Eco Mafia and Environmental Crime

Abstract

Environmental crime is currently one of the most profitable forms of criminal activity and it is no surprise that organised criminal groups are attracted to its high profit margins. (Banks et ah, 2008: 2) The industrialisation of societies continues to create an indelible human footprint with both immediate and long-term environmental consequences (White, 2010). It is a footprint that represents rapid human activity and with it has come new commercial opportunities, not only for global businesses, but also for organised criminal networks. Both the acceleration and byproducts of global trade have created new markets as well as underground economies. As the opening quotation from the Environmental Investigation Agency suggests, the ‘environment’ is big business for organised crime. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), for example, estimates that organised crime syndicates earn between US$20-30 billion from environmental crimes (Clarke, 2011, UNEP, 2005). Such earnings come at substantial social, economic and environmental expense for communities, their livelihoods and habitats. Indeed, organised environmental crime is identified by the UN as a key factor in the impoverishment, displacement and violent conflicts experienced by millions of people, notably in developing societies (UNODC, 2009). The theft of biodiversity and the demise of animal species and habitats have resulted not only in financial loss but the increase of ‘environmental refugees’, people dislocated and forced to migrate due to loss of livelihoods. Between 1950 and 2000, 80 per cent of all armed conflicts occurred in areas with ‘threatened species’. Hence, political unrest and armed conflict provide both the conditions and impetus for organised environmental crime that result in species decline and human dislocation (Humphreys and Smith, 2011). This chapter will explore the links between organised crime and the environment, and examine the regulatory and environmentalist responses to this growing issue of global concern.