The Rise of Environmental Crime: A Growing Threat to Natural Resources, Peace, Development and Security

The Stockholm, Rotterdam and Basel conventions are the conventions responsible for helping prevent the illegal trade in chemicals and waste. In 2013, UNODC reported that illegal trade in E-waste to Southeast and the Pacific was estimated at 3.75 billion annually or 1.5 times larger than the illegal trade

become progressively limited as a result of Montreal Protocol controls. The CFC case demonstrates how implementing envi- ronmental rule of law through global agreements can effectively both obtain environmental goals and also shut down a global illegal trade of commodities by providing no safe havens.

New e-waste trafficking routes in Southeast Asia The example of CRT televisions exported from Japan

JAPAN

CHINA

HONG KONG

CRT television exports

Origin

Traditional destination

2006

VIETNAM

MYANMAR

New destination

2011

THAILAND

PHILIPPINES

Thousands of pieces

CAMBODIA

500

1 500

100

50 or less

Same quantity in 2006 and 2011

Three stops to China

Hong Kong’s decline as an e-waste hub? E-waste containers intercepted by Hong Kong customs

Shipment of 72 thousand tonnes of e-waste from Japan, 2014

120

100

Liaoning province

SOUTH KOREA

80

JAPAN

60

CHINA

Monitors Batteries

40

Guangdong province

20

Country of origin

Transit point

0

HONG KONG

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2012 2013

Destination

R ICCARDO P RAVETTONI // GRID A RENDAL // 2015

Sources: Keli Yu, Regional Risk Assessment of Illegal E-waste Trade in Asia, 2014

Figure 15: New e-waste trafficking routes in Asia (Source, UNEP 2015).

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