Report on Environmental Crime and its Impact on Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction: Re-contextualizing Environmental Crime for the 2030 Agenda

The prevailing public and media perception of crime, which focuses heavily on interpersonal violence, often obscures the significant and escalating threat of environmental crime. This report analyzes the nature of environmental crime, arguing for its reclassification as a serious offense comparable to murder, particularly in the context of its profound impact on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Environmental offenses inflict tangible, large-scale harm on ecosystems, communities, and global stability, directly impeding progress across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The Intersection of Environmental Crime and Global Sustainability Targets

Undermining SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Environmental crime is a direct assault on the principles of SDG 16, which seeks to promote peaceful and inclusive societies, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable institutions. The mechanisms of environmental crime inherently weaken the rule of law through:

• Corruption and Bribery: Organized syndicates engage in the bribery of officials, such as guards and customs agents, to facilitate illicit activities like wildlife trafficking and illegal logging, eroding institutional integrity.
• Illicit Financial Flows: Perpetrators utilize complex financial schemes, including money laundering and shell companies, to hide the proceeds of illegal mining or timber harvesting, destabilizing economies and undermining financial transparency.
• Organized Crime: The involvement of sophisticated, mafia-style criminal networks in environmental exploitation directly challenges state authority and security.
• Erosion of Justice: When environmental crimes are not treated with sufficient gravity, it creates a culture of impunity that undermines public trust in justice systems.

Threatening SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 15 (Life on Land)

The most direct consequences of environmental crime are borne by the planet’s ecosystems, representing a critical threat to biodiversity and natural resources. These actions are in direct violation of key SDG targets:

• SDG 15: Life on Land: Crimes such as the destruction of protected forests, illegal mining, and the trafficking of endangered species like elephants and pangolins accelerate biodiversity loss and degrade terrestrial ecosystems.
• SDG 14: Life Below Water: Illegal fishing operations deplete marine stocks, while the deliberate pollution of rivers with toxic materials destroys freshwater habitats and harms marine environments downstream.

Broader Implications for Climate, Health, and Economic Goals

The impact of environmental crime extends beyond ecological damage, creating cascading negative effects on other critical SDGs:

• SDG 13 (Climate Action): Large-scale deforestation and the release of noxious gases from illegal industrial activities are significant drivers of climate change.
• SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being): The illegal dumping of toxic waste and the pollution of air and water sources cause direct and severe harm to human health.
• SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): Criminal networks often exploit economic desperation, recruiting local populations for high-risk activities like poaching, which undermines the development of sustainable livelihoods and formal economies.

Analysis of Perpetrators and Motivations

Defining and Differentiating Environmental Crime

A critical distinction must be made between minor acts of individual negligence and serious, organized environmental crime. While public awareness campaigns often focus on individual responsibilities like recycling, effective enforcement must target the ecological equivalent of serial killers: large-scale, deliberate criminal operations. Environmental crime is defined as any act that breaks environmental law—whether negligently, recklessly, or deliberately—and causes significant environmental harm. This includes tangential crimes such as fraud, corruption, and money laundering used to facilitate environmental destruction.

Profile of Environmental Criminals and Their Motivations

Contrary to the stereotype of corporate executives, many severe environmental crimes are perpetrated by organized crime syndicates structured similarly to drug trafficking networks. These operations involve a hierarchy of actors, from international crime bosses to local poachers driven by economic hardship. The psychological motivations behind these crimes are complex and extend beyond simple greed. An analysis of perpetrators reveals six primary drivers:

1. Ease
2. Impunity
3. Greed
4. Rationalisation
5. Conformity
6. Desperation

While systemic issues like poverty and weak governance create enabling environments, individual choice and personal motivation remain central to the commission of these crimes.

Conclusion: Aligning Public Perception with SDG Imperatives

Recommendations for Elevating the Status of Environmental Crime

To effectively combat environmental crime and protect progress towards the SDGs, a fundamental shift in public and legal perception is required. Environmental crimes must be framed and prosecuted with the same seriousness as high-level violent crimes. Elevating the media and judicial profile of these offenses would yield several benefits aligned with global sustainability efforts.

