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Date: November 25, 2024 Mon

Time: 8:08 pm

Results for environmental crime

60 results found

Author: Wyler, Liana

Title: International Illegal Trade in Wildlife: Threats and U.S. Policy

Summary: This report focuses on the international trade in terrestrial fauna, largely excluding trade in illegal plants, including timber, and fish and how it relates to U.S. Policy

Details: Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2008, 50p.

Source: Internet Source

Year: 2008

Country: United States

URL:

Shelf Number: 115335

Keywords:
Corruption
Environmental Crime
Law Enforcement
Wildlife Crimes

Author: Mwebaza, Rose

Title: The Nature and Extent of Environmental Crimes in Seychelles

Summary: This national study took place in Seychelles from January to March 2009 and included a national workshop to validate the findings. The study consisted of a thorough analysis of the state of the environment and the extent of environment crime in the country. In addition, the study examined the legal and institutional regime for combating environmental crime in Seychelles. Finally, an assessment of the challenges facing these institutions was undertaken and recommendations were made to effectively deal with the environmental crimes in the country.

Details: Pretoria, South Africa: Institute for Security Studies, 2009. 31p.

Source:

Year: 2009

Country: Seychelles

URL:

Shelf Number: 118263

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Illegal Fishing
Offenses Against the Environment
Poaching

Author: Kangaspunta, Kristiina

Title: Eco-Crime and Justice: Essays on Environmental Crime

Summary: The aim of this publication is to provide a bridge between, on the one hand, eco-crime, pollution, climate change and the deriving social conflicts, and, on the other, the areas of criminal justice, human rights and environmental rights. The authors hope to contribute to the articulation of a global research agenda on environmental crime; a research agenda based on commitment to the following three principles: (1) Recognition of the value of evidence-based policy making; (2) Willingness to appreciate the importance of theoretical insights drawn from different disciplines to guide policy, and (3) Concern with balancing human and ecological rights.

Details: Turin, Italy: UNICRI, 2009. 121p.

Source:

Year: 2009

Country: International

URL:

Shelf Number: 118320

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Offenses Against the Environment
Pollution

Author: Arnold, John Thomas

Title: Characteristics of Wildlife Law Violators in Mississippi and Their Attitudes Toward Conservation Officers

Summary: With little research available addressing violator attitudes, two important research questions arise. First, does the type of violation (i.e., no hunter orange, trespassing, baiting, and hunting from a public road) committed affect violator attitudes? Second, does motivation for committing the violation influence violator attitudes? This study examined these questions by investigating violator attitudes toward Conservation Officers. I collected information from a sample of licensed violators in 2002 and 2003 using self-administered mail questionnaires. Most (90%) of the violators studied had been cited while hunting white-tailed deer. I did not detect any differences in attitudes toward Conservation Officers among the four violation types investigated. Reasons for violating also did not influence attitudes toward Conservation Officers. Thus, I conclude that Mississippi wildlife law violators can be treated as a homogenous group when looking at attitudes toward Conservation Officers.

Details: Mississippi State, MS: Mississippi State University, 2005. 68p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 23, 2012 at http://hdclel.org/PDFs/thesis/ArnoldThesis.pdf

Year: 2005

Country: United States

URL: http://hdclel.org/PDFs/thesis/ArnoldThesis.pdf

Shelf Number: 123741

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Law Enforcement Officers
Offenders
Wildlife Conservation
Wildlife Crimes (Mississippi)

Author: Elliott, Lorraine

Title: Transnational Environmental Crime: Applying Network Theory to an Investigation of Illegal Trade, Criminal Activity and Law Enforcement Reponses

Summary: In his National Security Statement to Parliament in December 2009, the Australian Prime Minister observed that "transnational crime – [including] the illegal exploitation of resources – will remain a continuing challenge" (Office of the Prime Minister of Australia, 2009). According to Sandro Calvani, the Director of UNICRI – the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute – governments face multiple challenges in dealing with the illegal exploitation of resources. Those challenges include "scarce awareness and knowledge of the phenomenon, … insufficient regulation, … growing involvement of organized crime … high profits [and] … scarce international cooperation" (Calvani 2009, p. 14). While this illegal exploitation, captured in the concept of transnational environmental crime (TEC), has become a matter of growing concern for Australian and international security, environmental and criminological policy, the nature and extent of the associated illegal trade and criminal activity remains under-researched. Nor has there been a comprehensive and critically-informed analysis of the nature and extent of international cooperation on policy, compliance and enforcement in response to TEC. This research project therefore has three key objectives: to advance our understanding of the ways in which environmental commodities that are either sourced illegally or destined for illegal markets are traded; to draw on International Relations theories of networks to develop and apply conceptual tools that can aid in understanding the organizational structures of TEC networks and the political, social and economic assets that sustain illicit chains of custody; to examine and analyse existing transnational policy and operational law enforcement responses, particularly those that function through network arrangements, to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the ways in which governments and other actors are responding to the challenges of TEC. This short working paper provides an overview of the background to this research project, expands on these three key themes, canvasses the conceptual framework that informs the research, and introduces the methodologies that will guide our investigations.

Details: Canberra, Australia: Transnational Environmental Crime Project, Department of International Relations, School of International, Political and Strategic Studies, The Australian National Library, 2011. 17p.

Source: Transnational Environmental Crime Project, Working Paper 1/2011: Internet Resource: Accessed on January 28, 2012 at http://ips.cap.anu.edu.au/ir/tec/publications/TEC_Working_Paper_1_2011.pdf

Year: 2011

Country: Australia

URL: http://ips.cap.anu.edu.au/ir/tec/publications/TEC_Working_Paper_1_2011.pdf

Shelf Number: 123849

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Environmental Law
Hazardous Wastes
Illegal Logging
Transnational Crime
Wildlife Smuggling

Author: Piekielek, Jessica A.

Title: Public Wildlands at the U.S.-Mexico: Where Conservation, Migration, and Border Enforcement Collide

Summary: This dissertation examines changing relationships among natural landscapes and state agencies, as these relationships intersect in transboundary protected wildlands and in debates about natural resource protection and U.S.-Mexico border policy. Recent increases in undocumented migration, smuggling, and border enforcement along the Arizona-Sonora border impact ecology and public land management practices. In this dissertation, I analyze how natural and national spaces and boundaries are produced through institutional and individual practices and discourses in border wildlands. Further, I consider how different productions of space restrict or create opportunities for collaborative responses to ecological impacts resulting from migration, smuggling, and border enforcement. This research builds on anthropological scholarship on conservation, borders, and the production of space through an ethnography of conservation institutions as they face dramatic political and ecological changes in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands.

Details: Arizona: University of Arizona, 2009. 264p.

Source: Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Year: 2009

Country: United States

URL:

Shelf Number: 124098

Keywords:
Border Security (U.S.) (Mexico)
Environmental Crime
Illegal Migration
Wildlife Conservation

Author: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

Title: The Last Fish: Plunder in the South Pacific

Summary: Looting the Seas is an award-winning project by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists looking at forces that are rapidly emptying oceans of fish. In its first installment ICIJ documented the massive black market in threatened bluefin tuna. In the second, it revealed that billions of dollars in subsidies flow into the Spanish fishing industry despite its record of flouting rules and breaking the law. For the last of the three-part investigation, ICIJ reporters focused on an unlikely protagonist: the bony, bronzed-hued jack mackerel in the southern Pacific. Industrial fleets, after fishing out other waters decimated it at stunning speed. Since so much jack mackerel is reduced to fishmeal for aquaculture and pigs, we eat it unaware with each forkful of farmed salmon. The plunder continues today as the world’s largest trawlers head south before binding quotas are established. Not long ago, this was one of the world’s richest fishing grounds. ICIJ reporters ranged from New Zealand’s South Island to the top of Norway and from ramshackle wharves in Chile and Peru to carpeted offices in Brussels and Hong Kong. They conducted more than 100 interviews; filed freedom of information requests in the European Union, Peru and the Netherlands; and analyzed more than 100,000 catch and inspection records. In Chile, where the damage is greatest, Juan Pablo Figueroa Lasch of the investigative reporting center CIPER looked at the few powerful families and industrial groups that control 87 percent of the jack mackerel catch. He lived aboard the Santa María II, watching as fishermen hauled up mostly empty nets. In Peru, Milagros Salazar of IDL-Reporteros investigated another species used for fishmeal, anchoveta. It is the world’s largest fishery. She found cheating so massive – at rigged scales and unsupervised docks – that at least 630,000 tons of fish “vanished” in just two and a half years. Fish, the reporters found, are at the heart of geopolitical wrangling among governments that protect, and often subsidize, their fleets. Mar Cabra, who covered Brussels, is still waiting for most EU records she requested through freedom of information laws. EU officials refused to give her catch records, saying disclosure would undermine the “protection of commercial interests.” Plenty of sources spoke frankly and at length. When Mort Rosenblum asked to speak with the elusive Ng Joo Siang, head of the giant Hong Kong fishing conglomerate, Pacific Andes, the company’s outsourced public relations people refused to transmit the request. But a call to the man’s cell phone produced a lengthy and revealing interview. Our media partners are Le Monde (France), the International Herald Tribune, South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), El Mundo (Spain) and Trouw (The Netherlands). In addition, ICIJ is co-producing a documentary with London-based tve that is planned to air on BBC World News TV in the spring. Key findings: Asian, European and Latin American fleets have devastated fish stocks in the southern Pacific, once among the world’s richest waters; Since 2006, jack mackerel stocks have declined by nearly twothirds. The oily fish is a staple in Africa, but people elsewhere are unaware that it is in their forkfuls of farmed salmon. Jack mackerel is a vital component of fishmeal for aquaculture; National interests and geopolitical rivalry have blocked efforts since 2006 to ratify a regional fisheries management organization that can impose binding regulations to rescue jack mackerel from further collapse; In Chile, a handful of companies controlled by wealthy families own rights to 87 percent of the jack mackerel catch; with government backing, they have secured unrealistically high quotas — beyond what scientists say are essential to save the stock; In Peru, the world’s second largest fishing nation, widespread cheating at fishmeal plants allows companies to overfish and evade taxes. At least 630,000 tons of anchoveta – worth nearly $200 million as fishmeal – “vanished” over two and a half years.

Details: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ),

Source: Looting the Seas III: Internet Resource: Accessed March 18, 2012 at http://www.kintera.org/atf/cf/%7B4de9af69-2fdc-420c-944b-436045c9b0e8%7D/LOOTING_THE_SEAS_3.PDF?tr=y&auid=10229971

Year: 0

Country: International

URL: http://www.kintera.org/atf/cf/%7B4de9af69-2fdc-420c-944b-436045c9b0e8%7D/LOOTING_THE_SEAS_3.PDF?tr=y&auid=10229971

Shelf Number: 124851

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Illegal Fishing
Offenses Against the Environment
Poaching

Author: Goncalves, Marilyne Pereira

Title: Justice for Forests: Improving Criminal Justice Efforts to Combat Illegal Logging

Summary: Every two seconds, across the world, an area of forest the size of a football field is clear-cut by illegal loggers. In some countries, up to 90 percent of all the logging taking place is illegal. Estimates suggest that this criminal activity generates approximately US$10–15 billion annually worldwide—funds that are unregulated, untaxed, and often remain in the hands of organized criminal gangs. Thus far, domestic and international efforts to curb forest crimes have focused on preventative actions, but they have had little or no significant impact. While prevention is an essential part of enforcement efforts to tackle illegal logging, it has not halted the rapid disappearance of the world’s old-growth trees. New ideas and strategies are needed to preserve what is left of forests. This paper suggests that current practice be combined with a more targeted, punitive approach, through more effective use of the criminal justice system. It argues that the criminal justice system should form an integral part of any balanced and organized strategy for fighting forest crime. This strategy should include initiatives to enhance the efficiency of criminal justice in combating illegal logging—that is, the investigation, prosecution, and conviction of cases, as well as the confiscation of the proceeds of criminal activity. These initiatives should be deployed in parallel with preventive programs, and the two approaches should complement and reinforce each other. The criminal justice system has been used in the fight against illegal logging, but only in very sporadic instances and in limited and ineffective ways. Moreover, in those few cases, it has tended to target low-level criminals whose involvement in illegal logging is due to poverty. As such, it has created no real deterrent and has encouraged skeptics to further discount the relevance of criminal justice methods. Large-scale illegal operations are carried out by sophisticated criminal networks, and law enforcement actions need to be focused on the “masterminds” behind these networks—and the highlevel corrupt officials who enable and protect them. Pursuing these important targets through the criminal justice system will require creativity and a clear focus on those criminal justice rules and procedures that prove most effective. The objective of this paper is to inform policy makers and forestry and law enforcement actors how they can use the criminal justice system in fighting illegal logging. It seeks to mobilize them to take action and address the various criminal acts involved in illegal logging operations. The paper puts forward practical suggestions that can be implemented to achieve a tangible improvement in this fight. Rather than focusing on a single element of the criminal justice system, it provides a broad overview of the topic. Future papers may provide an opportunity to flesh out further detail. Because the role of the criminal system in fighting illegal logging has thus far been minimal, there are few documented successes, and little data to explain why the criminal justice system has not been more widely used in this context. To find new ideas as to how the criminal justice system can be used against illegal loggers, this paper therefore draws on experience gained from dealing with other types of crime (money laundering, corruption, and so forth). The policy and operational recommendations made in this paper are based on legal and operational frameworks that are already in place in almost every country in the world. By making good use of these existing frameworks, we can take an important step towards ensuring the preservation and the sustainable management of the world’s forests. Policy recommendations include: Develop an integrated criminal justice strategy for illegal logging that adopts and implements clear and comprehensive policies; Improve domestic cooperation; Enlist the private sector; Engage civil society actors; and Include criminal justice as part of development assistance programs to combat illegal logging. Operational recommendations include: Work together; Attack corruption; Proactively target vulnerabilities and significant offenders; Consider all applicable offenses—not just regulatory environmental offenses; Follow the money; Employ all available criminal tools to address these complex crimes; and Improve international cooperation.

Details: Washington, D.C.: The World Bank, 2012. 56p.

Source: World Bank Study R67: Internet Resource: Accessed March 21, 2012 at http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTFINANCIALSECTOR/Resources/Illegal_Logging.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: International

URL: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTFINANCIALSECTOR/Resources/Illegal_Logging.pdf

Shelf Number: 124631

Keywords:
Corruption
Criminal Justice Policy
Environmental Crime
Illegal Logging
Offences Against the Environment

Author: Engelke, Peter

Title: The Security of Cities: Development, Environment, and Conflict on an Urbanizing Planet

Summary: Humankind recently crossed an important threshold: over half of all people now live in cities. In contrast to most of human history, cities have become the default condition for human habitation almost everywhere on earth. Our species, in other words, is already an urban one and will become even more so throughout the twenty-first century. Urbanization is proceeding rapidly and at unprecedented scales in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Urbanization in Latin America has already reached levels rivaling Europe, North America, and Australia. These trends are ongoing. By 2030, all of the world's developing regions, including Africa, will have more people living in cities than in rural areas. Between 2010 and 2050, the world's urban population is expected to grow by 3 billion people-a figure roughly equal to the world's total population in 1950-with the great majority of these new additions living in developing-world cities. These statistics relay an important truth. During the twenty-first century, cities will increasingly shape social, political, economic, and environmental conditions everywhere on earth. Cities are powerful drivers of environmental change at the local, regional, and global scales. For example, urban processes of all kinds create local water and air pollution. Regionally, cities draw natural resources from far-flung hinterlands (energy, water, wood and forest products, fish, and agricultural products to name only a few). Globally, cities consume 60-80% of all energy used on earth and release about the same share of CO2 into the atmosphere. At the same time, cities and their inhabitants are greatly affected by all of these changes. Local pollution burdens, for example, most often fall heaviest on the poorest residents of poor cities. A city's demand for regional resources places strains on ecosystems hundreds or even thousands of miles distant. Global climate change adds to the mix of problems, increasing coastal flooding risks for low-lying cities, exacerbating urban heat island effects, and increasing the frequency of heat wave-related mass fatalities. Given the swift pace and enormous scale of global urbanization, cities must become an increasingly important part of the foreign and security policy discussions. Urbanization intersects with multiple issues that are well within the environmental security arena, including food security, human security, energy security, climate change, freshwater use, coastal-zone problems, public health and disease, and natural disaster planning and relief from drought, flooding, earthquakes, and storms. It also intersects with more traditional foreign and security issues, including those focused on economic development and trade as well as those focused on violence, conflict, and political instability-civil and international conflict, terrorism, state fragility, and global trafficking in drugs, weapons, and human beings (peonage, sex slavery, etc.).

Details: Washington, DC: Stimson, 2012. 49p.

