support efforts to recognise ecocide as an international crime. His statement was supported by fellow MPs Charles Akwasi Agbeve, Dr Mahama Tiah Abdul-Kabiru, Jerry Ahmed Shaib, and Dominic Napare, who also rose to call for ecocide law.

“I rise today with a profound sense of urgency and responsibility to speak on the need for legislative action against ecocide – the mass destruction of ecosystems”, Annoh-Dompreh told parliament.

Iran’s Vice President and head of the country’s Department of Environment, Shina Ansari, has described strikes on oil storage facilities in Tehran as a “clear manifestation of ecocide”. 

In a public statement posted on social media, believed to be the first by a state official to explicitly use the term in relation to the current conflict, Ansari described the widespread explosions at fuel depots, which left Iranian capital blanketed in smoke and experiencing what has been described as “black rain”, as constituting:

“...a clear manifestation of ecocide or environmental crime.”

Lawmakers in the Philippines have introduced new legislation that would criminalise ecocide, marking a significant step toward stronger protection for the country’s ecosystems and communities.

The bill adopts language closely aligned with the 2021 definition of ecocide proposed by the Independent Expert Panel convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation: “any unlawful or wanton act or omission committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe, widespread, or long-term damage to the environment.”

The Scottish Parliament has voted to advance the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill, placing Scotland on track to become the first UK nation to criminalise severe environmental destruction.