Environmental crime is a relatively new phrase that has been thrown around without any strict meaning attached to it. Some define it as any degradation of the environment, which would make every single one of us environmental criminals. The more realistic definition is any negligent or deliberate act that violates national or international environmental law.
Environmental crime can be split up into two categories: wildlife crime and pollution crime. Both are huge international problems that siphon billions of dollars into criminals’ pockets.
Wildlife Crime
Wildlife crime includes poaching, trafficking, or even possessing protected plants or animals. Trafficking is most strongly linked to organized crime, and many of the same routes used for transportation of illegal drugs, weapons and slaves are used for trafficking animal parts.
These crimes are extremely lucrative for only one reason – demand. China is the largest importer, with the United States following closely behind. Exporting items such as ivory, reptile skin, tiger bones, rhino horns, shark fins, and exotic birds earn criminals over $10 billion a year. The people who buy, for example, ivory carvings in the United States and tiger bones for medicine in China keep these traffickers and poachers in business.
As a result, many already endangered species are inching dangerously close to extinction. As the numbers decrease, so does the biodiversity of the species, making them extremely susceptible to disease. Transportation of these animals also promotes the spread of diseases including Ebola, SARS, and the avian flu.
Pollution Crime
Pollution crime more readily comes to mind when thinking about environmental crime. It is the violation of any national or international environmental law including handling, transport, trading, and disposal of hazardous wastes.
In the United States, environmental laws were not enforced or even created until the second half of the 20th century and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). During this time the Clean Water Act (1977), Clean Air Act (1970), Ocean Dumping Act (1972), the Resource Conversation and Recovery Act (1976), and many other acts were passed by Congress for better human and environmental health. This meant that companies and people were no longer able to illegally dispose of hazardous wastes, export these wastes to unknowing countries, or pollute the water.
Many persons, however, still did because the cost of keeping their operations clean was significantly higher than those associated with polluting. The EPA’s website (http://www.epa.gov) offers the following example of someone violating the Clean Water Act:
“A plant manager at a metal finishing company directs employees to bypass the facility’s wastewater treatment unit in order to avoid having to purchase the chemicals that are needed to run the wastewater treatment unit. In so doing, the company sends untreated wastewater directly to the sewer system in violation of the permit issued by the municipal sewer authority. The plant manager is guilty of a criminal violation of the Clean Water Act.”
Another example was turned into a blockbuster movie called A Civil Action. In Woburn, Massachusetts a tannery and a factory were dumping toxic chemicals. The chemicals seeped into the ground and infiltrated the town’s drinking water, causing eight children to become sick with leukemia. These companies violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
Both examples include blatant violations of environmental law and thus are environmental crimes.
Fighting Environmental Crime
In 1992 Interpol created the Environmental Crime Committee. The committee meets once every two years to discuss strategies and practices, and to help build co-operation in the fight against international environmental crime. Under this committee the Wildlife Crime Working Group and the Pollution Crime Working Group take on projects to increase the effectiveness of international environmental law.
In the United States, the Superfund Act (1980) requires those responsible for creating hazardous waste sites to cooperate in the cleaning of these sites. Cases of environmental crime are often difficult to prosecute and proof can be slippery, but they often succeed.
Conclusion
When it comes down to it, environmental crime is really a crime against humanity. It can promote disease and help it spread worldwide, causing illness and death. It can destroy jobs, drive down property values, and damage a community’s livelihood. It will make the future less safe, less diverse, and a less beautiful place to live. We are only hurting ourselves by propagating these crimes. Those responsible must be held accountable for their actions just like any other criminal.