Source: Working Paper: Internet Resource: Accessed June 13, 2012 at http://www.stimson.org/images/uploads/Cities.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: International

URL: http://www.stimson.org/images/uploads/Cities.pdf

Shelf Number: 125350

Keywords:
Cities and Crime
Environmental Crime
Urbanization

Author: Brooke, Sandra

Title: Surveillance and Enforcement of Remote Maritime Areas (SERMA): Surveillance Technical Options

Summary: Some of the most pristine marine ecosystems remaining on earth are in remote areas far from human population centers, both within national jurisdiction or beyond, on the high seas. Unfortunately even these areas are under pressure from the effects of human activities. Recognizing this, many countries have begun to manage activities in remote maritime areas as well as seeking to conserve areas of high ecological value through the establishment of marine protected areas. In recent years some very large offshore protected areas have been established within national EEZs and in addition some are now also being established on the high seas, through the efforts of several international organizations. Without effective enforcement however, these remote managed areas will remain no more than paper management plans and paper parks. Surveillance and enforcement is more challenging in large, remote areas than for near‐shore MPAs as they are often far from populated land, and therefore difficult to reach with traditional manned patrols, radar or other short‐range monitoring tools. Advanced technologies have been used successfully for surveillance of large areas, and there is great potential for expansion; however an associated response by law enforcement personnel is still essential to confirm and prosecute violations. Combining surveillance technologies into a single enforcement package has considerable cost‐saving potential and is emphasized throughout this report. Additionally, the obvious and targeted presence of law enforcement reduces attempted infractions since there is a perceived significant risk of being caught. This document reviews and evaluates a range of existing technological options for the surveillance of remote marine managed areas. Some of these technologies are currently in use by fisheries management agencies; some are currently the purview of groups like the military or security agencies; and others have hitherto been unexplored for such purposes. As commercial fishing (regulated or otherwise) is the single greatest pressure to most remote marine ecosystems, followed by vessel‐based pollution, we pay particular attention to technologies for the monitoring of such activities. The paper initially discusses surveillance technologies for cooperative vessels; that is, those that are participating in a managed activity where monitoring systems are obligatory. The majority of the paper however describes the range of sensors and platforms that can be applied to the more challenging task of monitoring non‐cooperative vessels. Surveillance technologies alone are insufficient to ensure compliance, but they are a necessary component. This first paper in the series does not look at questions of integrating surveillance technologies into an enforcement regime; neither does it consider issues improving compliance. These are clearly key issues, and we anticipate giving these issues the space they deserve in subsequent publications.

Details: Seattle, WA: Marine Conservation Biology Institute, USA, 2010. 41p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 13, 2012 at http://www.marine-conservation.org/media/filer_public/2011/09/19/serma_tech-options_v12.pdf

Year: 2010

Country: International

URL: http://www.marine-conservation.org/media/filer_public/2011/09/19/serma_tech-options_v12.pdf

Shelf Number: 126691

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Maritime Security
Offenses Against the Environment
Surveillance

Author: Wells, Adrian

Title: Public Goods and Private Rights: the Illegal Logging Debate and the Rights of the Poor

Summary: This briefing paper applies a rights perspective to understanding legal and institutional reform of the tropical forest sector. The sector is characterised by strongly competing interests, and massive differences in the power of stakeholders to influence the application of the law. The regulatory regime governing the sector often discriminates against the poor. This is of particular concern in the context of donor- and industry-led initiatives to combat illegal logging. Upholding legal frameworks which already fail to accommodate local rights could compound injustices. A rights perspective focuses attention on the channels by which the poor can contest and uphold their claims in the face of national and international interests in the forest sector.

Details: London: Overseas Development Institute, 2006. 5p.

Source: Forestry Briefing Number 9: Internet Resource: Accessed October 14, 2012 at http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/docs/800.pdf

Year: 2006

Country: International

URL: http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/docs/800.pdf

Shelf Number: 126700

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Forest Management
Human Rights, Rights of the Poor
Illegal Logging
Offenses Against the Environment

Author: Global Witness

Title: Logging in the Shadows: How Vested Interests Abuse Shadow Permits to Evade Forest Sector Reforms

Summary: Systematic abuse of small, poorly regulated logging permits in Africa by companies, forest officials and politicians is undermining efforts to fight deforestation and keep illegal timber out of the EU, says a new report by Global Witness. The new report, Logging in the shadows, identifies a largely hidden pattern of abuse across Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ghana and Liberia, in which permits designed to promote small businesses and meet local needs are being allocated in their hundreds to industrial logging companies. These "shadow permits" open the door to highly lucrative, large-scale logging operations which bypass oversight by the authorities.

Details: London: Global Witness, 2013. 36p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 13, 2013 at: http://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/library/Shadow%20Permit%20Report%202013%20Final_Web_0.pdf

Year: 2013

Country: Africa

URL: http://www.globalwitness.org/sites/default/files/library/Shadow%20Permit%20Report%202013%20Final_Web_0.pdf

Shelf Number: 131652

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Forests
Illegal Logging (Africa)
Offenses Against the Environment

Author: Nellemann, Christian, ed.

Title: The Environmental Crime Crisis: Threats to Sustainable Development from Illegal Exploitation and Trade in Wildlife and Forest Resources

Summary: Given the alarming pace, level of sophistication, and globalized nature that illegal trade in wildlife has now notoriously achieved, UNEP initiated a Rapid Response Assessment to provide some of the latest data, analysis, and broadest insights into the phenomenon. Tackling illegal wildlife trade demands this examination of the relationship between the environmental resources at stake, their legal and illegal exploitation, the loopholes that exacerbate the situation, the scale and types of crimes committed, and the dynamics of the demand driving the trade. In the international community, there is now growing recognition that the issue of the illegal wildlife trade has reached significant global proportions. Illegal wildlife trade and environmental crime involve a wide range of flora and fauna across all continents, estimated to be worth USD 70-213 billion annually. This compares to a global official development assistance envelope of about 135 billion USD per annum. The illegal trade in natural resources is depriving developing economies of billions of dollars in lost revenues and lost development opportunities, while benefiting a relatively small criminal fraternity. This report focuses on the far-reaching consequences of the environmental crime phenomenon we face today. The situation has worsened to the extent that illegal trade in wildlife's impacts are now acknowledged to go well beyond strictly environmental impacts - by seriously undermining economies and livelihoods, good governance, and the rule of law Even the security and safety of countries and communities is affected: the report highlights how wildlife and forest crime, including charcoal, provides potentially significant threat finance to militias and terrorist groups. Already recognized as a grave issue in DRC and Somalia by the UN Security Council, the assessment reveals that the scale and role of wildlife and forest crime in threat finance calls for much wider policy attention, well beyond those regions.

Details: Arendal, NO; Nairobi: GRID-Arendal, 2014. 106p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 30, 2014 at: http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/crime/

Year: 2014

Country: International

URL: http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/crime/

Shelf Number: 132569

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Forests
Illegal Logging
Illegal Trade
Natural Resources
Organized Crime
Wildlife Crime

Author: Farmer, Andrew

Title: Qualitative and monetary analysis of the impacts of environmental crime: Overview

Summary: The survey of data sources within earlier work within EFFACE showed that the data on environmental crime are usually highly dispersed with limited detailed data collations. The most likely sources of consolidated data are international institutions (such as Conventions and the EU). However, even here data are often limited. As a result it is not possible to provide a robust estimate of the overall impacts of environmental crime as a total figure. There are simply too many gaps for this to be done with any confidence. Therefore, it is important to focus on quantifying the impacts of environmental crime in areas where there are sufficient data for this to be done robustly and with confidence. As a result, the quantitative and monetary analysis has been undertaken for the following five subjects: - The impacts of arson events - The impacts of illegal wildlife trade in rhino and elephant - The impacts of marine pollution - The impacts of illegal WEEE shipments from the EU to China - The impacts of illegal wildlife trade in Horsfieldii Tortoise A common framework to guide data collection, analysis and presentation was agreed. This framework involved three analytical steps on the quantitative assessment of levels of illegal activity, the quantitative assessment of the impacts of that illegal activity and the economic valuation of the impacts of the illegal activity. The results identified good examples of information that can be used to understand impacts of environmental crime. The most useful are good, coherent databases with information about the scale of illegal events (a fires database being a clear case). Another is the linking together of good data from different sources, such as that on illegal elephant and rhino poaching and that on population changes - thus enabling conclusions to be drawn on whether the criminal activity is affecting populations in the wild. Data from different types of sources can help paint a picture of different types of impacts (as seen with the waste shipment case). The work had variable success in determining the quantitative impacts of environmental crime. Problems encountered in doing this have included: - Barriers to determining what level of crime is occurring, where, trends, etc. In some cases there is poor recording of criminal events. However, in other cases it may be difficult to distinguish between legal and illegal activity. - Information about impacts may prove difficult to move from anecdotal to quantitative. - Where crime levels are known, the impacts from such crimes may be mixed with those from legal activities, so that distinguishing impacts is difficult. - There is poor monitoring and recording of changes to environmental quality, health, etc., so that quantitative impacts of criminal activities are not known. As a result, for much of the work here, assessments of quantitative impacts are limited to specific areas where there is sufficient data (or data of sufficient confidence) to provide those estimates. The analyses in this study present different approaches to economic analysis. In some cases the quantitative information is insufficient to develop further economic assessments to any degree of confidence. Some used valuations of the natural environment (e.g. on natural capital loss due to poaching) or to health (e.g. for waste shipment). The fires case has sought to estimate the value of assets lost. Several cases have included information on the financial losses and benefits from those engaged in or affected by the illegal activity. In all cases, the economic analysis does not provide a total value for the impact of the type of environmental crime covered, but economic values for specific impacts.

Details: London: Institute for European Environmental Policy, 2015. 22p.

Source: Internet Resource: A study in the framework of the EFFACE research project. Accessed August 21, 2015 at: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE%20D3.2a%20-%20Quantitative%20and%20monetary%20analysis%20-%20overview.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Europe

URL: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE%20D3.2a%20-%20Quantitative%20and%20monetary%20analysis%20-%20overview.pdf

Shelf Number: 136516

Keywords:
Costs of Crime
Economics of Crime
Environmental Crime
Illegal Trade
Offenses Against the Environment
Wildlife Crime

Author: Santana, Geraldo

Title: Can cocaine production in Colombia be linked to environmental crime?: A case study into the effect of EU legislation on the trade

Summary: This case study highlights the interrelationship between cocaine production, a drug-related criminal activity and environmental pollution and degradation, activities that are considered to be environmental crimes in many parts of the world today. To a lesser extent, this case study also explores the links between cocaine trafficking and organised crime groups, such as the militias in Colombia. There, cocaine production is not just an ordinary illicit activity, it is also a means used by the militias to secure territory, power, finances and weaponry. The European Union represents the second largest market in the world for cocaine. It also exports 20% of the world's chemical precursors, with Germany as the largest European producer with 5.7% share of the global sales. Chemical precursors such as potassium permanganate, an essential ingredient in cocaine production, are highly monitored yet Colombia seized 80% of the global seizure of illicit potassium permanganate for the period of 2007-2012. Criminals have adopted various diversion methods to make up for their losses from tighter controls on chemical precursors trafficking. There is legislation in place that monitor the trade of chemical precursors within and outside the borders of the EU. The case study seeks to examine if the said legislation has been effective in preventing the illicit use of chemical precursors in cocaine production in Colombia and as a consequence help to prevent further environmental pollution and degradation.

Details: The Hague: Institute for Environmental Security, 2015. 30p.

Source: Internet Resource: A study compiled as part of the EFFACE project. Accessed August 21, 2015 at: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE%20Can%20cocaine%20production%20in%20Colombia%20be%20linked%20to%20environmental%20crime_0.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Colombia

URL: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE%20Can%20cocaine%20production%20in%20Colombia%20be%20linked%20to%20environmental%20crime_0.pdf

Shelf Number: 136517

Keywords:
Cocaine
Drug Trafficking
Environmental Crime
Environmental Pollution
Organized Crime

Author: Veening, Wouter J.

Title: Mining gold and mercury pollution in the Guiana Shield: A case study on the role of the EU in fighting environmental crime

Summary: This brief report first identifies mercury pollution as a serious and growing threat to global environmental security and the health of the community of life. It then details this threat in the biologically important Guiana Shield ecoregion located in the North East Amazon, bordering the Caribbean, where it is caused by wide-spread informal gold mining. Therefore, the European Union's relevent legal arrangements, lacunae and dilemmas are summarised, also from a criminal law perspective and, finally, conclusions and policy implications for the EU are suggested.

Details: The Hague: Institute for Environmental Security, 2015. 22p.

Source: Internet Resource: A study compiled as part of the EFFACE project. Accessed August 21, 2015 at: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE%20Mining%20gold%20and%20mercury%20pollution%20in%20the%20Guiana%20Shield_0.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: South America

URL: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE%20Mining%20gold%20and%20mercury%20pollution%20in%20the%20Guiana%20Shield_0.pdf

Shelf Number: 136518

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Gold Mining
Offenses Against the Environment
Pollution

Author: INTERPOL Environmental Crime Programme

Title: Environmental Crime and its Convergence with other Serious Crimes

Summary: The capacity for INTERPOL Member Countries to effectively respond to environmental crime when it intersects with other serious1 crimes is a common theme that arises when INTERPOL engages with its members. The nature of "crime convergence" (also referred to as "threat convergence") raises a number of complexities and challenges in all phases of enforcement, from detection and disruption to the dismantling of criminal syndicates. In fact, it is one of the greatest challenges cited by officers from environment and policing agencies at regional and international investigative meetings and one that they all seek to understand and address. Key INTERPOL partners are also aware of the challenges associated with convergence, and are calling for greater understanding of crime convergence and law enforcement countermeasures. To stimulate discussion on this topic, this report provides insight into the nature of crime convergence within the context of environmental crime, where it is becoming increasingly apparent and complex. An example is seen when poly-crime syndicates traffic in a range of illicit goods in addition to environmental products. The report also examines the types of significant crimes that Member Countries have brought to INTERPOL's attention through their environmental crime investigations. The nature of crime convergence is subsequently discussed in terms of its challenges as well as the opportunities it presents to law enforcement. The report makes a number of suggestions on how agencies can better respond to convergence in transnational and national operations. In doing so, it promotes an integrated multi-disciplined and multi-agency law enforcement approach that is both strategic and operational in nature. The report concludes with a number of practical strategies for consideration by enforcement agencies.

Details: The Hague: INTERPOL, 2015. 13p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 28, 2015 at: http://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Environmental-crime/Resources

Year: 2015

Country: International

URL: http://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Environmental-crime/Resources

Shelf Number: 137366

Keywords:
Criminal Investigations
Environmental Crime
Offenses Against the Environment
Wildlife Crime

Author: Carrera, Sergio

Title: The Cost of Non-Europe in the Area of Organised Crime and Corruption: Annex I - Organised Crime

Summary: This Research Paper examines the costs of non-Europe in the field of organised crime. It provides an interdisciplinary analysis of the main legal/ethical, socio-political and economic costs and benefits of the EU in policies on organised crime. It offers an in-depth examination of the transformative contribution that the EU has made, in terms of investigation, prosecution and efficiency, to trans-border operational activities and the protection of its citizens' rights. Finally, it seeks to answer the questions of what are the costs and benefits of European cooperation and what forms of cooperation would bring more European added value.

Details: Brussels: European Parliamentary Research Service, 2016. 177p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 30, 2016 at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/579318/EPRS_STU(2016)579318_EN.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2016/579318/EPRS_STU(2016)579318_EN.pdf

Shelf Number: 138492

Keywords:
Costs of Crime
Counterfeiting
Cybercrime
Drug Trafficking
Economic Crimes
Environmental Crime
Human trafficking
Organized Crime
Weapons Trafficking

Author: European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime (EFFACE)

Title: Evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities associated with EU efforts to combat environmental crime

Summary: Since its inception in 2013, the EFFACE project has researched many different aspects of environmental crime. This report, 'Evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (SWOT) associated with EU efforts to combat environmental crime,' brings together insights of the current approach of the EU and its Member States in combatting environmental crime, as a basis to later develop policy recommendations. The project identified nine relevant dimensions of the EU's current approach towards combatting environmental crime: The nine dimensions identified are: Data and information management (relevant for Member State and the EU level) Further harmonisation of substantive environmental criminal law at EU level (excluding sanctions) System of sanctions (administrative vs. criminal vs. civil proceedings (relevant for Member States/EU level) Functioning of enforcement institutions and cooperation between them (relevant for Member States/EU level) Trust-based and cooperation-based approaches: environmental crime victims and civil society External dimension of environmental crime - what can EU do (EU only) Use of environmental liability (relevant for Member States/EU level) Organised environmental crime Corporate responsibility and liability in relation to environmental crime Each theme is evaluated in a consistent way; the governance levels analysed include that of the Member States, the EU and the international level. In addition, the aspects above interact with each other; therefore the authors stress the importance of moving forward with policy recommendations that consider these different aspects as a whole and not in isolation. The final recommendations of EFFACE will build on the SWOT analysis.

Details: Berlin: EFFACE, 2016. 131p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed July 12, 2016 at: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/publications/EFFACE_SWOT%20Analysis.pdf

Year: 2015

Country: Europe

URL: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/publications/EFFACE_SWOT%20Analysis.pdf

Shelf Number: 139619

Keywords:
Corporate Crime
Environmental Crime
Offenses Against the Environment
Organized Crime

Author: Dibley, Arjuna

Title: The Hidden Driver of Deforestation: Why Effecting Reform of Indonesia's Legal Framework is Critical to the Long-term Success of REDD+

Summary: In 2015, the state parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreed a mechanism that could be deployed by developing country governments to create economic, social and environmental incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through avoiding deforestation and forest degradation, called REDD+. Countries around the globe have commenced the process of implementing REDD+, including Indonesia. Indonesia introduced a dedicated REDD+ Agency, regulations on the topic, and made policy progress in key areas of REDD+. The legal and policy framework supporting REDD+ is, however, in a state of flux, after the legal and bureaucratic infrastructure put in place to support it was recalibrated following the election of President Joko Widodo in 2014. Given this uncertainty, this paper assess Indonesia's existing legal framework for REDD+ and outlines some legal strategies that could be implemented to revive the REDD+ policy process in Indonesia.

Details: Melbourne: Centre for Indonesian law, Islam and Society, 2016. 36p.

