Environmental crimes: A fundamental issue in the fight against organised crime and the protection of biodiversity
On 1 January 2021, the (EU) 2017/821 regulation on minerals from conflict areas will come into force, which will require gold, tin, tungsten and tantalum mining and export companies to have a certification and traceability system for minerals extracted, in order to guarantee that they do not come from conflict areas and that their trade cannot be used to finance organised crime and terrorism.
This legislative initiative is being implemented after an array of reports by international organisations and civil society have highlighted the exponential growth of environmental crimes, but also the huge benefits they have for organised crime as a whole. For example, in 2018, the United Nations Environment Programme and Interpol estimated that environmental damage amounted to an annual turnover ranging between USD 110bn and USD 281bn, making it the third most profitable illegal activity after drug trafficking and smuggling.
Indeed, certain countries, such as Colombia, estimate that in 2019, the illegal mining of gold and precious stones, trafficking in protected species and trafficking in timber will be more lucrative activities than drug trafficking. Peru has calculated that a tonne of gold is illegally mined every day. Considering that a kilogramme of gold is sold for USD 36,000 and that for each gram of gold mined, between 3 and 5 grams of mercury are used to separate the quartz from the gold, it is possible to have an idea of the huge profits that this activity brings to major criminal groups, but also of the environmental impact in illegal mining areas.
Furthermore, the impact of illegal mining cannot only be defined in terms of natural resources, it is also intrinsically linked to a multitude of related offences, such as deforestation, trafficking in protected species, abductions, human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation or labour, corruption, money laundering and tax evasion.
Investigative work by the police and prosecutors
Developing effective information exchange and intelligence mechanisms between countries, allowing complex investigations to be conducted, is the key to strengthening the fight against environmental damage. In addition, the investigations must include the patrimonial and financial aspects. For example, one of Brazil’s good practices in the fight against illegal logging and timber trafficking is the identification and location of individuals, companies and financial entities that supply and launder money from these offences.
In this respect, the creation of specialised multidisciplinary teams, composed of police officers, prosecutors and specialists in this area, is a tool that both the EL PAcCTO programme and the G7 promote in order to fight against environmental offences more effectively.
Similarly, it is extremely important to systematise and coordinate the investigation teams with civil society stakeholders, private experts, and with the authorities in charge of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Convention), in order to precisely identify whether the trafficking in certain species is legal or illegal. In this respect, any trade in a species listed in the CITES Convention is, by definition, illegal and requires criminal prosecution.
Prevention: A factor in changing mentalities
While the coordination of effective investigation methods and mechanisms is essential to bringing criminal prosecutions against organised crime and environmental damage, prevention must also be a key factor in any integral public policy in Latin America and the European Union.
The responsibility for environmental offences does not only lie with the country of origin, it must also fall to the countries of transit and destination of trafficked species and materials. It is for this reason that it is essential to develop awareness-raising and prevention actions towards citizens, in particular those who have a high purchasing power, in order to strengthen the long-term impact on the fight against environmental damage and climate change. In this respect, European experience in the development of national pacts on specific issues can constitute a good practice to be exchanged between the two regions.
However, we should not overlook the fact that the Latin America region itself has very positive experiences in prevention and treatment in areas that have been subject to serious environmental damage. Consequently, the promotion of intraregional cooperation in the environmental field must be an important priority for these countries.
Coordination between European actors
The multitude of actors that actively contribute to programs for nature protection, the fight against environmental damage, against climate change or other environmental damage means it is necessary to develop coordination mechanisms. It is for this reason that since March 2018, the European Union’s EUROCLIMA + and EL PAcCTO programmes have been regularly organising information and coordination meetings.
In addition, several EU delegations in Latin America have promoted exchanges with other national and international programmes. A good example is the B4Life programme which has participated in conferences and activities organised by EL PAcCTO in the region, and with which specific actions have been proposed to be jointly developed.
Consequently, the closer the coordination between donors and actors in charge of the implementation of projects, the more the results will be sustainable on the protection of biodiversity and the fight against environmental damage in Latin America and the European Union.
In the current context of an alarming increase in environmental offences, cooperation, coordination, dialogue and exchanges are key concepts. EL PAcCTO takes this approach alongside actors from Latin America and the European Union and is committed to supporting and facilitating all the initiatives in this direction, in order to ensure a more effective fight against this new trend of organised crime.
Find out more at www.elpaccto.eu