Antarctica and Global Environmental Memory: Proposal for Historical Ecocide and Framework for Non-Repetition
Abstract
Antarctica was rediscovered in the 19th century as a location for the intensive exploitation of marine resources, particularly pinnipeds and cetaceans. This occurred within a context dominated by extractive logic and imperial expansion (Crosby, 2004. The toponymy of the continent continues to reflect this legacy, with numerous references to hunters and expeditions that symbolize an era of unparalleled industrial predation. The resulting biological collapse was so profound whaling fleets abandoned the region in the face of total depletion of populations. This study, drawing upon a range of disciplines including Contemporary History, Public Law and international Criminal Law, proposes the category of historical ecocide as a means to interpret such devastation and reinterpret its consequences. While the events themselves are not subject to retroactive criminal sanctions, their recognition is proposed as part of an environmental memory aimed at symbolic reparation and guarantees of non-repetition.
Received: 10.11.2025
Accepted: 16.12.2025
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Last update: 08/02/2022
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