Source: Internet Resource: CILIS Policy Paper no. 11: Accessed July 23, 2016 at: http://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1962167/CILIS-Policy-Paper-No-11-Dibley_Khatarina.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: Indonesia

URL: http://law.unimelb.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1962167/CILIS-Policy-Paper-No-11-Dibley_Khatarina.pdf

Shelf Number: 139815

Keywords:
Deforestation
Environmental Crime
Forests
Offenses Against the Environment

Author: U.S. Government Accountability Office

Title: Combating Wildlife Trafficking: Are Taking a Range of Actions, but the Task Force Lacks Performance Targets for Assessing Progress

Summary: Illegal trade in wildlife-wildlife trafficking - continues to push some protected and endangered animal species to the brink of extinction, according to the Department of State. Wildlife trafficking undermines conservation efforts, can fuel corruption, and destabilizes local communities that depend on wildlife for biodiversity and ecotourism revenues. This trade is estimated to be worth $7 billion to $23 billion annually. In 2013, President Obama issued an executive order that established the interagency Task Force charged with developing a strategy to guide U.S. efforts on this issue. GAO was asked to review U.S. government efforts to combat wildlife trafficking. This report focuses on wildlife trafficking in Africa, particularly of large animals, and examines, among other things, (1) what is known about the security implications of wildlife trafficking and its consequences, (2) actions Task Force agencies are taking to combat wildlife trafficking, and (3) the extent to which the Task Force assesses its progress. GAO analyzed agency documents and met with U.S. and host country officials in Washington, D.C.; Kenya; South Africa; and Tanzania. What GAO Recommends GAO recommends that the Secretaries of State and the Interior and the Attorney General of the United States, as co-chairs, jointly work with the Task Force to develop performance targets related to the National Strategy for Combating Wildlife Trafficking Implementation Plan. Agencies agreed with GAO's recommendation.

Details: Washington, DC: GAO, 2016. 58p.

Source: Internet Resource: GAO-16-717: Accessed September 23, 2016 at: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/679968.pdf

Year: 2016

Country: United States

URL: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/679968.pdf

Shelf Number: 146049

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Trafficking in Wildlife
Wildlife Crime
Wildlife Trafficking

Author: Idriss, Manar

Title: Understanding the damages of environmental crime. Review of the availability of data

Summary: This deliverable is the conclusion of Task 1 of work package (WP3) of the FP7 research project "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" EFFACE. The aim of WP3 is to understand the impacts (quantitative and monetary) of environmental crime. The purpose of the first task of WP3, Task 1, was to review and collect data on the extent and impact of different types of environmental crime. It was not at this stage to produce estimates of the impact of environmental crime or otherwise quantify that impact - this is the subject of the subsequent tasks of WP3. Rather, Task 1 was to summarise the data sources available for different types of environmental crime and to summarise the type and extent of the data these sources contain. This review would, therefore, form the basis for determining the appropriate next steps in the WP. A standard table was completed for each report, data source, etc. The table asked for clear information about the data source (including links), its location, geographic and temporal scope as well as methodology used for collection. It also asked for information on whether it provides data on the extent of criminal activity (extent, individuals involved, etc.) and whether the data provide information on qualitative, quantitative and monetary impacts on the environment, society and/or economic impacts. In each case, comments were asked on data quality, etc., where possible. The survey of data sources within Task 1 of WP3 of EFFACE showed that the data on environmental crime are usually highly dispersed with limited detailed data collations. The most likely sources of consolidated data are international institutions (such as Conventions and the EU). However, even here data are often limited. For many Conventions data collation is limited to those data reported by Parties and such data are often limited, of uncertain quality and with significant gaps. At EU level there has been limited data gathering on environmental crime (in contrast to other data sets on environmental quality and pressures). Perhaps the best data set at EU level identified concerned fires. While consolidated data sets are uncommon, there are many examples of data on impacts in specific cases, such as for individual countries, individual instances, sites, etc. As a result it is not possible to provide a robust estimate of the overall impacts of environmental crime. There are simply too many gaps for this to be done with any confidence. Even doing this for certain areas of environmental crime is problematic. Therefore, it is important to focus on quantifying the impacts of environmental crime in areas where there are sufficient data for this to be done robustly and with confidence. Following the examination of the data sets described in this deliverable, the following areas were identified as being most suitable for quantitative and economy analysis, given the availability of data:  Waste shipment  Fisheries  Protected areas  Fires  Marine incidents This quantitative and economic analysis will form the next stages of work of WP3 and the results will be set out in the next WP3 deliverable in April 2015.

Details: Berlin: Ecologic Institute, 2014. 44p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 14, 2016 at: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE_3.1%20Final%20Report_0.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Europe

URL: http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/EFFACE_3.1%20Final%20Report_0.pdf

Shelf Number: 144941

Keywords:
Crimes Against the Environment
Environmental Crime
Fisheries
Illegal Waste
Pollution

Author: Nordbrand, Sara

Title: Out of control. E-waste trade flows from the EU to developing countries

Summary: When it comes to the burden of e-waste, several developing countries in Asia and Africa that lack proper systems for recycling and disposal are experiencing increasing problems; firstly because consumption of electronics is increasing most within these countries at present, and secondly because e-waste is exported from the rich world to developing nations that lack the capacity and regulations to handle this waste in a responsible manner. During rudimentary recovery by informal recyclers in countries such as China, India, Ghana and Nigeria workers are exposed to hazardous chemicals and material when products are broken apart in order to extract valuable components and metals. A study published in 2007 showed that children in the Chinese recycling town Guiyu had much higher blood lead levels than children living in a settlement where recycling of electronics did not take place. Other health problems that have been reported include diseases and problems related to skin, stomach, respiratory tract and other organs. E-waste contains a variety of hazardous metals and organic compounds. The content of electronics collected in the EU will become less problematic over the next few years when the effects of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive (RoHS) will be fully developed, which makes the producers phase out some of the most hazardous substances. However, the restrictions of RoHS only apply to products put on the market after 1 July 2006. Moreover, risks related to some of the other content are still poorly documented. More than 200 chemicals compounds are included in a single mobile phone, for example, and all possible effects of the content on humans and the environment have not been fully studied. Exports of WEEE to developing countries are banned according to EC legislation (the Waste Shipment Regulation). New EC legislation also requires that the cost of properly disposing of electronic products must be picked up by the producers of the waste (the WEEE Directive). Over the last few years, several electronics companies have increased their efforts to phase out hazardous materials, spurred by legislative and consumer demands. Creative minds at several electronics companies have been set in motion in order to produce more ecofriendly products that are easier to recycle and handle when they reach their end-of-life. On the market as a whole there is still room for improvement, though. Regarding e-waste collection in general, the average annual collection rate within the EU is about five kilos per person, while it is expected that each inhabitant generates 15 kg of e-waste annually. Within the EU as a whole, it is estimated that 25% of the medium-sized appliances and 40% of the larger appliances are collected and treated. The rest, the remaining 60% to 75%, represents what Greenpeace International calls �the hidden flow�. No one currently knows the scale of the EU�s e-waste exports to developing countries, but there is evidence that it does occur. Some experts fear that these exports will increase as an unanticipated result of EU�s environmentally sound directives. The trade in second-hand electronics generates both positive and negative effects. The final disposal and treatment of the products will take place in countries where proper disposal and treatment systems are lacking and brands and retailers are not required to take back products nor pay the actual costs. National statistics in different EU countries, showing shipments of electronics that have been declared as actual products and not waste, indicate that parts of the exported electronic goods might be waste or second-hand products with unknown additional lifetime. In this context, countries in Africa and the Middle East seem to be important recipients. Due to the low number of port inspections in the EU as a whole, Customs are not aware of the age and the quality of these exported products. Custom officials in many EU member states point out that they lack resources necessary to learn about the contents of shipments leaving their countries. In general narcotics, alcohol, tobacco and financial crimes are issues of priority, not illegal shipments of waste.

Details: Stockholm: SwedWatch, 2009. 46p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 17, 2016 at: http://www.ima.kth.se/utb/MJ1501/pdf/Ewaste09.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: International

URL: http://www.ima.kth.se/utb/MJ1501/pdf/Ewaste09.pdf

Shelf Number: 140770

Keywords:
Electronic Waste
Environmental Crime
Offenses Against the Environment

Author: Wildlife Conservation Society

Title: Protecting Mongolia's Wildlife through Wildlife Trade Law Enforcement

Summary: he first year of the project entitled "Protecting Mongolia's Wildlife through Wildlife Trade Law Enforcement," implemented by the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in cooperation with the Mongolian Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism (MNET) under the Netherlands-Mongolian Trust Fund for Environmental Reform (NEMO) Phase II program, was successfully completed in January 2009. The geographic focus of the first year of the project (2008) was the greater Ulaanbaatar area, Mongolia’s national capital and surrounding market/trade points. The two primary activities included an examination of the current and potential strategies for enforcing wildlife trade law in Ulaanbaatar and the formation of a multi-agency wildlife trade crime unit or team who were provided training and opportunities to examine wildlife law enforcement approaches across Asia. The multi-agency wildlife trade crime unit/team was tasked with improving the strategies and practice of enforcing wildlife trade law in Ulaanbaatar markets and trade points around the city. The overall goal of the project is to decrease the volume and scale of illegal wildlife trade in Mongolia, thereby reducing the impact the trade has on a wide range of wildlife species threatened by over hunting for commercial trade. Project accomplishments in 2008 include the formation of a multi-agency wildlife trade crime unit made up of representatives from the MNET (CITES National Authority and Policy Implementation and Strategic Planning Department), State Specialized Inspection Agency (SSIA), Municipal Specialized Inspection Agency (Municipal SIA), National Police (Wildlife Crime and Patrolling & Protection Units), Ulaanbaatar Airport Customs (Veterinary Inspection Unit) and the "IRBIS" "Environmental Crime" Emergency Response Unit. The team was formed in August 2008, and participated in all aspects of the project activities described in this report including the pilot Ulaanbaatar-area marmot anti-poaching initiatives in September 2008, and pilot market patrols December 2008, through January 2009. The team concluded 2008 activities with a wildlife trade law enforcement study tour to Lao PDR. Throughout 2008, wildlife trade crime unit team members and project consultants reviewed reports and materials related to the regulation and the current legal framework for wildlife trade law enforcement in Mongolia. Strategies developed to improve wildlife trade law enforcement were designed based on reviews of these legal analyses and tested through the pilot multi-agency anti-poaching activities and market patrols. Mongolian National University students, supervised by WCS project consultants, continued observational surveys of markets in and around Ulaanbaatar and media outlets (newspaper and TV advertisements) to record and track wildlife trade activities. Delays in the finalization of the project agreement (Appendix 1), which was signed by both parties in June 2008, resulted in the need to compress the scheduled activities outlined in the original agreement into a shorter time frame. The 2008 project activities were completed by the end of January 2009, and an extension for submission of the final report until March, 2009, was requested. Resources to support WCS wildlife trade work in Mongolia and across Asia were used to support the implementation of this project and the delivery of outputs. Consultants hired for the project included Ms. N. Odonchimeg, Wildlife Trade Specialist and Mr. D. Tuvshinjargal, Wildlife Trade Fellow. Mr. Kh. Badam, retired Senior Environmental Inspector, provided the project with advice and the overall project implementation was overseen by Dr. Amanda Fine, WCS Country Program Director.

Details: Bronx, NY: Wildlife Conservation Society, 2009. 143p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 12, 2016 at: https://mongolia.wcs.org

Year: 2009

Country: Mongolia

URL: https://mongolia.wcs.org

Shelf Number: 130126

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Wildlife Conservation
Wildlife Crime
Wildlife Law Enforcement
Wildlife Trade

Author: Eurojust

Title: Strategic project on environmental crime: report

Summary: Eurojust is pleased to present this report on the outcome of the Strategic Project (the 'Strategic Project') on Environmental Crime (the 'Report'). Eurojust launched the Strategic Project in spring 2013 on the basis of an intriguing paradox: there was growing evidence of an increasing understanding that environmental crime is a serious crime, often involving a cross-border dimension and organised crime groups (OCGs), while at the same time, statistics on prosecutions of environmental crime in the Member States did not appear to reflect the real impact of this crime. The number of cases referred to Eurojust, at that time, was also very low. A number of project activities carried out during the past year has enabled Eurojust to build significant expertise in the fight against environmental crime, to collect knowledge on the main obstacles as well as best practice when prosecuting environmental crime cases, and to look into possible solutions and the way ahead. This Report presents in its second chapter the project objectives, the methodology used to implement these objectives and the project activities undertaken to achieve these objectives. Based on the different sources of information available, the Environmental Crime Project Team (the Project Team) analysed the main issues in the prosecution and investigation of environmental crime, with a special focus on three topics: trafficking in endangered species, illegal trafficking in waste and surface water pollution. The first two are particularly important today at European Union level and are the focus of a number of EU and international initiatives. The analysis carried out on the three topics mentioned above is described in detail in three chapters. Two separate chapters are subsequently devoted to the national enforcement structure and access to expertise, and to possible solutions and best practice in tackling the challenges identified. In this context, it should be stressed that possibilities for enhanced cooperation among key stakeholders could assist Member States and Eurojust in supporting the investigation and prosecution of environmental crime cases more efficiently. Within this framework, it has already been proven that the partnership established through the Strategic Project between Eurojust and the European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment (ENPE) is particularly successful. In the conclusions, the main findings and challenges identified by the Project Team are presented. Eurojust hopes that the present Report will be instrumental in supporting the current developments and initiatives undertaken at EU and international level in the fight against environmental crime. Additionally, Eurojust believes that this Report could also contribute to raising awareness among practitioners, legislators and policy makers about the serious impact of this important crime phenomenon

Details: The Hague: Eurojust, 2014. 96p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed December 15, 2016 at: http://www.eurojust.europa.eu/doclibrary/eurojust-framework/casework/strategic%20project%20on%20environmental%20crime%20(october%202014)/environmental-crime-report_2014-11-21-en.pdf

Year: 2014

Country: Europe

URL: http://www.eurojust.europa.eu/doclibrary/eurojust-framework/casework/strategic%20project%20on%20environmental%20crime%20(october%202014)/environmental-crime-report_2014-11-21-en.pdf

Shelf Number: 146122

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Offenses Against the Environment
Organized Crime
Pollution
Trafficking in Waste
Trafficking in Wildlife

Author: Kamau, Irungu Simon

Title: Actors in Environmental Crime in City Slums of Kenya: the Case of Illegal Dumping in Mathare Slum of Nairobi

Summary: Mathare slum is currently faced with a serious challenge of illegal dumping of waste. Waste poses a threat to public health and the environment if it is not stored, collected and disposed of properly. The main purpose of the study was therefore to investigate the actors in this illegal activity in the area. The study was guided by several objectives namely; To show the existing forms of waste management in Mathare slum; To identify the key actors in illegal dumping of waste in the area; To examine social and economic factors promoting this illegal activity and finally to determine the views of residents on how waste management should be improved. A survey was conducted, where 120 respondents from the area were issued with questionnaires. Six key informants were interviewed with in-depth interviews. Data was then collected and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative techniques. The results of the study revealed that 27.2% of households disposed of their waste in gutters, streets, holes and in the nearby river. In addition, 14.9% burned waste outside their houses. Only a small proportion of the population used proper disposal methods. The study also showed that 63.3% of participants who lived near a dump site claimed it to be inefficient, citing that in many cases, it was overfilled and authorities normally delayed in emptying the dump site. It was also discovered that no respondent had received any training on proper waste disposal from the relevant public authority. However, all respondents were aware that illegal dumping of waste could contribute to disease causation. The study concluded that proper education of the public, the provision of communal trash bins, and frequent collection of waste by the municipal could help prevent exposing the residents to diseases in addition to significantly reducing cases of dumping in the area. Finally, the study recommends a further research to be carried out in other slums possibly in other counties to find out if the same results can be obtained.

Details: Nairobi: University of Nairobi, 2016. 86p.

Source: Internet Resource: Thesis: Accessed January 27, 2017 at: http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/11295/99782/Irungu_Actors%20in%20Environmental%20Crime%20in%20City%20Slums%20of%20Kenya%3b%20the%20Case%20of%20Illegal%20Dumping%20in%20Mathare%20Slum%20of%20Nairobi.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Year: 2016

Country: Kenya

URL: http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke/bitstream/handle/11295/99782/Irungu_Actors%20in%20Environmental%20Crime%20in%20City%20Slums%20of%20Kenya%3b%20the%20Case%20of%20Illegal%20Dumping%20in%20Mathare%20Slum%20of%20Nairobi.pdf?sequenc

Shelf Number: 144926

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Illegal Dumping
Slums

Author: World Customs Organization

Title: Illicit Trade Report 2013

Summary: The 2013 edition of the WCO Illicit Trade Report continues a new paradigm set last year, where the results of the work undertaken by the global Customs community to fight cross-border crime are being released to the general public. The toxic and corrosive nature of illicit trade and organized transnational crime harms economic growth and job creation, challenges the rule of law, robs governments of needed revenue and threatens human rights and quality of life, and thus requires a strong, internationally coordinated response. This Report focuses on five major areas addressed by Customs enforcement on a daily basis: environmental crime and illegal trade in natural resources; intellectual property infringements and trade in substances that pose a threat to public health and safety; smuggling and counterfeiting of excisable goods, such as tobacco and alcohol, as well as illicit financial flows; trade in illegal drugs; and illegal trade in dangerous and prohibited goods. The Report Sections address these areas using a common methodology: Customs seizures recorded in the WCO Customs Enforcement Network are analysed to develop trends and patterns concerning the aforementioned areas of enforcement. The Report also contains information on the results of international enforcement programmes, projects and operations conducted in 2013 that were organized and coordinated by the WCO, its international partners and its Member administrations in the five enforcement areas covered in the Report. We are particularly pleased to note that in 2013 more WCO Members reported their seizures to the CEN than in 2012. While much work still needs to be done, this is an important step towards shedding more light on the parallel and underground economy, and it serves as tangible proof of the commitment of the global enforcement community to address these challenges. Knowing the importance of high-quality information for policymakers, the WCO will continue working with its Members to improve the quality of seizure data, and increase its input into CEN. More complete information will allow the WCO and the Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices to provide a better service to the global Customs community. This Report will contribute to the WCO's growing pool of knowledge that will support analysis of, and actions against illicit trade. Given that the current year has been designated as the WCO Year of Communication, we are delighted to be able to share with you the valuable information contained in this Report.

Details: Brussels: World Customs Organization, 2014. 116p.

