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

Coordination of efforts This report illustrates that organized crime is increasingly involved in environ- mental crimes and threat finance, the latter well recognized recently also by the UNSC in resolution S/RES/2195 (2014). The report also shows that criminals are becoming more advanced shifting from one wildlife species to another, from smuggling ozone depleting CFC and shifting to HCFCs as this market emerge, shift from regular VAT fraud to carbon credit fraud as the carbon credit market emerged, and shift to laundering illegal tropical timber through pulp and paper when customs target round logs or furniture and adopt a variety of ”white collar” criminal methods including use of shell companies, tax havens, internet hacking, dark webs and fraud. Natural resources such as minerals, gold, charcoal and timber are exploited as new means of threat finance instead of drugs, diamonds and ivory. Criminal networks also shift locations geographically at high rates to circumvent limited enforcement efforts.

Designing appropriate and proportionate responses across the UN in partnership with countries will become the chief challenge ahead – from legislative responses, enforcement, investigation, customs efforts, in conflict zones addressing both security and preventing armed groups from benefit- ting from exploitation of natural resources – to prevention, community engagement, poverty alleviation and restoration of wildlife and ecosystems, to securing revenues and incomes from sustainable management of natural resources. This also means that efforts must entail targeted intelligence and information gathering on the smuggling routes, actors and causes in order to design the best response. This requires full engagement both in the enforcement and judicial chain, but also on prevention, alternative livelihoods support and restoration. To effectively increase the proba- bility of perpetrators being caught and prosecuted, along with promoting sustainable business opportunities, it is vital that the information and analysis is available to decision makers for designing appropriate and proportionate responses, designed specifically to the challenge at hand . In conclusion, a system-wide strategy, including in countries and across the international community, will be required to address the wider threats of environmental crime to peace, development, revenues and security. This, in turn, will provide the foundation and framework imperative to the sustainable management, protection, conservation and restoration of our ecosystems and the services they provide for the economy, health and wellbeing of the planet.

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