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The term eco-terrorism is a neologism which has been used to describe acts of violence, sabotage and/or property damage which are ostensibly motivated by concern for the natural environment. As a pejorative term, it has also been used to describe acts of nonviolent civil disobedience by environmentalists.

The term is believed to have been coined by Ron Arnold , a founder of the anti-environmentalist Wise Use movement and author of Ecoterror: The Violent Agenda to Save Nature.

Many environmentalists view the use of the term eco-terrorism as a propaganda-driven attempt to associate the use of nonviolent civil disobedience by environmentalists with the more contentious acts of property damage or vandalism, and to link acts of vandalism with notions of terrorism.

Further, some people hold that clearcutting, strip-mining and other destructive Resource extraction activities are true eco-terrorism, battling against such activities is considered by such people to be more akin to self-defense or defense of a loved one, than to be terrorism. In many countries, notably the United States, self defense, or defense of a loved one can be held to be a valid legal defence to a charge of a crime. Thus, some people consider vandalism, active resistance, crime or even violence in defense of their ecosystem to be moral, ethical, and legally defensible.

1 Definitions

While the term terrorism is in itself politically contentious, formal definitions typically limit its usage to politically motivated acts of violence against civilians. The term eco-terrorism, however, is most often used to describe acts of property damage, such as arson, rather than deliberate acts of violence against humans.

Some, such as Arnold, extend the definition to include any illegal act motivated by a desire to protect the natural environment. Thus, even environmental organisations with a stated commitment to nonviolence have on occasions been labelled "eco-terrorists" by conservative commentators.

In a model bill called the Animal and Ecological Terrorism Act, proposed by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council, an "animal or ecological terrorist organization" is defined as "two or more persons with the primary or incidental purpose of supporting any politically motivated activity… intended to obstruct, impede, or deter any person from participating in a lawful animal activity" or in "mining, foresting, harvesting, gathering, or processing natural resources."

Its usage has also been adopted by the FBI’s Domestic Terrorism Section, which defines eco-terrorism as "the use or threatened use of violence of a criminal nature against innocent victims or property by an environmentally-oriented, subnational group for environmental-political reasons, or aimed at an audience beyond the target, often of a symbolic nature."

2 Groups

The two organisations most commonly labelled as "eco-terrorists" within the United States are the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and the Earth Liberation Front (ELF). The websites of both organisations, while openly advocating tactics including arson, graffiti and property destruction, publicly disavow harm to humans or animals.

In 2001, the FBI named ELF as the United States’ most serious domestic terrorist threat.

3 Ecoterrorism in Fiction




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Eco-terrorism Acts Term Terrorism Violence Property

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