Source: Internet Resource: http://www.wcoomd.org/~/media/wco/public/global/pdf/topics/enforcement-and-compliance/activities-and-programmes/illicit-trade-report/illicit-2013-_-en_lr2.pdf?db=web

Year: 2014

Country: International

URL: http://www.wcoomd.org/~/media/wco/public/global/pdf/topics/enforcement-and-compliance/activities-and-programmes/illicit-trade-report/illicit-2013-_-en_lr2.pdf?db=web

Shelf Number: 146008

Keywords:
Counterfeiting of Goods
Customs Seizurres
Environmental Crime
Illegal Trade
Intellectual Property
Natural Resources
Smuggling of Goods

Author: Global Witness

Title: How many more? 2014's deadly environment: the killing and intimidation of environmental and land activists, with a spotlight on Honduras

Summary: Each week at least two people are being killed for taking a stand against environmental destruction. Some are shot by police during protests, others gunned down by hired assassins. As companies go in search of new land to exploit, increasingly people are paying the ultimate price for standing in their way. We found that at least 116 environmental activists were murdered in 2014 - that's almost double the number of journalists killed in the same period. A shocking 40 % of victims were indigenous, with most people dying amid disputes over hydropower, mining and agri-business. Nearly three-quarters of the deaths we found information on were in Central and South America. Globally, it's likely that the true death toll is higher. Many of the murders we know about occurred in remote villages or deep within the jungle, where communities lack access to communications and the media. It's likely many more killings are escaping public records.

Details: London: Global Witness, 2015. 38p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2017 at: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/how-many-more/

Year: 2015

Country: Honduras

URL: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/environmental-activists/how-many-more/

Shelf Number: 145397

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Homicides
Murders

Author: Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA)

Title: Repeat Offender: Vietnam's Persistent Trade in Illegal Timber

Summary: Despite growing global attention to the problem of illegal logging over the past 15 years, Vietnam continues to rely on imports of illicit timber to supply its burgeoning wood processing sector, especially from the neighbouring countries of Laos and Cambodia. Since 2007, EIA has repeatedly documented flows of illegal logs across the land border between Laos and Vietnam, and more recently from Cambodia. Vietnam has made strenuous efforts to increase its own forest cover, including strict controls on the logging of natural forests. In 2016, a total ban on logging natural forests was announced. By 2015, the country's forest cover had increased to 14.7 million hectares (44.6 per cent of total land area), compared with nine million hectares in 1990. At the same time, the Vietnamese Government has promoted the rapid expansion of an export-oriented wood processing sector, which has become the sixth largest in the world. In 2017, the country's exports of wood products are predicted to be worth $8 billion, compared with $7.3 billion in 2016. Vietnam's wood processing industry is heavily reliant on imports for the supply of raw materials, principally round logs and sawn timber. Imports have been growing at about 10 per cent a year, reaching 4.79 million m3 in 2015. While timber imports come from over 100 countries, the biggest source region is Asia, especially Laos and Cambodia. Overall, Vietnam relies of imports for at least 80 per cent of the raw materials consumed by its factories. Analysis of Vietnam's imports by source country indicates that in 2013, 18 per cent were judged to have a high risk of illegality. It is neighbouring countries which have borne the brunt of this illicit trade. Until 2015, Laos - which has a log export ban - was the largest single supplier of timber to Vietnam by value. Due to stronger political will in the country to curb illegal logging, it has now been supplanted by Cambodia, another neighbouring country which bans the export of raw timber. In 2015, Vietnam imported timber worth $386 million from Cambodia, a 52 per cent increase on the previous year, and $360 million from Laos. Combined, the two countries provided Vietnam with illicit timber worth almost three quarters of a billion dollars in a single year. This shift in sourcing has been driven solely by supply-side measures. Rather than improve its regulatory controls over imports of illicit timber, Vietnam has actually introduced measures to ease the flow of timber from Cambodia, once again showing flagrant disregard for the forest laws of its neighbouring countries.

Details: London: EIA, 2017. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 21, 2017 at: https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/Repeat-Offender.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Vietnam

URL: https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/Repeat-Offender.pdf

Shelf Number: 146336

Keywords:
Deforestation
Environmental Crime
Forests
Illegal Logging
Illegal Trade
Offenses Against the Environment

Author: Desiltes, Christian

Title: State and Local White Collar Crime Program: State Regulatory Agency Statutes for Selected Offenses

Summary: Examines how all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories handled regulatory functions in four regulatory categories: banking and finance, environmental, worker safety, and Medicaid fraud. Volume I includes a series of tables for each state and territory's legislation pertaining to the regulation of those four areas and compares each under the administrative, civil, and criminal categories of enforcement. Volume II gives a general overview of each state and describes the state statutes codified in the four areas. Findings were based on an online review of state legislation, as part of the 2014 State and Local White Collar Crime Program.

Details: Richmond, VA: National White Collar Crime Center, 2017. 2 vols.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 29, 2017 at: https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5987

Year: 2017

Country: United States

URL: https://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=5987

Shelf Number: 146930

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Financial Crime
Medicaid Fraud
White Collar Crime

Author: Haenlein, Cathy

Title: Follow the Money: Using Financial Investigation to Combat Wildlife Crime

Summary: ALL OVER THE world, for every animal or plant specimen taken illegally from the wild, money changes hands. It does so behind domestic pet storefronts, via online marketplaces, in ports, at ranger stations and often under the eyes of corrupt officials. Wildlife crime is not simply a crime against wildlife: it is organised financial crime conducted on an industrial and transnational scale for profit. As global efforts to address the wildlife crime crisis have expanded, the financial dimensions of this destructive crime have been overlooked. Instead, responses have typically comprised targeted anti-poaching and anti-trafficking measures, the promotion of sustainable livelihoods, and initiatives to reduce demand for wildlife products. These measures are crucial and have at times yielded positive outcomes in particular locations. Yet until the responses deployed include a significant financial crime-related element to undermine perpetrators' profit-seeking motivation, this low-risk, high-reward crime will continue to thrive largely unimpeded. For other crime types, financial investigation is viewed as central to identifying not only the individual criminal but also their network of facilitators. Yet where wildlife crime is concerned, financial investigation is not employed on anything approaching a systematic basis. This paper argues that there is an urgent need for those charged with disrupting wildlife crime to add a financial dimension to their approach. The paper refers primarily - but not exclusively - to East Africa, and is the final output of a year-long project researching wildlife-linked illicit financial flows in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. In East Africa and across the supply chain, this paper advocates for greater use of financial tools to disrupt the accomplices, facilitators and support networks of those engaged in this crime. The paper makes the following recommendations to reach this objective, focusing specifically on the changes required to respond to the financial motives of those involved.

Details: London: Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies (RUSI), 2017. 44p.

Source: Internet Resource: Occasional Paper: Accessed September 20, 2017 at: https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201709_rusi_follow_the_money_haenlein.keatinge.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: International

URL: https://rusi.org/sites/default/files/201709_rusi_follow_the_money_haenlein.keatinge.pdf

Shelf Number: 147420

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Financial Crimes
Money Laundering
Wildlife Crime

Author: Lau, Wilson

Title: An assessment of South African dried abalone Haliotis midae consumption and trade in Hong Kong

Summary: The report, "An assessment of South African dried abalone Haliotis midae consumption and trade in Hong Kong," produced by TRAFFIC as part of the USAID-funded Wildlife TRAPS Project, shows that South African abalone imports to Hong Kong have increased in recent years, despite severe restrictions on wild harvest. It estimates that of South African abalone imports to Hong Kong in 2015, 65% was illegally sourced and trafficked compared to the 35% that was legally wild-caught or produced through aquaculture operations. In the past decade, efforts to protect the legal abalone fishery have been undermined by international underground criminal networks. After South Africa took a number of regulatory measures in 2007 and 2008 to protect crashing abalone populations, the new report reveals that illicit trade routes shifted. Instead of mainly exporting poached abalone directly to Hong Kong, traffickers increasingly smuggled abalone to nearby African countries, such as Mozambique and Zimbabwe, before re-exporting the product. Between 2008-2015, 61% of South African abalone exports to Hong Kong came from African countries outside South Africa, a significant increase from the 36% that was exported from outside South Africa between 2000-2007. Aside from one small farm in Namibia, no other African country legally exports the marine mollusk. This highly profitable trade is managed by organised criminal syndicates that reach sellers and buyers in Hong Kong who may or may not realise their involvement is bankrolling illegal activities. Once poached abalone arrives in Hong Kong, under the current legislation, it can be openly traded and sold in markets alongside legally sourced abalone. The report shows that the majority of abalone traders, about 80%, are aware of some form of illegal activity surrounding South African abalone, but less than half of consumers had any knowledge of abalone poaching in South Africa. Current levels of abalone poaching have serious implications for the sustainability of the South African fishery, which in turn, could have rippling impacts on the market. One-third of all abalone imported by Hong Kong is of South African origin, and the report's findings indicate that the availability of this abalone, along with its quality and reasonable price (compared to other more expensive abalone varieties), helps boost South African abalone's popularity among consumers. Any reduction in South African abalone's availability could affect Hong Kong buyers' strong preference for the product-creating a strong incentive for legal producers to support measures that ensure the sustainability of supplies. To reduce the threat of poaching and trafficking, the report offers nine recommendations for governments, legal producers, conservation groups and the donor community to take action. They include listing and enforcing regulations for dried Haliotis midae trade under CITES, working with industry to support the trade in legally sourced South African abalone, and implementing methods for strengthening law enforcement, improving traceability, and raising public awareness about the species and illegal trade.

Details: Cambridge, UK: TRAFFIC International, 2018. 114p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 13, 2018 at: http://www.traffic.org/home/2018/2/8/poached-abalone-from-south-africa-is-flowing-into-hong-kong.html

Year: 2018

Country: Hong Kong

URL: http://www.traffic.org/home/2018/2/8/poached-abalone-from-south-africa-is-flowing-into-hong-kong.html

Shelf Number: 149119

Keywords:
Abalone
Animal Poaching
Environmental Crime
Fishing Industry
Illegal Fishing
Illegal Trade
Organized Crime
Trafficking in Wildlife
Wildlife Crime
Wildlife Trafficking

Author: Bronkhorst, Kevin R. van

Title: Waging War for Wildlife: Green Militarization in Sub-Saharan Anti-Poaching Strategies

Summary: Poaching as a criminal act has existed since the beginnings of landownership. During the 17th and 18th centuries, poaching was committed as an act of desperation by starving peasantry and even became a venerated facet of the civil disobedience depicted in early English ballads (Gregory, 2010: 53,338). An inability to curb the act of poaching in Britain led to the erection of many statutes, laws and regulations. The Waltham Black Act of 1723 made illegal hunting a capital crime, and spurred several small-scale conflicts resulting in the deaths of gamekeepers and many more poachers (Moore & Banham, 2014). Though bloody clashes occurred, the act of counter-poaching was strictly a matter of policing, and those captured would be prosecuted and imprisoned or hanged (Kirby, 1933:242). At this point in history, hunting was reserved for the upper echelons of society and the motivation for illegal hunting was traditionally borne out of necessity. The later international commodification of rare pelts, horns, tusks and furs generated a new breed of poacher, and those seeking to preserve heritage, maintain sovereignty, and conserve endangered species have found themselves at the forefront of a steadily escalating conflict. Legislation and conservation efforts in the United States in the 19th century saw the policing of poaching escalate into armed conflict reaching an apex in 1891, when Canadian poachers caused the near extinction of seals near the Aleutian Islands (Ellsworth, 1974:14). At the behest of the U.S. Naturalist society, President William Henry Harrison commanded naval and marine intervention in an incident known as The Bering Sea Anti-Poaching Operations (15). This event marked the first instance of the utilization of military forces to ensure the preservation of an endangered species. The incredibly lucrative nature of the exotic animal market had effectively raised the stakes for both poacher and park ranger, leading to an all-out arms race on both sides of the fence. Today in many regions of Africa, this same violence has reached a fever pitch. The Garamba National Park (GNP) of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one such example, having become the scene of increasing violence as a result of highly-organized and heavily-armed gangs of poachers. Over 78 elephants were killed in a two-month period in 2014, several of which poachers gunned down by helicopter with marksman precision (Christy, 2014). Tusks, tails, brains and genitals were removed using chainsaws, and the rest of the carcasses were abandoned, dispelling ideas of subsistence poaching (FFI, 2014). Park rangers reported being overwhelmed in organized assaults with fully automatic weaponry and fragmentation grenades. In June 2015, three rangers were killed in an ambush while attempting to track poachers (African Parks, 2015). A few months later, GNP rangers suffered four more fatalities while attempting to intercept a gang of poachers. The rescue helicopter dispatched to evacuate the remaining rangers took heavy fire and was nearly shot down in the process (Walley, 2015). High ivory demand has created an illicit market where opportunity to gain from poaching is higher than ever, and as a result, counter-poaching has become even more deadly (Christy, 2015). Today, GNP rangers report military style engagements with members of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), South Sudanese rebel gangs, and even Congolese military deserters (Walley, 2015). Combined, these gangs of commercial poachers have become a lethal and overwhelming threat not only to the park rangers and wildlife of GNP, but to the security of the entire region. Escalating violence and rapidly declining elephant populations have raised alarms throughout the international community. The World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), European Union (EU), USAID and countless other bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental organizations and institutions contribute to the anti-poaching cause by donating millions of dollars worth of tools and equipment, and providing military training for park rangers (NGOPulse, 2015). Still, despite all funding and efforts, the rate of poaching in many countries has only accelerated. For several organizations, provided aid functions more as a desperate attempt to 'do something' rather than as part of a coherent policy strategy (Duffy, 1999:106). Other organizations look to technology for solutions. Google, in conjunction with the WWF, has invested millions of dollars in search of high tech solutions (Boyle, 2012), which some refer to as the quest for a 'silver bullet' (IAPF, 2015). While some technology has shown limited promise (i.e. Hart, et al. 2015), the most effective counter-poaching efforts are often low-tech, involving tedious patrols, long hours, good field-craft, and exceptional discipline (Henk, 2007). As one experienced ranger put it: "nothing beats a real dog" (Wall, 2014). Rapid militarization and ever dwindling populations of endangered species in many regions have driven conflict to a military scale. To the international community, poachers threaten beloved megafauna (large mammals); an increasingly scarce natural resource (Padgett, 1995). To those living in the DRC however, poachers threaten the sovereignty, economic prosperity and future of the nation (DRC, 2015). The proliferation of cheap military grade hardware and ammunition has allowed ringleaders to furnish and deploy large commercial poaching gangs willing to engage in combat with park rangers. The use of militarized forces for conservation is referred to by Elizabeth Lunstrum (2014) as green militarization. The concept of green militarization forms the foundation of this thesis, exploring the link between militarized responses and counter-poaching effectiveness. By researching the training, tactics, and technology of counter-poaching units across six Sub-Saharan nations, it is possible to determine which aspects of militarization have been successful, and whether increased green militarization is a potential solution to the problem of poaching.

Details: Leiden, NETH: Leiden University, 2016. 114p.

Source: Internet Resource: Dissertation: Accessed April 11, 2018 at: https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/53648

Year: 2016

Country: Africa

URL: https://openaccess.leidenuniv.nl/handle/1887/53648

Shelf Number: 149624

Keywords:
Animal Poaching
Endangered Species
Environmental Crime
Wildlife Conservation
Wildlife Crime

Author: Greenpeace Brazil

Title: Imaginary Trees, Real Destruction: How Licensing Fraud and Illegal Logging of IPE Trees are Causing Irreversible Damage to the Amazon Rainforest

Summary: Brazil started to monitor deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest in 1988. Despite massive forest degradation and destruction over the last 30 years, the country has failed to find a viable solution to the crisis of illegal logging. Production of illegally harvested timber remains high, reflecting the unreliability of the country's forestry licensing and control systems. While in recent years Brazil's environmental agencies have strengthened the enforcement of forest preservation policy, lately this process appears to have stalled. Since 2014, when Greenpeace Brazil launched a series of investigations1 into illegal logging in the Brazilian Amazon, the organisation has been highlighting the inadequacy of official documentation as a guarantee of the legal origin of Amazon timber. Due to various forms of fraud that are common at the licensing, harvesting and commercialisation stages of timber production, it is almost impossible to distinguish between legally and illegally logged timber. The main timber-producing states in the Brazilian Amazon - Mato Grosso and Para - operate decentralised and non-integrated forestry licensing and control systems. These systems' lack of integration makes it harder to tackle fraud. At the same time, the market has proved reluctant to adopt its own measures to mitigate the risk of its supply chain becoming contaminated with illegal Brazilian timber. A critical flaw in the Amazon states' forestry governance lies in the weakness of the licensing process for Sustainable Forest Management Plans (Planos de Manejo Florestal Sustentavel, PMFSs) - one of the first steps in the process of legal timber harvesting. For the most part, no field inspections are conducted before PMFSs are drawn up. When they are carried out, quality of inspection tends to be very low (as described in chapter 2). This allows the forest engineers responsible for estimating the volume of wood available for cutting within a given Forest Management Area (Area de Manejo Florestal, AMF)4 to overestimate volumes or fraudulently add trees of high commercial value to the area's forest inventory. State environment departments subsequently issue credits for the harvesting and movement of this non-existent timber. These credits are then used to "cook the books" of sawmills that are processing trees illegally logged from forests on indigenous lands, protected areas or public lands. An unpublished study carried out by researchers from the Luiz de Queiroz School of Agriculture at the University of Sao Paulo (Esalq/USP)5 looked at the density, in cubic metres per hectare, of Ipe genus Handroanthus spp. (formerly known as Tabebuia spp.) reported in the inventories of 586 forest areas subject to PMFSs that were licensed in the state of Para between 2013 and 2017. The study showed that 77% of these inventories registered volumes of Ipe above levels that earlier research6 and inventories taken in five national forests in Para had identified as probably being the naturally occurring maximum. Building on this work, the Greenpeace Brazil team have carried out analysis of all the valid Logging Authorisations (Autorizacoes para Explora�ao Florestal, AUTEFs) from 2016 to 2019 for Annual Production Units (Unidades de Producao Anual, UPAs) 8 that contained species of Ipe, authorised by the Department of the Environment of Para state (Secretaria Estadual de Meio Ambiente e Sustentabilidade, Semas) (as described in chapter 2). For a more detailed evaluation, Greenpeace Brazil went on field trips with researchers from USP and technicians from the Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources (Instituto Brasileiro do Meio Ambiente e dos Recursos Naturais Renovaveis, Ibama) to verify the identity of remaining trees and tree stumps listed as Ipe in the forest inventories of six AMFs (as described in chapter 3). This fieldwork verified that incorrect botanical identification, the deliberate overestimation of tree volume, and the listing of non-existent trees were among the main strategies used to illegally extract timber both from within the six AMFs and from other areas. The present report provides evidence that a weak licensing regime and indiscriminate and illegal logging of Ipe are causing damage to the forest and its inhabitants. Some of the effects of this environmental crime are already visible, including deeper encroachment of illegal roads and growing degradation of the forest, the destruction of biodiversity and an intensification of violence in the countryside. The main Brazilian timber-producing states urgently need a forest governance and enforcement system capable of ensuring that all timber logged in the Brazilian Amazon is extracted legally and with full regard to the rights of its Indigenous Peoples and other traditional inhabitants.

