Who are the main culprits of environmental crime?

Who are the main perpetrators of environmental crimes? Environmental crimes include many different criminal behaviors, which can attract different perpetrators. Environmental crimes can be committed by individuals who are not affiliated with political, industrial, or criminal organizations. Individual perpetrators can commit a wide range of environmental crimes, ranging from minor to major.

The main perpetrators of environmental crime

Individuals pose as hunters, traders, resellers or consumers and are often involved in the wildlife trade. In Australia, there are two main categories of players involved in illegal abalone poaching: individuals and family groups. A person may work as a waste broker, internet dealer or waste distributor and seller within the illegal waste industry. For example, the Tackling Waste in Electronics and Electrical Equipment Illegal Trade project described the phenomenon of ‘waste tourists’. African nationals also travel to Europe on tourist visas to collect e-waste from management sites or recycling plants, for free or at a low price. They smuggle it back to Africa where it can be sold as parts or equipment.

People commit environmental crimes as part of cultural rituals or customs, such as illegal hunting. When there is no social stigma attached to their behavior, these people often have no criminal history and do not believe they are breaking the law. These crimes may be socially acceptable in some places, making it easier for individuals to commit them.

Individual offenders may feel “forced” to commit environmental crimes because of their lack of resources and limited opportunities for employment. It is widely accepted that crimes such as water theft and illegal cultivation are necessary for survival. Some individuals are forced to commit environmental crimes because of land loss, rain shortages, climate change, and famine. For example, in certain regions, the exploitation of illegal mines may be encouraged by traders who use artisanal miners to conceal their participation in illegal activities and prevent the affected area from being restored. As a result, those who profit from illegal activities enjoy impunity.

Most environmental crimes are committed by loosely structured teams of individuals with some professional expertise in the field in which they operate, but are often overridden by rules. Because no central authority or dictator controls the work of members of the profession, activities are structured in a way that allows for spontaneous cohesion and cooperation. A single mafia-like firm may impose greater constraints than small competing firms. The absence of Mr. Big may be more damaging to the ecosystem. There are complex interactions that connect producers and consumers of raw materials through a network of supply chains and other key actors, including legitimate businesses, government officials, and consumers.

The most notorious environmental offenders are companies whose political and legal resources hide their misconduct from law enforcement. The Chinese brewery, Benma Beer Factory in Tainshui, Gansu Province, failed to abide by the “three at a time” rule. As a result, the company deliberately delayed the construction of its wastewater treatment plant, while continuing to discharge industrial wastewater directly into the Grade 1 protected spring water area in the eastern city of Tianshui for more than a decade.

The safety of local people’s water use was seriously threatened by this violation of waste disposal by the Benma Beer facility. Although corporations are often listed as major environmental criminals, small and medium-sized enterprises, or SMEs, as well as sole proprietors, can also engage in such crimes. Individually, SMEs can violate established legal obligations by intentionally or unknowingly violating environmental laws.

In some cases, officials of state government and public institutions directly commit environmental crimes by omission or commission or engage in corruption, particularly when colluding with major corporations. For example, government officials may facilitate the illegal dumping of hazardous or radioactive waste on land or water or assist municipal waste treatment facilities in illegally discharging raw sewage into rivers and lakes.

Numerous authors and organizations, including the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations Environment Programme, UNICRI, CITES, UNODC, EUROPOL, and INTERPOL, have recognized the involvement of organized criminal groups and networks in various environmental crimes. Loosely organized groups of people may commit an environmental crime, but there are also much more complex types of organized criminal organizations with different functions.

For example, illegal abalone harvesting in South Africa is highly organized and often controlled by organized criminal organizations that also control drug trafficking. According to EUROPOL, these organizations are involved in the illegal waste trade and are responsible for collection, transportation and recovery. They are assisted by authorized professionals. Many intermediaries that support illegal waste management operations are integrated into legitimate waste management and use their positions to influence key government officials.

Final thoughts

Environmental crime can be committed by individuals who are not affiliated with political, industrial, or criminal organizations. Most environmental crime seems to be carried out by loosely structured teams of individuals with some level of professional expertise in the field in which they operate, but is often overridden by regulations. The most notorious environmental offenders are corporations whose political and legal resources hide their misconduct from law enforcement.