Summary
In 1997, the Kyrgyz Republic (Kyrgyzstan) codified the crime of ecocide in its Criminal Code, where the crime is defined as the massive destruction of animal or plant life, contamination of the atmosphere or water resources, or any other acts capable of causing an ecological catastrophe. Per the law, offenders may face imprisonment for 12 to 20 years. Kyrgyzstan’s early adoption of ecocide illustrates a larger trend in how post-Soviet states during the 1990s and early 2000s addressed large-scale environmental destruction in the wake of industrial and ecological struggles inherited from the USSR.
Related Initiatives
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/kyrgyz-republic-criminal-code-1997-ecocide/.
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