Open Access Research Article
SCORCHED EARTH WARFARE AND ECOCIDE: REASSESSING THE IHL FRAMEWORK
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Scorched-earth warfare represents one
of the most destructive intersections between armed conflict and environmental
degradation. The deliberate destruction of forests, agricultural land, water
resources, industrial infrastructure and other ecological assets can produce
consequences extending far beyond the immediate battlefield, affecting civilian
survival, public health, livelihoods and future generations. International
humanitarian law (IHL) provides several mechanisms for addressing such conduct,
including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution, the
protection of objects indispensable to civilian survival, and the specific
prohibition against methods and means of warfare expected to cause widespread,
long-term and severe damage to the natural environment. Nevertheless, the
existing framework remains fragmented and subject to significant evidentiary
and interpretive limitations. In particular, the cumulative requirement of
“widespread, long-term and severe” environmental damage and the predominantly
human-centred structure of existing international criminal law may leave
serious forms of ecological destruction insufficiently addressed. This article
examines whether the emerging concept of “ecocide” can provide a meaningful
response to these limitations. It analyses the treatment of environmental
destruction under Additional Protocol I, customary international humanitarian
law, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the International
Law Commission’s Draft Principles on Protection of the Environment in Relation
to Armed Conflicts. The article argues that ecocide should not be understood as
a replacement for existing IHL rules but as a potential development capable of
addressing exceptionally serious environmental destruction that falls outside
traditional categories of war crimes. It concludes that effective protection of
the environment during armed conflict requires a more integrated framework in
which ecological integrity, civilian protection, military necessity, proportionality
and precaution are assessed together. Such an approach would strengthen
accountability for scorched-earth practices while preserving the fundamental
structure and operational requirements of international humanitarian law.
Published Paper
Author Details
Authors: AYAN KUMAR BANERJEE
Registration ID: 1013228 | Published Paper ID: IJLRA13228
Year: Sep-2026 | Volume: 3 | Issue: 6
Approved ISSN: 2582-6433 | Country: Delhi, India
Page No.: 1654-1672
Article Information
SCORCHED EARTH WARFARE AND ECOCIDE: REASSESSING THE IHL FRAMEWORK
Authors: AYAN KUMAR BANERJEE
- Journal IJLRA
- ISSN 2582-6433
- Volume 3
- Issue 6
About Journal
International Journal for Legal Research and Analysis
- AbbreviationIJLRA
- ISSN2582-6433
- AccessOpen Access
- LicenseCC 4.0
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