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Environmental Enforcement Networks: Their Role in Climate Change Enforcement
Abstract
Climate change regulation, like all forms of regulation, requires allegations of non-compliance to be investigated. Enforcing climate change law and regulations is already sufficiently challenging given a myriad of social, economic and environmental issues. However, climate change regulation is further complicated due to cross-jurisdictional issues, transnational factors and its intersection with traditional and crossover crimes such as fraud and money laundering. It is anticipated that both non-compliant entities and organised criminal enterprises will challenge and frustrate the efforts of government regulators as they attempt to enforce climate change legislation. Therefore climate change regulators have much to learn from the experiences of other enforcement and regulatory agencies that have cooperated and worked collaboratively through various Environmental Enforcement Networks to advance and maximise their enforcement effort. This chapter considers the opportunities for cooperation, it recommends the establishment of a Climate Change Enforcement Network, and provides information for consideration if such a network was established. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York. All rights are reserved.
... The vision is of improved assessments of environmental harm, and collaborative methods of response. Courts, police, and environmental protection agencies are crucial actors here, as are the emerging environmental enforcement networks (Pink and Lehane, 2012;Pink and White, 2016)along with scientific experts, nongovernment organisations, and citizen scientists. ...
The role of the ‘pracademic’ comes in the fore in the interface between academia and environmental protection. This article explores the translation of evidence-based research and theoretical innovation in environmental crime prevention into ground level practice. Crime prevention as applied to illegal fishing forms the initial focus of the discussions. This is followed by discussion of pracademics and the importance of combining academic work and practitioner experience as part of applied criminology. The paper then discusses the potential role of a ‘harm prevention criminalist’ in crime prevention interventions. As something potentially at the frontier of future work, this position involves a combination of skills including site and crime assessment, interpersonal communication, collaborative engagement, and horizon scanning.
Environmental crimes are illegal acts that directly harm the environment. They can cause considerable damage to ecosystems, increasing the risk of disease, environmental disaster, food chain contamination, pollution, wildlife degradation, reduced life expectancy, and increased rates of human morbidity. Environmental crime is the fourth largest criminal enterprise in the world. (INTERPOL-UN) These crimes include illegal logging, wildlife trafficking, hazardous waste dumping, illegal fishing, and the trade of endangered species, among others. Despite their wide-ranging implications, identifying and prosecuting these offenses remain challenging. This paper explores the nature and scope of environmental crimes, the difficulties in their identification, and the need for improved detection and enforcement mechanisms to tackle these illegal activities effectively. By examining the current state of environmental crime, the paper seeks to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issue, contributing to the development of more effective policies and strategies to combat this growing global problem. The European Space Agency is offering technical support and funding to companies developing innovative and commercial services that use space technology to combat environmental crimes. The paper also discusses the role of organized criminal networks and the relationship between environmental crimes and other types of criminal activities such as money laundering, corruption, and human trafficking. From the other side, it examines the challenges posed by the complexity of environmental crimes, the need for specialized knowledge and expertise, and the role of corruption and other factors that hinder effective identification and enforcement. Received: 05 May 2022 / Accepted: 16 May 2023 / Published: 20 May 2023
Overcoming the environmental challenges of the next century requires new modes of globalisation. To contribute, social scientists need to move beyond a constraining focus on the ills of ‘neoliberal capitalism’. Instead we need to understand how environmental reform can be achieved through the design of reflexive practices, relations and institutions that contribute to socially inclusive environmental reform under conditions of global modernity.
This paper provides a summary of the author’s recent study that assessed the utility of environmental enforcement networks. The study considered fourteen current and active environmental enforcement networks, at the sub-national, national, regional and global levels, from seven countries. The study established that there is utility in networks across the countries and networks studied. Further, the study identified a range of strategies and potential activities for environmental enforcement agencies to assist them in maximising the benefits they derive from their network engagement.
