Criminalistics Means and Methods of Combating Ecocide in the Modern Conditions of Military Threats

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop an integrated approach to the implementation of criminalistics tools and methodology to prevent and counteract large-scale environmental destruction in the context of modern military threats. To fulfil this purpose, the study analysed the legal aspects of regulating ecocide as a war crime, assessed the effectiveness of existing forensic tools and methods, and investigated the judicial practice and statistics of environmental crimes in Ukraine for 2014-2024. The study found that the number of reported cases of environmental crimes in the conflict zone increased by 73% during this period, with a strong correlation (r=0.82) between the intensity of hostilities and the number of cases of ecocide. The expert survey showed that the most effective forensic tools for detecting and documenting environmental crimes are satellite monitoring, geographic information systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The analysis of 75 court decisions showed that in 68% of cases, the actions were classified as ecocide, but in 22% – as other environmental crimes, which indicates the difficulty of proving all elements of the crime of ecocide. Based on the findings obtained, comprehensive recommendations were developed to improve legal regulation, institutional support, technological equipment, investigation methods, and international cooperation in the field of combating ecocide in armed conflicts. Specifically, it was proposed to amend national legislation to clearly define the crime of ecocide, strengthen the institutional capacity of the authorised bodies, expand the use of modern technologies for monitoring and recording environmental crimes, and intensify international cooperation in this area.