Negotiations are set to begin on the world’s first international protocol to fight environmental crime, including wildlife trafficking, illegal deforestation, and illicit waste smuggling. The protocol, to be drafted over the next two years, aims to make it easier to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate these crimes.
The negotiations will take place under the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), a global treaty established in 2003 to combat international criminal networks, money laundering, and corruption. The resolution to begin drafting the protocol was approved Oct. 23 at the treaty’s 13th biennial gathering.
“This is a landmark moment in the global fight against environmental crime,” Alice Pasqualato, global policy specialist for environmental crime at U.S.-based NGO Wildlife Conservation Society, said in a press release.
The proposal was put forward by 12 countries — eight from Latin America and four from Africa — led by Brazil. It secured more than the required two-thirds majority: Of the 112 parties physically or electronically present and cast a vote, 83 voted in favor and 12 against. The latter included the U.S. and Japan. Another 27 countries abstained.
The decision “sends a powerful message that governments recognize the scale, seriousness and interconnected nature of environmental crime,” Mark Jones, head of policy at U.K-based NGO Born Free, said in a press release. “We commend the States that developed, tabled and supported this resolution and look forward to engaging constructively in the negotiations ahead.”
The draft protocol will be discussed at the next UNTOC gathering in two years.
UNTOC already has protocols addressing human trafficking, migrant smuggling, and illegal weapons production and trade. The new resolution describes these protocols as “the principal worldwide legal instruments to prevent and combat the scourge of transnational organized crime.” It adds that they provide a framework for international cooperation, including the extradition and prosecution of suspects.
Many countries lack the needed tools to fight environmental crime, valued at up to $281 billion per year and often run by international syndicates. The UNTOC resolution detailed the consequences: “crimes that affect the environment may also have a negative impact on the rule of law, economies, sustainable development, public health, human safety, food security, livelihoods and habitats.”
Meanwhile, there are gaps in the legal definitions of environmental offenses and differences in penalties worldwide.
“Different jurisdictions end up speaking different legal languages, with some environmental offences being criminalized in one country but not the other,” Pasqualato said. “A dedicated international agreement offers a historic opportunity to close that gap, strengthen international cooperation and give governments better tools to disrupt the criminal networks profiting from the exploitation of wildlife and natural resources.”
Banner image: Tigers in Cambodia were declared functionally extinct in 2007. Image ©Vinod Udhwani via iNaturalist (CC BY-NC 4.0).
