The United Nations and the global policing body INTERPOL are to study the impact of environmental crime on security and development.
According to UN Environment Program (UNEP) and INTERPOL, at the First High Level Compliance and Enforcement Meeting in Nairobi environmental crimes are a rapidly increasing international problem.
The two bodies said that according to recent studies environmental crime is now the fourth largest global illegal trade behind illegal drugs, human trafficking and armaments.
Environmental crimes vary from the illegal trade in wildlife, timber and the smuggling of ozone depleting substances to the illicit trade in hazardous waste and illegal fishing.
“The theft of natural resources by the few at the expense of the many is rapidly emerging as a new challenge to poverty eradication, sustainable development and a transition towards an inclusive Green Economy when one looks at the scale and breadth of these criminal activities” UN Under-Secretary General and UNEP Executive Director, Achim Steiner said.
Environmental crime is now the most profitable form of organised crime, according to reports.
With wildlife crime alone worth up to an estimated US$15-20 billion annually, and illegal logging worth between US$30-100 billion annually; accounting for between 15 and 30 per cent of the overall global trade, according to a UNEP-INTERPOL report entitled, Green Carbon Black Trade.
Additionally, pirate fishing accounts for an estimated 20 per cent of the world’s catch, according to WWF estimates, with the value of pirate fish products estimated at between US$10-23.5 billion annually.
Illegal trade in electronic waste is on the rise, a consequence of rapid turnover of electrical devices, particularly in developed countries.
The first INTERPOL operation targeting the illegal trade of electronic waste in 2012 saw the seizure of more than 240 tons of electronic equipment and electrical goods and the launch of criminal investigations against some 40 companies involved in all aspects of the illicit trade.
A UNEP report, E-waste, the hidden side of IT equipment’s manufacturing and use, found Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Europe, were a common source of electronic waste.
The waste was being shipped internationally, the destinations being Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria in Africa.
The meeting between the UN and INTERPOL was held in response to the alarmingly growing amount of elephant and rhino poaching in Africa, with double the numbers of elephants killed and triple the amounts of ivory seized over the last decade.
Equating to an estimated 17,000 African elephants being illegally killed in 2011, and consignments of more than 800 kilograms of ivory destined for Asia, the market for ivory in Asia has more than doubled since 2009, reaching an all-time high in 2011, according to the UNEP report Elephants in the Dust – The African Elephant Crisis.
“The sharp rise in the poaching of elephants and rhino in Africa may be the issues that are grabbing the headlines, but as this week’s forum shows the breadth of environmental crime does not end here.
“Whether it be timber or fisheries or the dumping of hazardous wastes, improved intelligence gathering, focused police work, strengthened customs capacity and the engagement of the judiciary are all going to be vital pieces towards our shared ambition of a less crime-ridden and more just world,” said Mr. Steiner.
INTERPOL is encouraging countries to establish multi-agency National Environmental Security Task Forces (NESTs) to further strengthen enforcement mechanisms.
It also says imposing strict penalties for engaging in environmental crimes will have a significant deterrent effect, as current penalties vary amongst national governments.