The Australian Government’s Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts is an emerging regulator. Upon commencement of its cornerstone legislation, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth), Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts inherited significant regulatory powers. Concurrent to this was the groundswell from other local, State and Federal environmental regulators, all of which had identified a need for greater coordination and interoperability between co-regulators and partneragencies.Arising out of this amalgam is a career path in its own right, which now includes a professional association of like-minded entities together with a hierarchy of nationally accredited vocational qualifications that have been customized for the environmental compliance professional. These vocational qualifications articulate fully into a similarly customised post graduate qualification.
Despite sharing relatively common purposes, Environmental Enforcement Networks are each unique. Part of this is because the circumstances vary under which they were established. A range of factors influence their development and ultimately determine their relative capability and potential maturity as a network.This paper postulates five possible phases of development through which Environmental Enforcement Networks may transition. Further, it suggests that the application of Capability Maturity Model processes, like those used as part of organizational assessments, is worthy of consideration by Environmental Enforcement Networks. The ability to determine the phase of development that an Environmental Enforcement Network is going through enables mapping the progression of the network through that phase.The authors consider that this conceptual model framework may assist and guide networks to reach their next level of maturity more effectively and efficiently. This paper proposes a Network Evaluation Matrix that has been informed by the foundational Capability Maturity Model framework.
There is a need for improved enforcement of environmental laws on a global scale. This is a fundamental component of promoting the rule of law and good governance to achieve sustainable development. The International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE) is a trans-governmental network that fosters capacity building, education, and enforcement co-operation in furtherance of these goals. This article presents some of the results of more than 15 years of INECE activities.
Crimes Against Nature provides a systematic account and analysis of the key concerns of green criminology, written by one of the leading authorities in the field. The book draws upon the disciplines of environmental studies, environmental sociology and environmental management as well as criminology and socio-legal studies, and draws upon a wide range of examples of crimes against the environment – ranging from toxic waste, logging, wildlife smuggling, bio-piracy, the use and transport of ozone depleting substances through to illegal logging and fishing, water pollution and animal abuse.
At the centre of eco-global criminology is analysis of transnational environmental crime. This includes crimes related to pollution (of air, water and land) and crimes against wildlife (including illegal trade in ivory as well as live animals). It also includes those harms that pose threats to the environment more generally (such as global warming). In addressing these issues, the book deals with topics such as the conceptualization of environmental crime or harm, the researching of transnational environmental harm, climate change and social conflict, threats to biodiversity, toxic waste and the transference of harm, prosecution and sentencing of environmental crimes, and environmental victimization and transnational activism.
How should we deal with societal ills such as crime, poverty, pollution, terrorism, and corruption? The Character of Harms argues that control or mitigation of ‘bad’ things involves distinctive patterns of thought and action which turn out to be broadly applicable across a range of human endeavors, and which need to be better understood. Malcolm Sparrow demonstrates that an explicit focus on the bads, rather than on the countervailing goods (safety, prosperity, environmental stewardship, etc.) can provide rich opportunities for surgically efficient and effective interventions - an operational approach which he terms ‘the sabotage of harms’. The book explores the institutional arrangements and decision-frameworks necessary to support this emerging operational model. Written for reflective practitioners charged with risk-control responsibilities across the public, private, and non-governmental sectors, The Character of Harms makes a powerful case for a new approach to tackling the complex problems facing society.
A new institutional architecture is emerging in Wales to govern sustainable development. The National Assembly for Wales (hereafter referred to as the 'Welsh Assembly')1 has a statutory duty to promote sustainable development in the exercise of all its functions; its response has been to design a set of political and organizational arrangements to manage this policy area, and to prepare a Scheme that sets out how it proposes to discharge this duty. Devolved government in Wales has also been the catalyst for the emergence of collaborative relationships and partnerships between different sectors and interests. The Welsh Assembly and the Welsh Local Government Association have published a Compact jointly committing them to promote sustainable development; national non-governmental organizations such as Oxfam and the World Wide Fund for Nature have set up Welsh agencies; local government sustainable development coordinators have formed a national network; a national Sustainable Development Forum has been created; and the Welsh Assembly has taken the lead in establishing a European network of countries interested in sharing best practice on sustainable development. A new Wales-specific structure and system is materializing and the test now is how far this will be effective in delivering sustainable development policies and solutions at local and national levels. This paper examines the challenges in managing sustainable development, and the potential for success of this new governance system, drawing on recent research undertaken by the author on behalf of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation. The examination is set in the context of different theories of governance, and sustainable development is conceptualized as a 'wicked issue' - one that cannot be resolved by organizations and agencies acting autonomously, but rather needs concerted focus and action across all sectors.
