The term environmental crime covers not only the illegal trade in wildlife, but also forestry and fishery crimes, illegal dumping of waste including chemicals, smuggling of ozone depleting substances and illegal mining. Illegal mining is not limited to illegal extraction of resources, it also has severe environmental impacts, whether from mercury pollution from artisanal gold mining,12 or destruction of natural flora and fauna, pollution, landscape degradation and radiation hazards, with negative impact on arable land, economic crops and trees.13 A broad understanding of environmental crime includes threat finance from exploitation of natural resources such as minerals, oil, timber, charcoal, marine resources, financial crimes in natural resources, laundering, tax fraud and illegal trade in hazardous waste and chemicals, as well as the environmental impacts of illegal exploitation and extraction of natural resources.14 Environmental crime has in recent years received global attention due to its serious and deleterious impact on the environment and ecosystems, as well as on peace, security and development.

cappadocia

Environmental crime endangers not only wildlife populations ranging from elephants, rhinos and tigers to pangolins, reptiles, fish and rare birds and plants but also at an ecosystems level through massive deforestation, pollution from unregulated chemical use and disposal, and destruction of livelihoods.15 Illegal trade ranges from bush-meat poaching based on food insecurity by impoverished villagers16 to natural resource exploitation by transnational organized criminals and non-state armed groups with potential links to terrorism. Given the complexity of the history and causal mechanisms involved in the range of environmental crime issues, there is also subsequently substantial confusion with regard to which responses are the most appropriate. In the following, some clarification is given, reflecting developments during 2015.

Thanks and regards,

Jessey
Managing Editor
Whatsapp- +3225889658