Ecocide is destruction of the natural environment that is widespread, long-term and severe. The concept of ecocide originated in the 1970s after the United States devastated the environment in Vietnam through use of Agent Orange during the Vietnam War. Ecocide may describe a wide range of acts and may occur with or without intent. There is no international law against ecocide that applies in peacetime, but the Rome Statute outlaws ecocide during wartime if it is "clearly excessive" in relation to expected military advantage. There has been debate about including ecocide as fifth crime against peace under the Rome Statute, and a proposal to do so failed in 2010. Ten nations have criminalised ecocide under domestic law. Ecocide can threaten human populations, especially Indigenous people, and may result in cultural genocide. Ecocide may also be an effect of climate change. Aspects of ecocide The roots of the word are the Greek oikos (home) and the Latin cadere (to kill). Genocide Ecocide can threaten a people's cultural and physical existence, and several studies have shown that ecocide has genocidal dimensions. Destruction of the natural environment can result in cultural genocide by preventing people from following their traditional way of life. This is especially true for Indigenous people. Ecocide resulting from climate change and resource extraction may become a primary driver of genocide worldwide. Some Indigenous scholars have argued that ecocide and genocide are inextricable. Mainstream understanding of genocide (as defined by the United Nations) restricts genocide to acts committed against the bodies of individual people. Some genocide researchers have found that this human rights framework does a disservice to colonised Indigenous people who experienced social death with the loss of relationship to their land but who were not always killed in the process of colonisation. Climate change and mass extinction The ongoing mass extinction of species has been called ecocide. US environmental theorist Patrick Hossay argues that modern industrial civilization is ecocidal. Climate change may result in ecocide. For example, ocean acidification and warming causes damage to coral reefs, although ecocide of coral reefs has also been attributed to causes not related to climate change. Criminalization of ecocide under the Rome Statute has been proposed as a deterrent to corporations responsible for climate change, although others argue that criminalizing ecocide will not address the root causes of the climate crisis. Intent Ecocide may occur with or without intent. Environmental lawyer Polly