This article examines the question of whether criminal law can protect the environment by functioning as a means of controlling environmentally hazardous activities. The concept of general prevention today dominates in the context of criminalization, and has been particularly emphasized in relation to criminalizations whose objective is environmental protection. The article discusses the conditions for general prevention in the context of environmental criminal law. These conditions include the regulatory acumen of those applying the law, the likelihood of being sanctioned for offences and the severity of sanctions imposed. Further, the article identifies problems faced by the agencies whose task it is to apply environmental criminal law. The most conspicuous of these problems is the dual role of the supervisory which function both as advisers and enforcers in relation to the operations that they monitor. Police and prosecutors are primarily faced with problems of a legal-technical nature, such as difficulties proving offences have been committed and investigating the question of responsibility, and problems of competency. These competency issues include difficulties applying the regulatory framework of the criminal law and a lack of expertise in the area of natural science. Finally, explanations are sought for the problems experienced in applying environmental criminal law. The agencies, article concludes that the fundamental causes of these problems lie in the way the environmental crime legislation is based on the weighing of competing interests against one another, and the unclear role of the supervisory authorities that constitute the first link in the judicial chain. This lack of clarity gives rise to an uneven application of the legislation and causes problems for those applying the law at higher levels within the justice system.
This study discusses the utility of environmental enforcement networks (networks). It considers the viewpoints of eight senior managers, from environmental enforcement agencies (EEAs), who represent seven countries and collectively are involved in fourteen networks.Using a predominantly qualitative approach the study examined questionnaire and interview data relating to; the utility of sub-national, national, regional and global networks, and the strategies used by EEAs in order to increase the benefits derived from networks.The study established that there is utility in networks across the countries and networks studied. It also identified that there are a range of strategies and activities used by EEAs to maximise the benefits of network engagement. The study concludes with a number of recommendations that network members and their respective governing bodies may consider in an effort to maximise network benefits.
This paper documents the evolution of the Australasian Environmental Law Enforcement and Regulators neTwork (AELERT), through several phases, focussing on both the accomplishments and challenges encountered along the way. Commencing as a national network with five Australian foundation member agencies in November 2004, by November 2010 membership of AELERT has grown to incorporate over 75 member agencies. Significantly, membership is truly representative as it includes members drawn from all three levels of government and each of the eight Australian jurisdictions and both levels of government in New Zealand. AELERT has evolved organically, rising from a ‘bottom-up’ practitioner base in the early years to being recognised by a ‘top-down’ Ministerial level body as a professional network of similarly aligned member agencies with an increasing regional and international profile.
Editor's Note: John Elkington's new book, Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st-Century Business, has been hailed as “practical, compassionate and deeply informed, a brilliant synthesis of his genius for cutting through the thicket of tough issues–in the world of business and sustainability–and producing elegant solutions that can be applied today” (Paul Hawken). We are pleased to have the opportunity to publish a selection from this award-winning book. In this discussion of partnerships, Elkington explores how effective, long-term partnerships will be crucial for companies making the transition to sustainability and offers approaches and examples of keen interest. Special thanks to Capstone Publishers, U.K., for their gracious cooperation.
The search for scientific bases for confronting problems of social policy is bound to fail, becuase of the nature of these problems. They are wicked problems, whereas science has developed to deal with tame problems. Policy problems cannot be definitively described. Moreover, in a pluralistic society there is nothing like the undisputable public good; there is no objective definition of equity; policies that respond to social problems cannot be meaningfully correct or false; and it makes no sense to talk about optimal solutions to social problems unless severe qualifications are imposed first. Even worse, there are no solutions in the sense of definitive and objective answers.
This piece reviews alternative reform proposals for international environmental governance, and the role of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in a new international environmental architecture. It argues for streamlining UNEP as a scientific hub within a broader international network of linked actors involved in environmental governance.
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