Details: Sao Paulo/SP, Brasil: Greenpeace Brazil, 2018. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 20, 2018 at: https://storage.googleapis.com/p4-production-content/international/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/b91d03c3-greenpeace-report_imaginary-trees-real-destruction_march-2018.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Brazil

URL: https://storage.googleapis.com/p4-production-content/international/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/b91d03c3-greenpeace-report_imaginary-trees-real-destruction_march-2018.pdf

Shelf Number: 150606

Keywords:
Deforestation
Environmental Crime
Forests
Illegal Logging
Offenses Against the Environment

Author: Jenkins, Martin

Title: Wild at Home: Exploring the global harvest, trade and use of wild plant ingredients

Summary: The past few decades have witnessed extraordinary change in the world. The human population is larger than it has ever been, and is consuming more than ever before, with unprecedented impacts on the environment. As a result, many indicators paint an increasingly bleak picture of the future at least as far as nature is concerned. At the same time, consumers - and that means all of us - are becoming increasingly aware of the impacts that our decisions have, not just in our immediate surroundings but across the globe. Any of us wishing to act responsibly in exercising our choices is faced with a potentially overwhelming range of issues: carbon footprints, loss of natural habitats, generation of plastic waste and use of polluting chemicals, not to mention the wellbeing of those producing the things we consume. It is often difficult in all this to know how to act for the best. One area where there are clear ways forward, with entirely practical solutions at hand, is the use of wild plants, something which is remarkably widespread but very often overlooked. This report highlights the vital role that plants play in all our lives, the often surprising places in which wild plant products can be found and the economic importance of the global trade in these products. It shows that where successfully managed, this trade can provide a hugely important source of income for poor and disadvantaged people in rural communities across the world while at the same time delivering significant environmental benefits. It also underscores the risks involved where the trade is not well managed. It outlines the various mechanisms already in place, including the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and certification systems such as FairWild, that try to ensure that harvest and trade of wild plants is sustainable. Most importantly, it provides clear guidance as to what you, the reader, can do to help, whether it is in exercising your choice as a responsible consumer of goods containing wild plant products or ensuring that, as an importer, manufacturer or retailer of such goods, your supplies come from legal, sustainable sources.

Details: Cambridge, UK: TRAFFIC International, 2018. 52p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 26, 2018 at: http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Wild%20at%20Home.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: International

URL: http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Wild%20at%20Home.pdf

Shelf Number: 150708

Keywords:
Environmental crime
Natural Resources
Offenses Against the Environment
Wild Plants

Author: Global Witness

Title: A Major Liability: Illegal Logging in Papua New Guinea Threatens China's Timber Sector and Global Reputation

Summary: In 2016, PNG provided 29% of China's tropical log imports, making it the country's single largest supplier. But our investigation reveals how a large number of logging operations in Papua New Guinea (PNG) violate the law despite holding government-issued permits. China is the world's largest consumer and manufacturer of wood and wood products. Yet it has no regulation to keep illegal timber from entering its borders. The risk of illegal timber from countries like PNG flooding China's markets has the potential to damage its reputation and major trade relationships as buyers in the U.S. and EU, which ban illegal timber imports, take action to protect themselves. This trade has profound implications for PNG as well. 70% of the country is covered by forest ecosystems that are home to some of the world's rarest plants and animals. The forest is also central to the cultural traditions and livelihoods of PNG's eight million people. By continuing to import tropical timber from PNG on such a scale, China is driving the destruction of a vulnerable and ancient forest. In A Major Liability, we draw on satellite imagery to show hundreds of apparent violations of the country's Forestry Act in major logging operations - all of which hold government permits and all of which continue to export timber.

Details: London: Global Witness, 2018. 19p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 7, 2018 at https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/major-liability-illegal-logging-papua-new-guinea-threatens-chinas-timber-sector-and-global-reputation/

Year: 2018

Country: Asia

URL: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/major-liability-illegal-logging-papua-new-guinea-threatens-chinas-timber-sector-and-global-reputation/

Shelf Number: 151431

Keywords:
Deforestation
Environmental Crime
Forests
Illegal Logging
Illegal Trade
Natural Resources
Offenses Against the Environment
Timber Industry

Author: TRAFFIC

Title: System Error, Reboot Required: Review of On-line Ivory Trade in Japan

Summary: KEY POINTS: In June and July 2018, TRAFFIC conducted an extended survey of online elephant ivory trade in Japan to track changes in trade and compliance patterns since 2017, particularly in response to: 1) voluntary ivory bans on major platforms, Rakuten-Ichiba, Rakuma and Mercari in 2017; and 2) new domestic regulations introduced in June 2018. - Yahoo Japan now remains the single most important provider of online platforms for both BtoC (Business to Customer) sales (Yahoo Shopping) and auction trade (Yahoo Auction), which includes CtoC (Customer to Customer) trade. The scale of ivory sales on Yahoo Shopping appeared to be similar to that found in 2017. The total estimated value of ivory transactions on Yahoo Auction over a four-week period was JPY37.8 million (USD340,626), 16% less than estimated in 2017 over a similar time period. - Shops selling ivory were no longer identified on Rakuten-Ichiba. The ivory ban on Mecari and Rakuma has also significantly reduced the number of easily identifiable CtoC advertisements (e.g. 98% reduction on Mercari). However, cryptic advertisements, use of code words, and rapid turnover in ivory products were detected, indicating persistent trade amongst anonymous CtoC users. - A small number of shops/users selling ivory products were also identified on other online shopping malls, an auction site, and public spaces of major social networking sites (SNS) (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram where advertising ivory is supposed to be prohibited internationally). - Compliance with the new domestic regulations by ivory businesses varied across platforms and independent websites. The proportion of unregistered businesses ranged from zero percent on independent hanko shop websites and Yahoo Shopping to twenty-six percent for businesses advertising to purchase ivory online. Non-compliance with the requirement to display business registration was relatively high overall, ranging from twenty-two percent to fifty-two percent. Furthermore, discerning whether the legal requirement applies to the many anonymous sellers on auction, CtoC and SNS platforms presented a serious challenge. - The widespread lack of proof of legal origin persists due to the absence of regulations for products except whole tusks (e.g. on Yahoo Auction just 35 tusks were traded over four weeks as opposed to 4,414 worked products), and illegal trade in tusks without registration cards was still observed on Yahoo Auction (2 out of 35 tusks, six percent). Use of voluntary product certification was sparse amongst online retailers and nearly non-existent on other platforms. - TRAFFIC recommends the government urgently introduce measures that effectively ban unregulated CtoC trade online; that e-commerce companies, especially those hosting unregulated CtoC trade such as Yahoo Auction, introduce a voluntary ban on ivory products and collaborate with industry and NGO partners in the Global Coalition to End Wildlife Trafficking Online.

Details: Tokyo, Japan: TRAFFIC, 2018. 17p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2018 at: https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/11112/system_error-_reboot_required.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Japan

URL: https://www.traffic.org/publications/reports/system-error-reboot-required-review-of-online-ivory-trade-in-japan/

Shelf Number: 151584

Keywords:
Cybercrime
Environmental Crime
Illicit Ivory Trade
Illicit Wildlife Products
Illicit Wildlife Trade
Wildlife Crime

Author: TRAFFIC

Title: Empty Shells: An Assessment of Abalone Poaching and Trade from Southern Africa

Summary: Over 17 years (2000-2016), world imports of H. midae from sub-Saharan Africa show an overall increasing trend. From 2009 to 2016, imports of H. midae have increased by an average of eight percent per annum, with 2016 showing imports of over 5,065 t. During the same time period, legal production from the wild-caught fishery declined from an annual quota of 545 t in 2000 to the current quota of 96 t. Despite this, overall legal production has increased due to the growth of the aquaculture industry. - World imports of H. midae outweigh legal production levels with the total mass of imports of H. midae from 2000-2016 being 55,863 t, while only 18,905 t was legally produced over the same period. H. midae illegally harvested between 2000 and 2016 is accordingly estimated to total 36,958 t, representing an average of 2,174 t per annum and equating to a total of over 96 million individual abalone poached since 2000. - The rampant illegal harvesting of abalone has resulted in the loss of a valuable commodity worth approximately ZAR628 million per annum, should the resource have been legally harvested and traded. - In addition, an analysis of trade routes suggests that up to forty-three percent of the illegally harvested abalone was traded through a number of non-abalone-producing sub-Saharan African countries to Hong Kong between 2000 and 2016. - In-transit and market states do not have legal provisions requiring traders to demonstrate that abalone products have their provenance in legal fisheries or aquaculture operations. - The increase in trade of dried South African abalone combined with the high value of the product and the presence of organised crime syndicates suggest that interventions and collaboration at international level are required in order to address the trade in illegally harvested abalone. - Local initiatives required to stem the poaching of abalone include increased multi-agency collaboration between different government departments to encourage solutions that address the combined effects of social, political, and economic conditions surrounding the illegal fishery. - Regional collaboration within sub-Saharan Africa is required to ensure that countries through which poached abalone is traded have the necessary resources and legal framework to thwart attempts to route abalone through their ports. - International trade regulation in the form of a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Appendix listing is highly recommended. As most of the illegally harvested abalone is traded in dried form, usually by air to Hong Kong, a focused and collaborative effort is required to ensure the effective administering and implementation of the CITES documentation.

Details: Cambridge: UK, 2018. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2018 at: https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/11065/empty_shells.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Africa

URL: https://www.traffic.org/publications/reports/empty-shells/

Shelf Number: 151583

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Illegal Wildlife Product
Illegal Wildlife Trade
Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing
Poaching

Author: TRAFFIC

Title: Slow Progress: A Reassessment of Japan's Ivory Market in 2018

Summary: Key Points - Market surveys conducted by TRAFFIC in 2017 revealed widespread illegal export of ivory from Japan's domestic market and recommended that the Japanese government should urgently address this issue and consider market closure with narrow exemptions, as called for by CITES Resolution Conf. 10.10 (Rev. CoP17). - TRAFFIC conducted a follow-up survey of Japan's physical ivory market and auctions in 2018 to reassess their vulnerability to supplying illegal export after China's ivory trade ban in December 2017 and to track compliance with new domestic regulations introduced in June 2018. - Availability of ivory products declined by nearly half in surveyed indoor antique fairs, possibly as a result of stricter government oversight. It showed a smaller decline in the outdoor antique markets and remained similar in art and antique districts. While it was difficult to characterize the overall market dynamics, certain sellers expressed sentiments towards phasing out of ivory sales due to tightening regulations. - Widespread facilitation of illegal ivory export appeared to have diminished slightly. Though the proportion of interviewed sellers refusing to sell to foreign customers or domestic customers with intention to export increased from 9% to 26% in 2018, a majority still indicated willingness to sell to such customers, going from 73% in 2017 to 60% in 2018. - Newly manufactured ivory products of styles preferred in foreign (e.g Chinese) markets were identified at two new stores targeting foreign visitors in Tokyo's tourist area, one of which just opened in 2018. - Lax domestic regulation was no longer mentioned by sellers as a characteristic of their trade. However, the rate of non-compliance with new regulations (business registration and display of registration information) was high in antique markets and tourist areas where 42% to 83% of sellers did not display registration information. The proportion of apparently unregistered businesses was 31% amongst permanent shops. In contrast, 100% of hanko shops were registered with 95% displaying the registration information. - A reduction was seen in the illegal display of whole tusks (without registration cards), going from 68% in 2017 to 10% in 2018. However, whole tusks comprised less than 0.5% of the over 5,000 ivory items observed during the survey, and proof-of-legality is still not required under the new regulation for all ivory items other than whole tusks. - The number of whole ivory tusks traded at a major auction house declined by over 60% in 2018 compared to 2017 with all of them legally advertised; however, trade in tusks at other outlets was not assessed in this survey. - TRAFFIC recommends that the Japanese government: 1) urgently introduce the specific policy, legislative and regulatory measures previously recommended in TRAFFIC's 2017 report to ensure its market does not contribute to poaching or illegal trade; and 2) further increase enforcement efforts to deter illegal export and effectively implement the new regulations. - TRAFFIC also recommends that the CITES Standing Committee considers the case for Japan's inclusion in the National Ivory Action Plan (NIAP) process to evaluate and monitor its actions and progress against the conditions set out in Resolution Conf.10.10 (Rev. CoP17).

Details: Tokyo, Japan, TRAFFIC, 2018. 17p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 5, 2018 at: https://www.traffic.org/publications/reports/japans-domestic-ivory-market/

Year: 2018

Country: Japan

URL: https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/11142/slow-progress-japan-ivory-markets-1.pdf

Shelf Number: 152848

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Illegal Wildlife Trade
Ivory
Poaching
Wildlife Crime

Author: Global Witness

Title: Rocky Road: How Legal Failings and Vested Interests Behind Peru's Purus Highway Threaten the Amazon and its People

Summary: The Peruvian Amazon contains the fourth largest area of tropical forest on Earth and is one of a handful of regions where over 50 percent of forest cover is still undisturbed. Peru has seen impressive economic growth in the last decade, with GDP increasing on average six percent a year, as it follows a commodities led development path. The boom in resource exploitation has put Peru's environmental and social laws under the spotlight. One of the biggest threats to the Peruvian Amazon and indigenous peoples' territories comes from impacts associated with major infrastructure projects. According to one estimate, 91 percent of Peru's current 68 million hectares (ha) of tropical forest will be degraded or deforested within 30 years if all current plans for infrastructure and resource use across the country go ahead. Global Witness investigated one of these proposed infrastructure projects: a highway that would stretch approximately 270 km between Puerto Esperanza and Inapari in the Amazon regions of Ucayali and Madre de Dios. The highway would cut through the Alto Purus National Park (the largest in Peru), the Purus Community Reserve and the Madre de Dios Territorial Reserve, violating Peru's laws on protected areas in the process. Similar projects like the recently completed Southern Interoceanic Highway have facilitated the expansion of logging and gold mining, causing widespread environmental and social harm. The area most affected by the plans is the isolated province of Purus in Ucayali Department. Purus harbours the richest area of mahogany left in Peru and perhaps the whole continent. It is also home to some of the last indigenous groups living 'in voluntary isolation' who have chosen not to have contact with the outside world. A parliamentary bill, no.1035/2011-CR (referred to in this document as 'the highway bill'), has been passed for debate in Peru's congress to declare the highway project 'of national interest priority' in an effort by its promoters to secure official approval and state funds for its construction. The controversial plan has divided local and national opinion, and has drawn criticism that it is riding roughshod over environmental laws and the rights of indigenous peoples. This report examines a range of factors that Global Witness believes may be unduly influencing the decision-making around the highway project, including alleged corruption and possible conflicts of interest.

