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

in wildlife in the region, estimated at 2.5 billion. 210 UNEP esti- mated in 2015 that the trade globally amounted to amounted to 12.5–18.8 billion USD annually, however, the how much of this e-waste that was subject to the illegal trade or simply dumped, was not known. 211 Programmes such as the UNODC-CCP represent the first really effective strengthening and building of a global system that can be useful for targeting ANY type of contra- band, thus much more effective in preventing the tactical shifts by smugglers to new routes and commodities. Strengthening such programmes and building enforce- ment efforts across sectors will be more effective and generates fast-line communication systems, similar to the work of INTERPOL – on any form or type of transnational organized crime. Radical strengthening of these institu- tions will be required if the rise in transnational organ- ized environmental crimes is to be curbed. This will also help enforcement and prosecution in other crime sectors through strengthening overall police, prosecution and judi- ciary resources.

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