Details: London: Global Witness, 2013. 20p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 8, 2018 at: https://www.illegal-logging.info/content/rocky-road-how-legal-failings-and-vested-interests-behind-perus-purus-highway-threaten

Year: 2013

Country: Peru

URL: https://www.illegal-logging.info/sites/files/chlogging/uploads/GWAmazon2013.pdf

Shelf Number: 153346

Keywords:
Corruption
Environmental crime
Illegal logging

Author: Global Witness

Title: Illegal Logging in the Rio Platano Biosphere: A Farce in Three Acts

Summary: Honduras, a country rich in natural resources and cultural diversity, struggles against poverty and environmental degradation: it is the third poorest country in Latin America and the second poorest in Central America. Poverty is much more acute in a rural context, so forested areas largely coincide with the poorest ones. The country is well suited to forestry practices, and 41.5 percent of its territory is currently covered with forests. However, decades of agricultural colonisation and the expansion of cattle ranching have resulted in extensive deforestation and related environmental degradation, most notably the deterioration of water resources and soil erosion. In a country that is prone to hurricanes and flooding, environmental degradation worsens the impact of these natural disasters. Severe governance failure in the Honduran forest sector is threatening the country's largest protected area, the UNESCO-accredited Man and the Biosphere Reserve of Rio Platano (hereafter the Rio Platano Biosphere), and the people living in and around it. Corruption at the highest level and a complete lack of accountability have led to environmental destruction and undermined the rights of local people and their efforts towards sustainable forestry. This report makes the case for greater national and international efforts to strengthen forest governance and the rule of law. It is based on Global Witness' on-the-ground research, interviews with key actors and a review of existing official documents and other sources of information. It aims to: (i) document, expose and analyse this case, (ii) identify lessons that can be learned in Honduras and elsewhere and (iii) present a series of recommendations for the various parties involved, in particular the Institute of Forest Conservation and Development (ICF), which is the new Honduran forest authority created by the Forest Law approved on 13 September 2007. The Rio Platano Biosphere has a long history of illegal logging. This report, however, focuses on one particular case: the legalisation of so-called 'abandoned' timber in 2006-2007, and its links to state mismanagement. It illustrates how illegal logging is often not only tolerated, but also promoted, by the authorities in charge. As this report will describe in more detail: - In his inauguration speech on 27 January 2006, President Zelaya committed to eradicating illegal logging in the country, but just a few months later the Honduran forest authority at the time (AFECOHDEFOR) implemented a policy that achieved the opposite: it approved regulatory procedures to effectively legalise illegally-logged mahogany, and did so contravening the law and without any consultation or independent oversight. The implementation of these resolutions spurred a race to illegally log the Rio Platano Biosphere. - The policy was part of a carefully designed plan to launder illegal timber from the most important protected area in the country. - Two months later, the regulatory procedures were suspended as a result of pressure from civil society and an investigation carried out by the Special Environmental Public Prosecutor (FEMA). However, there remained a strong determination to legalise this timber and a new, more sophisticated plan, was rolled out. This included the establishment of contracts with local cooperatives and the subsequent auction of the timber so that the people who financed the illegal logging were able to buy that same timber, now apparently legal. - As a result, as much as 8,000 cubic metres of mahogany were illegally felled. More than 14.7 million lempiras (approximately USD$780,000) of public funds were indirectly delivered to well-known illegal timber traffickers. - Cooperatives at a local level suffered greatly from this experience. Illegal logging of mahogany decreased the value of their forests and jeopardised the opportunity to develop viable community forestry initiatives. Vested interests manipulated some of these organisations to launder illegal timber and in so doing undermined their credibility. The case presented here had dramatic consequences in the Honduran context. However, it should also be looked at within a broader context. What this report documents will unquestionably resonate in other areas around the world experiencing similar issues. What characterises such cases is the disparity between political rhetoric and the vested interests driving the actions of government institutions. Such poor governance goes unchecked in part due to the lack of a transparent and participatory process in the management of the forest resources. At a time when forests have taken centre stage in climate change negotiations, the need to tackle illegal logging and associated deforestation and degradation is more pressing than ever. Deforestation accounts for around 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and addressing this problem is seen by many as the most cost effective way of reducing these harmful emissions. A post-Kyoto agreement could help to ensure that forests are left standing so that they can be used sustainably by the people living in and around them. Good governance in Honduras and elsewhere is an essential prerequisite for the protection and sustainable use of forests. This, coupled with addressing the drivers of deforestation and empowering forest dependent communities, should be the focus of any forest and climate strategy. Sustainable forest management could play a significant role in supporting the livelihoods of local populations and fighting poverty, while at the same time maintaining the ecological value of forests.

Details: Washington, DC: Global Witness, 2009. 40p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 8, 2018 at: file:///C:/Users/AuthUser/Downloads/illegal_logging_in_rio_platano_final_en_low_res.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: Honduras

URL: file:///C:/Users/AuthUser/Downloads/illegal_logging_in_rio_platano_final_en_low_res.pdf

Shelf Number: 153347

Keywords:
Abandoned Timber
Corruption
Environmental Crime
Forest Governance
Good Governance
Illegal Logging
Illegal Timber Traffickers
Mahogony
Rule of law
Timber smuggling
Timber theft

Author: Ceesay, Hassoum

Title: Razing Africa: Combatting Criminal Consortia in the Logging Sector

Summary: Organised-crime syndicates � often with connections to Chinese markets � have been consolidating illegal timber exploitation in various African countries on an unprecedented and accelerating scale. This report, the result of ENACT research, analyses the layers of criminality that have come to define the logging supply chain, from extraction of rare species through to the sale of high-value timber in international markets. The report reveals how transnational organised crime allies with corrupt actors at the highest levels of states to profit from this lucrative and environmentally destructive illicit trade. ENACT research recommends for a policy-orientated investigation on organised crime in the forestry sector to be prioritized, advocating strongly for approaches targeted at disrupting these criminal consortia.

Details: ENACT Programme, 2018. 32p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 25, 2018 at: https://enactafrica.org/research/research-papers/razing-africa-combatting-criminal-consortia-in-the-logging-sector

Year: 2018

Country: Africa

URL: https://enact-africa.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/2018-09-20-research-paper-06-logging.pdf

Shelf Number: 153026

Keywords:
Asian Markets
Environmental Crime
Forestry Sector
Illegal Logging
Illegal Wildlife Trade
Illicit Trade
International Markets
Logging
Organized Crime
Supply Chain
Timber Harvesting
Timber Theft
Transnational Organized Crime
Wildlife Crime

Author: Reitano, Tuesday

Title: Mind the Moratorium: Ending Criminality and Corruption in Africa's Logging Sector

Summary: Logging moratoria - or bans on the felling, transportation and export of forest and wood products - have been widely used in Africa as a means of preventing the degradation of natural forests, often with considerable support from the international community. However, their impact has almost universally fallen far short of expectations. Violations range from the questionable issuance of exceptions and the sale of concessions despite there being a ban in place, to continued illicit and artisanal logging. Evidence suggests that moratoria are increasingly being used to allow influential political and business elites to consolidate control over the logging sector in their own favour, rather than for their stated development objectives. This brief argues that it is time for a sharp reconsideration of the value of moratoria as a tool for forest governance in Africa.

Details: ENACT Programme, 2018. 15p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed November 25, 2018 at: https://enactafrica.org/research/policy-briefs/mind-the-moratorium-ending-criminality-and-corruption-in-africas-logging-sector

Year: 2018

Country: Africa

URL: https://enact-africa.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/15-10-18-logging-policy-beirf.pdf

Shelf Number: 153025

Keywords:
Corruption
Environmental Crime
Forest Governance
Forest Products
Forestry Sector
Illegal Logging
Illicit Trade
Logging Moratoria
Timber Harvesting
Timber Theft

Author: Environment Agency (United Kingdom)

Title: Cracking Down on Waste Crime: Waste Crime Report 2011-2012

Summary: Serious waste crime is big business. The Environment Agency has made some real changes to how we tackle waste crime over the last few years. While there are still challenges ahead, the results of our work are starting to show. Being intelligence-led remains at the heart of our work to tackle serious and organised environmental crime, and to prevent the harm it can bring. In 2011-2012 we stopped 759 illegal waste sites, either by closing them down or helping them to move into legal compliance and get the right permit or exemption to operate. The number of successful prosecutions against illegal waste activity also rose to 335 last year. This included closing one of the highest risk illegal waste sites in south-east England, where a multiple offender received four years in prison for money laundering and waste offences. We believe that the custodial sentence imposed, and the fact he must now hand over nearly L1 million of profits he made from his illegal waste business, will send a strong message to illegal operators about the consequences of their crimes. December saw a week of dedicated action against metal theft. We supported the British Transport Police in targeting permitted waste sites to learn more about how and where stolen metal moves following its theft. We have also updated our procedures for granting and reviewing environmental permits so any permitted site handling stolen metal will be at risk of losing its permit. There is still a lot to do though. For every eight permitted sites, there is one illegal one. We are finding sites almost as fast as we stop them. Our new taskforce to tackle illegal waste sites, which we launched in December 2011, will help us break this cycle. We want to make sure more illegal waste sites are shut down quickly. But we can't do it on our own; many people have a role to play in helping tackle waste crime. We want to send a clear message to businesses, local authorities and householders: take responsibility for your waste and make sure that it doesn't end up in the hands of illegal operators. Rt Hon Lord Chris Smith of Finsbury Chairman

Details: Bristol, UK: Environment Agency, 2012. 19p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 20, 2019 at: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140329083717/http://cdn.environment-agency.gov.uk/geho0712bwug-e-e.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20140329083717/http://cdn.environment-agency.gov.uk/geho0712bwug-e-e.pdf

Shelf Number: 154278

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Illegal Waste Sites
Metal Theft
Offenses Against the Environment
Organized Environmental Crime
Waste Crime

Author: Environment Agency (United Kingdom)

Title: Novel Approaches to Waste Crime

Summary: Executive Summary The European Pathway to Zero Waste (EPOW) programme has eight actions, five of which are led by the Environment Agency and three by WRAP who took over from the South East England Development Agency in April 2011. One of the actions under the programme is assessing and reporting on novel approaches to tackling waste crime which aims to demonstrate the effectiveness of new public sector led approaches to reducing waste crime and supporting new markets for the reuse of recovered materials. This study reports on the outcomes from a pilot of the best novel approaches. Environmental crime is a high priority area for European Member States; tackling the issue are international networks, working groups and organisations that include the European Commission, Interpol, Europol, Member State regulatory agents and a wide range of specific task force groups. These bodies are set up to deliver programmes that address and implement waste crime reduction measures. In its 2011 EU Organised Crime Threat Assessment Report however, Europol notes that "substantial intelligence gaps (in the area of waste crime) preclude comprehensive assessment of organised crime activity in this area". The intelligence on European waste crime notes: - Illegal waste activities within the EU are organised and sophisticated networks with clear division of roles with some organised gangs making billions of Euros per year; - Waste brokers feeding these networks can also be part of and embedded within the legal waste management system, appearing to be operating legitimate businesses; - Complexity in the legal waste management system facilitates rather than prevents criminal activity; and - There are substantial financial burdens borne by affected Member States (e.g. those where the illegal dumping and disposal are occurring), which intelligence suggests to be south-east and eastern Member States plus those countries that share a border with these Member States (e.g. Albania). As a consequence of globalisation, enhanced market development and trade outside the EU, the flow of waste around Europe and outside its borders has become larger, more complex and significantly more costly to police. Rises in the number of conventions, Directives and state laws have, to some degree and with varying success, been instruments to ensure proper re-use, recovery, recycling and disposal of wastes. Waste recovery, management and disposal remains a sector where illegal activity and criminal organisations freely operate, often making large financial gains from their activities to the detriment of legitimate businesses, the common market and society at large. This document, focusing on the reused and recovered waste tyre market, reports on the current size of the EU, UK and South East of England tyre market, followed by a number of public sector led case studies illustrating novel approaches to reducing waste tyre crime. This study has identified that there are several commonly accepted motivators for tyre crime including: financial gain, convenience, opportunism, market dynamics/demand, lack of a threat of being caught and lenient sentences/punishment for offences. The novel approaches identified as part of this study commonly use an intelligence-led approach, whereby data gathered proactively is used to tackle crime on a number of fronts. Novel approaches can involve new partnerships, new approaches and intervention points, sharing of information and multi-agency collaboration, targeting different players in the supply chain and pairing crime enforcement action with awareness raising to stop crime occurring. It also involves mechanisms to support secondary waste market development, tackling one of the key sources - the waste itself - making it a valuable resource rather than a material to discard at lowest cost. The intelligence-led approach is now a widely accepted methodology for profiling organised waste crime and coordinating surveillance, awareness-raising and ultimately building a case for enforcement and prosecution. The case studies examined within this report use this intelligence-led approach to help tackle waste crime - they go beyond reactive policing. The demonstrable advantages of this approach include multi-agency collaboration giving access to pooled resources with greater breadth and depth, sharing intelligence and information to take fast action on emerging crime problems, engaging with and gathering knowledge from the general public and businesses and making decisions on allocating resources where the best outcomes can be anticipated.

Details: Reading, UK: Environment Agency, 2012. 66p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed January 20, 2019 at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/289927/geho0312bwdy-e-e.pdf

Year: 2012

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/novel-approaches-to-waste-crime

Shelf Number: 154277

Keywords:
Case Studies
Criminal Networks
Environmental Crime
European Pathway to Zero Waste (EPOW)
Europol
Illegal Dumping
Illegal Waste
Intelligence-Led
Interagency Collaboration
Organized Crime Threat Assessment Report
Supply Chain
Tire Market
United Kingdom
Waste Crime
Waste Recovery

Author: Global Witness

Title: The Forest Avengers: Why Peru's pioneering forest inspection agency OSINFOR should have its independence restored and its powers extended

Summary: A new analysis by Global Witness reveals that illegal logging in Peru's forests is still widespread and systematic, contributing towards the degradation of the Amazon. And yet, despite the rampant levels of illegal logging, the Peruvian government has been making alarming moves to weaken its forest watchdog - the Organismo de Supervision de los Recursos Forestales y de Fauna Silvestre (OSINFOR) - even though it has been the only state agency effectively tackling the problem. The report also reveals how some of Peru's biggest sawmills are consistently processing high rates of illegal timber to go out to consumer markets; and that logging companies are finding increasingly creative and devious ways to destroy the Amazon for profit, including: Using new types of harvest areas - especially those intended to be in the hands of local communities - to launder timber on a vast scale. These kinds of harvest areas are unable to be fined by OSINFOR. Faking the locations of trees in official documents, while illegally cutting trees elsewhere. Colluding with regional governments to get those falsified documents approved, making illegal timber appear legal. Using areas OSINFOR is unable to inspect - including plantations and land cleared for agriculture - to falsely declare their timber originated there, when really it was extracted elsewhere. Peru's forest watchdog OSINFOR has helped curb these abuses over the past decade. Tasked with protecting the country's forests, OSINFOR has fought back against the onslaught of illegal logging and become a global pioneer in tackling serious forest crime. Since it became an independent agency, which is not linked to any one ministry, its oversight operations dramatically improved. But now OSINFOR itself is in danger - with its independence weakened and subordinated to the Ministry of Environment, and the all the good work it does severely under threat.

Details: London: Global Witness, 2019. 24p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 4, 2019 at: https://www.illegal-logging.info/sites/files/chlogging/The%20Forest%20Avengers_Global%20witness%20%282%29.pdf

Year: 2019

Country: Peru

URL: https://www.illegal-logging.info/sites/files/chlogging/The%20Forest%20Avengers_Global%20witness%20%282%29.pdf

Shelf Number: 154470

Keywords:
Environmental crime
Forests
Illegal Logging

Author: Hervey, Michael

Title: The People vs. Flint vs. the EPA: Can the Flint Water Scandal Shed Light on the Lacking Remedies for Victims of Environmental Harms?

Summary: The Flint Water Crisis exposed the weaknesses in both our national infrastructure and the regulatory scheme that protects drinking water. In the wake of 12 deaths caused by official misconduct in Flint, prosecutors charged top Michigan officials with numerous crimes, including manslaughter. This raises an issue of whether criminal charges are appropriate for collective policy making missteps. In considering the appropriateness of criminal charges, one must compare how adequately it remedies the issue in relation to other available remedies. The potential remedies fall into the following categories: (1) civil suits for damages in state courts; (2) an injunctive court order requiring future compliance by a governmental entity; (3) civil rights violation claims and claims under the 5th and 14th Amendments of the Constitution; (4) a reformation of the drinking-water regulatory scheme; and (5) criminal penalties under state and federal law. In a perfect world, these remedies should cooperate to provide a holistic remedy for any particular harm. However, these remedies contain certain inadequacies and barriers to justice, and may offer no meaningful remedy to victims of environmental harm caused by government conduct. Traditional civil remedies are likely inadequate to remedy the harm done to such victims or sufficient to correct the broken regulatory scheme that allowed Flint to occur. While criminal prosecution involves its own inadequacies, the totality of negligent conduct requires a harsh remedy. Despite the inherent litigation risks involved in proving that the collective actions of state officials caused deaths, Michigan may be correct in pursuing criminal penalties here. If for no other reason, these charges should send a message to the citizens of Flint and other victims of environmental harms: from now on, the punishment will fit the crime.

Details: Unpublished paper, 2018. 33p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 26, 2019 at: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3154507

Year: 2018

Country: United States

URL: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3154507

Shelf Number: 155166

Keywords:
Environment Protection Agency
Environmental Crime
Offenses Against the Environment
Pollution
Water Pollution

Author: European Environment Agency

Title: Movements of Waste across the EU's Internal and External Borders

Summary: Ever more waste is crossing EU borders - moving between Member States and to and from non-EU countries. Indeed, the growth in cross-border waste trade during recent years has been remarkable. Exports of waste iron and steel, and copper, aluminium and nickel from Member States doubled between 1999 and 2011, while waste precious metal exports increased by a factor of three and waste plastics by a factor of five. Similarly, exports of hazardous waste more than doubled in the period 2000-2009. Change at this scale potentially brings significant environmental, social and economic opportunities. Where waste moves across borders it can enable access to recycling or disposal options that are unavailable or more costly in the source country - meaning lower environmental and financial costs for waste management. Equally, trade can increase the opportunities to use waste as a valuable input to production, avoiding the need to draw on virgin resources and thereby enhancing the resource‑efficiency of the economy as a whole. At the same time, of course, moving waste across borders clearly involves costs and risks. Transport itself has environmental impacts, including those resulting from the energy used. Even more important, the destination country must be a willing recipient and equipped to handle the waste safely. Where waste travels across borders illegally the risks can be particularly severe. As the analysis reveals, the huge growth in transboundary waste movements has several causes. EU legislation has certainly played an important role. The introduction of the single market in the EU in 1993 facilitated transboundary movements of goods, including waste. More recently, renewable energy policies have boosted trade in some waste types, for example wood. At the same time, the EU has agreed increasingly stringent and harmonised waste management rules in the last 20-30 years, especially during the last decade. In many cases, these have required countries to find new approaches to waste management, for example diverting substantial amounts of waste from changes, they do necessitate different waste management infrastructure to that used previously; where a region or country lacks such infrastructure, exporting waste to countries equipped with the necessary treatment technology and capacity may represent the best solution for the time being. Global forces have also played an important role in boosting non-hazardous waste exports. Rapid economic growth in some countries has created enormous demand for raw materials, particularly in Asia, at the same time as boosting resource prices globally. As resources have become more costly, the incentive to recycle waste or recover energy via incineration has increased markedly in the EU and outside Europe.

Details: Copenhagen: Author, 2012. 40p.

Source: Internet Resource: EEA Report No. 7/2012: Accessed April 19, 2019 at: https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/movements-of-waste-EU-2012

Year: 2012

Country: Europe

URL: https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/movements-of-waste-EU-2012

Shelf Number: 155468

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Hazardous Waste Products
Offenses Against the Environment
Pollution

Author: Baker, James

Title: Pollution in the Ocean: Everything Flows Downhill

Summary: In May 2009, the Aquarium brought together a group of leading marine scientists, informal educators, communicators, exhibit designers, and public policy experts to identify and explore major ocean issues and to develop documents and strategies to engage the public in these issues. Support for the conference was provided by NOAA, NSF, Southern California Edison, the Marine Conservation Research Institute of the Aquarium of the Pacific, Kings Seafood, and Santa Monica Seafood. The first four reports - (1) Coastal Hazards, (2) Ecosystems and Fisheries, (3) Critical Condition: Ocean Health and Human Health, and (4) Pollution-are based very loosely on booklets in the National Academies Ocean Science Series which can be found at http://dels.nas.edu/osb. Other reports based upon the conference will be added to this Aquarium of the Pacific website.

Details: S.L.: 2009. 36p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2019 at: http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/images/mcri_uploads/Pollution-Ocean.pdf

Year: 2009

Country: International

URL: http://www.aquariumofpacific.org/mcri/info/pollution_in_the_ocean_everything_flows_downhill/forums

Shelf Number: 155478

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Green Criminology
Illegal Dumping
Illegal Waste
Marine Pollution
Offences Against the Environment
Pollution

Author: Basel Action Network

Title: The

Summary: INTRODUCTION The BAN e-Trash Transparency Project In 2016, BAN published its groundbreaking reports entitled "Disconnect: Goodwill and Dell, Exporting the Public's E-Waste to Developing Countries," (May) and "Scam Recycling: e-Dumping on Asia by US Recyclers," (September). These reports followed several years of research, development and implementation of GPS/cell phone-based tracking technology. They involved placing 205 different GPS tracking devices inside of old printers, LCD, and CRT monitors, delivering them to US charities, retailers and recyclers and following them to their endpoints across the globe. Such research activities and subsequent publication of the results can be said to be a form of citizen enforcement because the trade of hazardous wastes, including most electronic waste, to developing countries from developed countries is illegal under international norms (Basel Convention) and under laws of most developed countries. Certainly, under the rules of the Basel Convention, it is illegal for developing countries to import hazardous e-wastes from the United States. 96% of the exports revealed by BAN 's 2016 study were deemed as likely illegal. The study as summarized in "Scam Recycling" witnessed 34% of the 205 deployments moving offshore with 31% of the total going to developing countries. Looking at those that were exported only 93% of the exports went to developing countries. 87% to Asia, 3% to Africa and 1% to the Middle East, and 1% to the Latin America/Caribbean region. 7% moved to the developed countries of Mexico and Canada. Most of the exports ended up in Hong Kong's rural northern area called New Territories. BAN's investigators visited GPS locations where the trackers ended up and found hundreds of e-waste junkyards in New Territories where the hazardous equipment is unfortunately smashed by hand, exposing workers to dangerous mercury laden dust, vapors and hazardous toners. Much of the e-waste was simply dumped in fields and wastelands. Of the 152 trackers delivered directly to recyclers and not to charities, 40% were exported significantly higher than the 15% rate for the 53 trackers delivered to charities or retailers. In the course of the entire pathways (chains) of the 205 tracker movements, the trackers passed through the hands of 168 different identifiable US recyclers. Of these companies, over 45% were part of a movement that went offshore (export chain). That study revealed also that R2 certified recyclers had a higher-than-average export rate. Uncertified recyclers had a lower-than-average export rate, and e-Stewards Certified Recyclers had the lowest average export rate of all three categories. With respect to the Certifications held by the "last holder" (apparent exporter), R2 exceeded e-Stewards 9-1. Finally, the report reveals the false claims and "green washing" of many of the companies that claim that they never would allow the public's waste electronics to be exported. The complete reports and media generated from them, including the PBS Newshour video segment that followed BAN to Hong Kong, can be found on our website's Trash Transparency Project pages. These reports include in detail, a full disclosure of the study findings including lists of all companies involved, the environmental harm caused, methodology, conclusions, and recommendations. BAN's work tracking e-waste in the United States and around the world with GPS trackers continues. BAN's ethical recycling certification program known as e-Stewards now uses trackers routinely to verify performance of the trade requirements in the standard (e.g. no export of hazardous e-waste to developing countries). At the same time, BAN continues to deploy trackers across North America to reveal for consumers and lawmakers alike, the illegal and/or unethical trade practices of some recyclers. It is our intention to continue to report on these trackers. The most recent deployment involved 60 trackers deployed in Texas, Georgia, and Florida in the US. 31 of these were R2 Certified (52%), 4 were both e-Stewards and R2 (6.66%), 1 was eStewards only (1.67 percent), and 24 were uncertified (40%). On September 6 of 2017, the first update of new tracker findings since our September 15, 2016 report was published. In that report we revealed 16 more chains of export (15 LCD monitors and one printer) involving 7 target recycling companies. 5 of these were in California, one in Ohio and one in Texas. An additional two companies (Skill Office Machines and VKL Exports) were also identified.

Details: Seattle, Washington: Basel Action Network, 2017. 18p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2019 at: http://wiki.ban.org/images/1/13/TheScamRecyclingContinuesUpdate_1.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: International

URL: https://www.ban.org/trash-transparency

Shelf Number: 155487

Keywords:
E-Waste
Electronic Waste
Environmental Crime
Green Criminology
Hazardous Waste
Illegal Dumping
Illegal Waste
Offences Against the Environment
Pollution
Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment
WEEE

Author: Palmer, Hayley

Title: Illegal Export of e-Waste from Australia: A Story Told by GPS Trackers

Summary: In September and October of 2017 BAN deployed 35 pieces of non-functional electronic waste equipment including CRT monitors, LCD monitors and printers with GPS trackers imbedded within them across Australia. All of the equipment qualified under the Basel Convention as hazardous waste. 14 units of equipment were deployed in the Brisbane area, 13 in the Sydney area, 3 in Adelaide, and 5 in Perth. Out of these 35 trackers 2 were exported (5.71%), 1 moved to a seaport and was likely exported (2.86%), 11 moved to a Recycler (31.4%), 4 moved to a landfill (11.4%), 7 never moved, (20%), 6 had no signal after delivery (17.1%) and 2 moved to an unknown location (5.71%). 2 are still reporting regularly and the rest have gone quiet, meaning they could be bulldozed into a landfill, buried deep in a warehouse, or shredded or disassembled by a recycler. Exports from OfficeWorks -- Three of the devices appear to have been exported, with two definitely going to Hong Kong's New Territories area. Both of these were LCDs monitors from the Brisbane area and one of these was later re-exported to an e-waste processing facility in Thailand. The two exported LCDs were deployed at different OfficeWorks stores in the Brisbane area. Officeworks' "Bring I.T Back" as a "Drop Zone" location is an official Australian Government public drop-off location that the public is encouraged to use for their electronic recycling. Officeworks, according to their website, considers itself to be a very sustainable company. The third device, another LCD left at Endeavor Foundation Industries, another government approved e-waste dropoff location, last signaled at a container dock at the port of Brisbane and was likely exported- though it has yet to signal again. Site Visits BAN traveled to the two locations in Asia where the two exported LCDs ended up. Both of these, without showing any other stopping points after their respective OfficeWorks deliveries, were joined in one intermodal container and shipped to the Ping Che area of New Territories, Hong Kong. Ping Che is an infamous area of Hong Kong for e-waste trafficking where most commonly undocumented laborers are involved in the crude and harmful breakdown of the equipment, often exposing them to dangerous toner dust, and, in the case of LCDs -- the toxic metal mercury. However, when we visited the location a few months after the arrival of the LCDs, there was no trace of e-waste in the facility - apparently, it had been cleaned out and one of the tracked devices stopped signaling. The other one, however, we visited its second location in Thailand. In Thailand that LCD monitor arrived at a location that was involved in crude smelting of circuit boards, creating deadly dioxins and furans, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Illegal Exportation There can be little doubt that these exports were illegal due to the fact that all three countries concerned, Australia, China (including Hong Kong), and Thailand are all parties to the Basel Convention. Due to the presence of mercury in the backlights of these LCD monitors and the lead in the circuit boards of the monitors, and because the equipment was rendered non-functional, the equipment was clearly a hazardous waste under the definitions of the Basel Convention. As such, all exports would require that they be notified prior to export by the government of Australia and consented to by the initially receiving government of Hong Kong. Thailand, in recent weeks, has made it abundantly clear that they are not happy receiving e-waste imported illegally en masse to primitive processing facilities that have been springing up all over their territory following China's own importation ban (see Current Trends in the e-Waste Trade).

Details: Seattle, Washington: Basel Action Network, 2018. 36p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2019 at: http://wiki.ban.org/images/7/7c/Australian_e-Waste_Report_-_2018.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Australia

URL: https://www.ban.org/trash-transparency

Shelf Number: 155489

Keywords:
Australia
E-Waste
Electronic Waste
Environmental Crime
Green Criminology
Hazardous Waste
Illegal Dumping
Illegal Waste
Offences Against the Environment
Pollution
Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment
WEEE

Author: Hammerle, Mara

Title: Stopping the Spread: The Issue of Death by Plastic in Commonwealth Marine Areas and the Great Barrier Reef

Summary: Plastic pollution, both land-based and in our oceans, is one of the most significant environmental challenges the world faces. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has even called it a critical problem, comparable to climate change. While plastic pollution is not the only type of marine litter, it is the most abundant form and poses a worldwide threat to marine environments. Mass production of plastic materials, coupled with inefficient disposal systems and widespread limited environmental awareness, exacerbate the issue. Marine litter is "any persistent, manufactured or processed solid material discarded, disposed of, or abandoned in, the marine and coastal environment". It is found across the planet, including in remote regions far from civilisation - such as Antarctica, remote mountain-tops and the deep-sea ocean floor. In marine environments, the litter accumulates in high densities posing detrimental consequences for marine life. Many species either accidentally swallow or become entangled in the litter, resulting in injury and sometimes death. It also has economic consequences, for example by limiting fishery productivity. There is an urgent need to address marine litter both through the strengthening of existing strategies and through new innovations and technology. As marine litter is rooted in production and consumption patterns and the disposal and management of waste, it is these areas where interventions are necessary. The aim of the report is to look at what could be done at the federal level to reduce marine litter in our oceans by examining lessons from international case studies. The strategies are categorised in five themes: prevention (preventing the production of plastic and other litter in the first place), mitigation (minimising the amount of litter entering water sources), removal (removing litter from marine environments), education (educating the public and other key stakeholders) and research (understanding the extent and impact of marine litter). It is however important that the potential negative impacts of any policy recommendations are assessed before adoption. However, the Constitution prescribes no specific environmental regulatory powers to the Federal Government and those powers that the Federal Government does have through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 are limited and weak. As stressed by numerous environmental organisations, including the Boomerang Alliance, Places You Love and Environmental Defenders Offices, there is an urgent need for national leadership both on marine litter and on environmental matters more generally.

Details: Queensland, Australia: McKell Institute, 2018. 29p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2019 at: https://mckellinstitute.org.au/app/uploads/Stopping-the-Spread-1.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: Australia

URL: https://apo.org.au/node/204446

Shelf Number: 155492

Keywords:
Australia
Environmental Crime
Green Criminology
Hazardous Waste
Marine Litter
Marine Pollution
Offences Against the Environment
Plastic Pollution
Polluted Oceans

Author: Macfadyen, Graeme

Title: Abandoned, Lost or Otherwise Discarded Fishing Gear

Summary: Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a problem that is increasingly of concern. Various United Nations General Assembly resolutions now provide a mandate for, and indeed require, action to reduce ALDFG and marine debris in general. Consequently, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) entered into an agreement to carry out a study in relation to ALDFG in order to raise awareness of the extent of the problem and to recommend action to mitigate the problem of ALDFG by flag states, regional fisheries management bodies and organizations, and international organizations, such as UNEP, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and FAO. This report reviews the magnitude and composition of ALDFG, and while noting that information is not comprehensive and does not allow for any global estimates, suggests that gillnets and fishing traps/pots may be the most common type of ALDFG, although netting fragments may also be common in some locations. The impacts of ALDFG are also considered and include: continued catching of target and non-target species (such as turtles, seabirds and marine mammals); alterations to the benthic environment; navigational hazards; beach debris/litter; introduction of synthetic material into the marine food web; introduction of alien species transported by ALDFG; and a variety of costs related to clean-up operations and impacts on business activities. In general, gillnets and pots/traps are most likely to "ghost fish" while other gear, such as trawls and longlines, are more likely to cause entanglement of marine organisms, including protected species, and habitat damage. The factors which cause fishing gear to be abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded are numerous and include: adverse weather; operational fishing factors including the cost of gear retrieval; gear conflicts; illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing; vandalism/theft; and access to and cost and availability of shoreside collection facilities. Weather, operational fishing factors and gear conflicts are probably the most significant factors, but the causes of ALDFG accumulation are poorly documented and not well understood. A detailed understanding of why gear is abandoned, lost or discarded is needed when designing and tailoring effective measures to reduce ALDFG in particular locations. A variety of measures are currently in place to reduce ALDFG, and these are profiled in this report. They include those which are preventative or ex-ante, and those which are curative or ex-post. Evidence suggests that while both are important, much of the emphasis to date has been placed on curative measures such as gear retrieval programmes and clean-up of beach litter, while preventative measures may generally be more cost-effective in reducing ALDFG debris and its impacts. This report concludes with a number of recommendations for future action to reduce ALDFG debris, be it on a mandatory or voluntary basis. It also considers at what scale and which stakeholders (e.g. international organizations, national government, the private sector, research institutions) might be best placed to address the wide range of possible measures to reduce the amount of ALDFG debris.

Details: Rome, Italy: United Nations Environment Programme, 2009. 117p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed April 20, 2019 at: http://www.fao.org/3/i0620e/i0620e00.htm

Year: 2009

Country: International

URL: http://www.fao.org/3/i0620e/i0620e00.htm#Contents

Shelf Number: 155493

Keywords:
Crimes Against the Environment
Environmental Crime
Fishing Nets
Green Criminology
Hazardous Waste
Illegal Dumping
Illegal Unregulated and Unreported Fishing
IUU Fishing
Marine Pollution
Oceans Pollution
Offences Against the Environment
Pollution

Author: Underwood, F.M.

Title: Dissecting the Illegal Ivory Trade: An Analysis of Ivory Seizures Data

Summary: Reliable evidence of trends in the illegal ivory trade is important for informing decision making for elephants but it is difficult to obtain due to the covert nature of the trade. The Elephant Trade Information System, a global database of reported seizures of illegal ivory, holds the only extensive information on illicit trade available. However inherent biases in seizure data make it difficult to infer trends; countries differ in their ability to make and report seizures and these differences cannot be directly measured. We developed a new modelling framework to provide quantitative evidence on trends in the illegal ivory trade from seizures data. The framework used Bayesian hierarchical latent variable models to reduce bias in seizures data by identifying proxy variables that describe the variability in seizure and reporting rates between countries and over time. Models produced bias-adjusted smoothed estimates of relative trends in illegal ivory activity for raw and worked ivory in three weight classes. Activity is represented by two indicators describing the number of illegal ivory transactions - Transactions Index - and the total weight of illegal ivory transactions - Weights Index - at global, regional or national levels. Globally, activity was found to be rapidly increasing and at its highest level for 16 years, more than doubling from 2007 to 2011 and tripling from 1998 to 2011. Over 70% of the Transactions Index is from shipments of worked ivory weighing less than 10 kg and the rapid increase since 2007 is mainly due to increased consumption in China. Over 70% of the Weights Index is from shipments of raw ivory weighing at least 100 kg mainly moving from Central and East Africa to Southeast and East Asia. The results tie together recent findings on trends in poaching rates, declining populations and consumption and provide detailed evidence to inform international decision making on elephants.

Details: S.L., 2013. 12p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 21, 2019 at: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0076539

Year: 2013

Country: International

URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0076539&type=printable

Shelf Number: 155956

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Illegal Ivory
Illicit Trade
Ivory Trade
Poaching
Seizures
Wildlife Crime

Author: Beasley Associates

Title: Tip of the Binberg: Exploring the Full Cost of Waste Crime in Greater Manchester

Summary: Beasley Associates and RGR were commissioned by Dsposal, supported by the GC Business Growth Hub, to deliver a study on waste crime in Greater Manchester with a focus on flytipping. The research assessed the costs of waste crime in the region, considered why and how waste crime happens, analysed public awareness of their legal duties with waste and identified opportunities to intervene, recognising that local authorities, businesses and communities are tackling the challenge and building momentum for their efforts. Fly-tipping is a significant and persistent problem in Greater Manchester, with local authorities reporting nearly 53,000 separate incidents in 2016/17 - 144 incidents for every single day of the year, producing an estimated average of nearly 20,000 tonnes of illegally dumped waste that year. This endemic illegal activity has a notable negative effect on the Greater Manchester economy. It cost the councils of Greater Manchester nearly 4.9 million pounds in 2016/17 in clearance and enforcement costs, with the revenue from fines and Fixed Penalty Notices barely making a dent in this cost. In addition, a conservative average estimate of around 750,000 pounds represents income lost by not recycling these materials and further to this, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs loses out on VAT and Income Tax on an element of the estimated 3 million pounds a year generated in cash sales by 'man and a van' operators providing waste clearance services in and around Greater Manchester. The circumstances in which this persistent but relatively low-level waste crime breeds are encouraged by the prioritisation by the public of low cost and convenience when choosing waste clearance services (as evidenced by the research commissioned from YouGov), rather than compliance with the public's Duty of Care. Awareness of public legal obligations on waste is low and confused and this is capitalised upon by several 'man and van' waste clearance operators who obfuscate even the best-intentioned members of the public trying to 'do the right thing' and deal with their waste properly and legally. The councils of Greater Manchester are tackling the challenge of fly-tipping and have achieved some success despite the severe restrictions on the resources available to them and the limited effect so far of national campaigns to raise awareness of legal responsibilities on waste for business and householders alike. To make further headway in tackling fly-tipping across Greater Manchester requires all those with an interest to collaborate and build on the substantial efforts already being made in the face of an endemic problem. We have offered some broad recommendations for further consideration. a) Highlight the cost of fly-tipping clearance in any new communications campaigns, as this is money that could be better spent on other local authority services. This approach of using hard hitting financial facts does seem to resonate and find traction with residents who may be less receptive to environmental campaigns. b) Seek to recover more of the costs of clearance through fines and enforcement activities, which presently contribute only modestly towards the total costs. This will require a greater investment in enforcement activities, however it is possible for a sound business case to be developed based on future cost avoidance. c) Devise new communications to localise messages about the importance of staying within the law and being aware of Carriers' Licences and Waste Transfer Notes. This could include targeted social and print media advertising, alongside the waste clearance adverts so that they have prominence in juxtaposition to the classified advertisements and social media pages. d) Focus general communications activity on the need for local action, and highlight distinctive local issues such as back alleys, utilising the existing good practice work of agencies such as Keep Britain Tidy and well developed local campaigns such as Hertfordshire Waste Partnership's Fly-Tipping Campaign. e) Engage the Environment Agency (EA) by consistently supporting them with intelligence on illegal operators, including reporting advertisers erroneously using the EA logo to gain credibility for their service. f) Simplify how householders and businesses can access quality assured information about legal, compliant collectors and waste managers. This could involve some form of validation service for collectors and operators, involving a new collaboration between the GMCA, the ten local district authorities of Greater Manchester, the Environment Agency, representative trade bodies such as the ESA and the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management, utilising the expertise of service providers such as Disposal. g) Further research should be commissioned which investigates the true level of knowledge and understanding amongst businesses about their duty of care and explores their main drivers in terms of selecting disposal services. This will provide evidence to judge whether there is any parity between the householder view and local businesses and help provide focus for any subsequent targeted campaign work.

Details: Manchester, England: Beasley Associates & Ray Georgeson Resources for Disposal & GC Business Growth Hub, 2018. 55p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 28, 2019 at: https://ciwm-journal.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Tip-of-the-Binberg-Full-Report.pdf

Year: 2018

Country: United Kingdom

URL: https://dsposal.uk/articles/tip-of-the-binberg/

Shelf Number: 156039

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Fly-tipping
Illegal Dumping
Illegal Waste
Offences Against the Environment
Waste Management

Author: Brochet, Anne-Laure

Title: Illegal killing and taking of birds in Europe outside the Mediterranean: assessing the scope and scale of a complex issue

Summary: The illegal killing and taking of wild birds remains a major threat on a global scale. However, there are few quantitative data on the species affected and countries involved. We quantified the scale and scope of this issue in Northern and Central Europe and the Caucasus, using a diverse range of data sources and incorporating expert knowledge. The issue was reported to be widespread across the region and affects almost all countries/territories assessed. We estimated that 0.4-2.1 million birds per year may be killed/taken illegally in the region. The highest estimate of illegal killing in the region was for Azerbaijan (0.2-1.0 million birds per year). Out of the 20 worst locations identified, 13 were located in the Caucasus. Birds were reported to be illegally killed/taken primarily for sport and food in the Caucasus and for sport and predator/pest control in both Northern and Central Europe. All of the 28 countries assessed are parties to the Bern Convention and 19 are also European Union Member States. There are specific initiatives under both these policy instruments to tackle this threat, yet our data showed that illegal killing and taking is still occurring and is not restricted to Mediterranean European countries. Markedly increased effort is required to ensure that existing legislation is adequately implemented and complied with/enforced on the ground. Our study also highlighted the paucity of data on illegal killing and taking of birds in the region. It is a priority, identified by relevant initiatives under the Bern Convention and the European Union, to implement systematic monitoring of illegal killing and taking and to collate robust data, allowing stakeholders to set priorities, track trends and monitor the effectiveness of responses.

Details: Cambridge, UK: Bird Conservation International, Volume 29, Issue 1 March 2019 , pp. 10-40 (open access)

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 6, 2019 at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/DE4D06F3BD4273B94FD3C9621C615A0A/S0959270917000533a.pdf/illegal_killing_and_taking_of_birds_in_europe_outside_the_mediterranean_assessing_the_scope_and_scale_of_a_complex_issue.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Europe

URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/DE4D06F3BD4273B94FD3C9621C615A0A/S0959270917000533a.pdf/illegal_killing_and_taking_of_birds_in_europe_outside_the_mediterranean_assessing_the_scope_and_s

Shelf Number: 156241

Keywords:
Birds
Environmental Crime
Wildlife Conservation
Wildlife Crime

Author: Birdlife International

Title: The Killing 2.0: A View to a Kill

Summary: The BirdLife Partnership presents THE KILLING 2.0 - the second installment in our ongoing series of scientific reviews led by BirdLife exposing the scale and scope of the illegal killing of birds across critical regions. The first installment, published in August 2015, shocked many by revealing the brutal extent of the bird crime taking place in the Mediterranean. To those results, we now also add the results compiled from Northern Europe, Central Europe and the Caucasus. Next year, we will be extending our eagle eye towards the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf. Beyond the Mediterranean, birds are primarily killed illegally for sport in the Caucasus and for both sport and predator or 'pest' control in Northern Europe and Central Europe. In Azerbaijan alone, hundreds of thousands of waterbirds (between 160,000 and 900,000) are thought to perish each year. Illegal killing by 'tourist-hunters' is rampant across Central Europe. In Romania, for example, Eurasian Skylarks are not traditionally hunted and are protected by law, yet thousands of these delicate passerines are killed each year within its borders by foreign hunters. The toll imposed by illegal killing in each country may for some species, like Little Bustard or Whiteheaded Duck, be too great for the population to bear. For some migratory species, illegal killing in each country along their route, alongside mortality from legal hunting and more diffuse threats like habitat loss, may add up to a significant impact. Predators have become the prey, with the review identifying raptors as the bird group with the highest percentage of species affected by illegal killing. Sadly, all but one of the 52 species present in the surveyed regions are being affected by this threat. The protection and provisions of the Birds Directive, CMS and Bern are not currently being implemented in many countries where the reality is un-checked persecution through poisoning, shooting and trapping at the hands of some land managers and those who target them for 'sport'. Like the piercing cry of the raven, our study issues an anxious warning call and establishes a baseline - going forward, there is an urgent and inescapable need for better monitoring of this scourge. We can clearly see that illegal killing is happening - and that it is happening on an epic flyway scale. We arrive, therefore, at a troubling conclusion: the scale of the killing may be massively underestimated. Despite legal protections enshrined in the Council of Europe and European Union law, the illegal killing of birds continues largely unabated across the old continent, all the way from the Atlantic to the Caspian Sea. There is hope - the governments of the Mediterranean and Europe are starting to work together in international forums to face this difficult issue head on and share information and ideas on how to tackle it. In some cases, as in Cyprus, action plans are drawing together all national stakeholders to help. Efforts to tackle illegal killing on the ground are starting to bear fruit when this happens. Success will require much greater political commitment, much greater investment in enforcement, stronger penalties and better monitoring of the issue from governments, zero tolerance of illegal killing among hunting and the communities at large and greater awareness and a stronger voice from civil society. A cultural sea change is required if we want these protected birds to be seen as an incredible view to be marvelled at and not 'a view to a kill' down the barrel of a gun.

Details: Cambridge, UK: Author, 2017. 11p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 6, 2019 at: https://www.birdlife.org/sites/default/files/the_killing_2.0.pdf

Year: 2017

Country: Europe

URL: https://www.birdlife.org/sites/default/files/the_killing_2.0.pdf

Shelf Number: 156243

Keywords:
Birds
Environmental Crime
Wildlife Conservation
Wildlife Crime

Author: Musing, Louisa

Title: Corruption and Wildlife Crime: A Focus on Caviar Trade

Summary: Corruption is a severe threat to wildlife conservation globally. While conservation practitioner anecdotes and existing empirical research all point to corruption as a main facilitator enabling wildlife crime, there is still limited knowledge about what can change this situation and help reverse the pernicious impact of corruption on conservation outcomes in practice. Corruption has a negative impact on conservation by reducing the effectiveness of conservation programmes, reducing law enforcement and political support, as well as establishing incentives for the over-exploitation of resources. It undermines the effectiveness and legitimacy of laws and regulations and can be an indicator of the presence of organised crime groups. Corruption needs to be addressed as a central part of the approach to tackling wildlife crime. As part of a wider project by TRAFFIC in collaboration with WWF to understand global caviar markets and to identify hotspots for illegal trade (Harris and Shiraishi, 2018), funding was provided by WWF to incorporate an anti-corruption component, working in partnership with and under the guidance of the U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre. The objectives of this component were to deepen understanding of how corruption may be facilitating the flow of illegal caviar along the value chain, to identify possible intervention strategies, and to inform further studies concerning environmental / wildlife crime and corruption. A typology of corruption for the illegal caviar trade was developed through the review of information gathered by TRAFFIC from academic literature and media reports, interviews with stakeholders who had some knowledge of illegal caviar trade, and the rapid market assessments in Beijing, Berlin, Chicago, Moscow, Paris and Tokyo that were conducted as part of the global caviar markets study (Harris and Shiraishi, 2018). Furthermore, a discussion group with anti-corruption, wildlife trade and sturgeon conservation experts (Table 1) was organised in April 2018 to discuss initial findings from TRAFFIC's rapid assessments, to refine the typology (Figure 3), to develop recommendations for policy and practice, and to build working relationships to support possible future studies (see Annex 1 for discussion group agenda). This report summarises key themes of corruption and wildlife crime as drawn from the literature reviews and interviews, and salient points arising from the discussion group in April 2018.

Details: Cambridge, UK: A TRAFFIC, WWF, U4 ACRC, Utrecht University, and Northumbria University report , 2019. 42p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 12, 2019 at: https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/11818/corruption-and-caviar-final.pdf

Year: 2019

Country: International

URL: https://www.traffic.org/site/assets/files/11818/corruption-and-caviar-final.pdf

Shelf Number: 156400

Keywords:
Caviar
Environmental Crime
Illegal Trade
Organized Crime
Political Corruption
Sturgeon
Wildlife Conservation
Wildlife Crime

Author: Walker, Summer

Title: Fragmented But Far-Reaching: The UN System's mandate and response to organized crime

Summary: From peace operations to how to better manage forests and food supply chains, the United Nations (UN) is engaged in the fight against organized crime and efforts to mitigate its impact within the ambit of the UN's wider goals: peace and security, human rights and sustainable development. Mandates relating to key crime types are often allocated to one or more agencies or departments across the UN System, but, as always, mandates evolve, and information about these mandates and the relevant programmes and activities carried out by agencies can be fragmented, scattered and duplicatory. For some emerging or resurging forms of crime, mandates allocated decades ago have required a far more comprehensive set of responses in their contemporary forms. To better understand the UN's overall mandate for addressing organized crime, the Global Initiative conducted a desk review of the UN's entities and agencies to identify their mandates and working agendas for organized crime, specifically in relation to the UN's work on six crime types that have had major impacts on broader UN goals, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper is a companion piece to an interactive online tool, which displays the organized-crime agendas within the UN System. The tool's purpose is to provide a better understanding of the UN's counter-crime work and serve as a basis for discussion about how organized crime challenges, which are now far-reaching and serious, could be more effectively met and how UN System resources can be used more coherently. The mandate for addressing organized crime extends across the UN System in a way that is expansive, exhaustive and certainly under-appreciated. A review by the Global Initiative has identified a working agenda for 79 out of the UN's 102 entities, bodies and agencies, or nearly 77 per cent. The research (see Figure 1) found that 37 per cent of these entities address human trafficking, and 33 per cent work on illicit drugs. Environmental crime was third, with 28 per cent of entities addressing related issues. Cybercrime and financial crime both saw 22 out of the 102 entities addressing the issue (21 per cent), and arms trafficking is worked on by 21 entities, yet this understanding of arms trafficking does not include illicit chemical and nuclear material trafficking. This paper examines the implications this has for the UN System given such a widely dispersed mandate. Organized crime is a cross-cutting threat to the goals of many different sectors, in all three core areas of the UN's work: peace and security, human rights and development. Previous analysis conducted by the Global Initiative found that organized crime affects a high proportion of the SDGs. An additional Global Initiative review of UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions in 2018 found that 22 of the 54 resolutions (40 per cent) referred to a form of organized crime, showing a significant recognition of the problem on the international security agenda. Given the diverse nature of organized-crime threats, it is possible to argue that perhaps it is only right that the requirement to respond to organized crime is distributed across the UN System so widely. But without a coherent strategy underpinning this wide mandate, responses to organized crime across the system can be fragmented, and opportunities to achieve synergies and learn lessons from responses are not maximized, or perhaps not realized at all. Organized crime is a challenge that rises and falls on the global policy priority list. The diversity of illicit markets and the fact the harm caused by organized crime tends to be more corrosive in nature than sensational mean that it is often overlooked or downgraded on the priority list. However, over the past two decades, there have been certain points when the threat of a specific form of organized crime became so compelling that it demanded an urgent response from the international community and the UN System. These flashpoints in the debate - for example, during the piracy crisis in the Gulf of Aden in 2011/12 (see page 3), or the demand for a response to human smuggling and trafficking in 2016/17 - have regrettably shone a light on the UN System's shortcomings rather than draw attention to the efficacy of the world's global governance mechanism to respond to shared, transnational threats that require collective response. Many efforts have been made to create better UN System coherence, but with the global scale and impact of organized crime on the rise, the need to recognize its corrosive impact on major UN objectives should be an imperative for the following reasons: - Organized crime is a leading cause of violence and homicide globally. - Criminal interests and corruption in natural-resource sectors are leading drivers of deforestation and unsustainable natural-resource extraction. - Organized crime has a destructive impact on governance, anti-corruption, economic development and trade, and environmental protection efforts. - Serious rights violations to individuals are caused by organized crime, such as the interlinking phenomena of modern slavery, forced labour, human trafficking and aggravated smuggling. It is very clear when looking at the spread of activity across the system that the issue is not solely a law-enforcement problem. Threats posed by criminal groups are wide-ranging: they impact good governance, breed corruption and weaken development agendas. A holistic view of the issues aligned with increased coherence would help shrink the learning curve on the pervasive impact of organized crime on international security, development and human rights.

Details: Geneva: Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, 2019. 28p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 24, 2019 at: https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gitoc_un_june_19.pdf

Year: 2019

Country: International

URL: https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gitoc_un_june_19.pdf

Shelf Number: 156607

Keywords:
Arms Trafficking
Cybercrime
Environmental Crime
Financial Crime
Human Rights
Human Trafficking
Illicit Drugs
Modern Slavery
Organized Crime
Transnational Organized Crime
United Nations

Author: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies

Title: Collective Response to the Challenge of Marine Plastic Pollution

Summary: Reducing plastic pollution in the oceans will be on the agenda of the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan on 28 and 29 June. Attention to the challenge from the leaders of the world's major economies is timely and imperative because non-traditional security threats induced by plastic pollution like degradation of the marine ecosystem and contamination of the food chain are increasingly imminent. A crisis of plastic waste is unfolding in many parts of the world now. The Philippines recently shipped scores of containers of waste back to Canada. Malaysia is to send back thousands of tons of waste from around the world like Australia. Against this background, the Basel Convention was amended in May 2019, which requires more transparency and regulation in the global trade in plastic waste. Several East/Southeast Asian countries, like the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, China and Japan, are important stakeholders for dealing with this challenge, as they are both major contributors to and victims of marine plastic pollution. They have strengthened efforts at the national level, like developing national action plans, specifying targets for reduction, and implementing new policies and regulations. Japan, for instance, adopted a new policy in May 2019 that aims to cut its flow of plastic waste into the ocean and to contribute to the global efforts as well. The aforementioned waste disputes have highlighted the loopholes in the existing cycle of reuse, reduce and recycle in many countries and the importance of a collaborative approach. Given that marine environmental pollution is borderless and developing countries in particular face mounting pressure for coping with plastic waste from domestic as well as foreign sources, international cooperation is crucial for an effective global solution to the problem. Japan's new policy package includes provision of technical and financial assistance for developing countries to tackle the challenge. This may indicate further support for Japan's existing cooperation with developing countries, like funding the proposed Knowledge Centre on ASEAN Marine Debris in Indonesia. The Asian Development Bank signed an agreement with Indonesia on collaboration in reducing marine plastic debris in early May, which includes technical assistance and knowledge sharing. International cooperation as such can enable better management of plastic waste in developing countries through supporting policy formulation and implementation, encouraging engagement of private sector and other social actors, and bridging partnerships between stakeholders. Given that marine plastic pollution will be discussed at the forthcoming G20 Summit, it is important that the needs and challenges of developing countries are given sufficient consideration in the discussion. Since Japan is the host and Indonesia, Singapore and China will attend the summit, East/Southeast Asian countries may take the opportunity to feature their perspectives in the global debate. Collaboration in financing and technological innovations should be emphasised as these two aspects are essential for better waste management and reduction in pollution in developing countries.

Details: Singapore: S. Rajartnam School of International Studies, NTS (National Non-Traditional Security Studies) Bulletin, 2019. 6p.

Source: Internet Resource: Accessed June 27, 2019 at: https://www.rsis.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NTS-Bulletin-June-2019.pdf

Year: 2019

Country: International

URL: https://www.rsis.edu.sg/rsis-publication/nts/nts-bullettin-june-2019/#.XRUJW-tKjcs

Shelf Number: 156580

Keywords:
Environmental Crime
Marine Litter
Offenses Against the Environment
Plastic Pollution

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