Expected Outcomes

• Deterrence: Increased public attention and severe penalties would act as a powerful deterrent to potential criminals.
• Strengthened Governance: A focus on justice for environmental victims would combat eco-anxiety and build public support for robust enforcement, reinforcing SDG 16.
• New Social Norms: Treating environmental destruction as a severe crime would establish a clear social norm that the ecosystems supporting human life are invaluable and their protection is a paramount societal duty.
• Enhanced Accountability: It would ensure that the individuals and networks causing irreparable harm to the planet are held accountable, fulfilling a core principle of the 2030 Agenda.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: The article mentions environmental crimes like releasing “noxious gases into the air” and adding “poison to your water,” which directly impact human health and well-being by causing illness and death from pollution.
• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: The act of “polluting rivers” and dumping “toxic waste” as described in the article directly contravenes the goal of ensuring clean water and sanitation for all by degrading water quality.
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: The discussion of managing “toxic waste” and the illegal extraction of resources like timber and minerals relates to the goal of achieving environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle.
• SDG 13: Climate Action: The article notes that environmental crimes have “broader impacts on… climate change.” Activities such as releasing noxious gases and cutting down protected forests are significant drivers of climate change, connecting the issue to the need for urgent climate action.
• SDG 14: Life Below Water: The specific mention of “fishing illegally” directly addresses the threats to marine ecosystems and the sustainability of fish stocks, which is a core focus of this SDG.
• SDG 15: Life on Land: This goal is central to the article. The text provides multiple examples of crimes that harm terrestrial ecosystems, including “cutting down protected forests,” “wildlife trafficking,” and the poaching of “elephants or pangolins,” all of which lead to biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: The article’s main argument is about the failure to treat environmental crime with legal seriousness. It details the involvement of “organised crime syndicates,” “corruption” (bribing guards and customs agents), “money laundering,” and “fraud,” which are all issues targeted by SDG 16’s aim to reduce illicit financial flows, combat organized crime, and reduce corruption.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • Target 3.9: By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination. The article’s examples of criminals “releasing noxious gases into the air” and “polluting rivers” with poison or toxic materials are activities that this target aims to mitigate.

2. SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

   • Target 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials. The crime of “polluting rivers” mentioned in the article is a direct counteraction to this target.

3. SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production

   • Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle… and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil. The discussion of dumping “toxic waste” aligns with the challenges this target addresses.

4. SDG 14: Life Below Water

   • Target 14.4: By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The article’s mention of “fishing illegally” and committing “fraud to get around fishing permits” directly relates to this target.

5. SDG 15: Life on Land

   • Target 15.2: By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally. The crime of “cutting down protected forests” is a direct violation of this target’s objective.
   • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species. The article’s discussion of the “broader impacts on biodiversity” and the killing of endangered animals connects to this target.
   • Target 15.7: Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products. The detailed example of “wildlife trafficking,” where crime bosses hire locals to “poach elephants or pangolins” for their ivory and scales, is a perfect illustration of the problem this target seeks to eliminate.

6. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • Target 16.4: By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime. The article describes how “organised crime syndicates” engage in “money laundering to hide the proceeds of illegal mining” or wildlife trafficking, which are the exact illicit financial flows and organized crimes this target aims to reduce.
   • Target 16.5: Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms. The article provides a clear example of this by stating, “Guards and customs agents are bribed to turn a blind eye” to smuggling, which directly relates to this target.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

The article does not explicitly mention official SDG indicator codes, but it implies the phenomena that these indicators are designed to measure. Progress towards the targets can be measured by tracking the incidence of the crimes discussed.

• For Target 14.4 (Illegal Fishing): The article’s mention of “fishing illegally” implies the need for Indicator 14.4.1, which is the “Proportion of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels.” A reduction in illegal fishing would contribute to improving this indicator.
• For Target 15.2 (Deforestation): The discussion of “cutting down protected forests” implies the relevance of Indicator 15.2.1, “Progress towards sustainable forest management,” which tracks changes in forest area and biomass.
• For Target 15.7 (Wildlife Trafficking): The detailed description of poaching elephants and pangolins directly relates to Indicator 15.7.1, the “Proportion of traded wildlife that was poached or illicitly trafficked.” Tracking seizures and market data for ivory and pangolin scales would be a way to measure this.
• For Target 16.4 (Organized Crime): The mention of “money laundering to hide the proceeds of illegal mining” or trafficking implies the need to track illicit financial flows, which is part of Indicator 16.4.1: “Total value of inward and outward illicit financial flows.”
• For Target 16.5 (Corruption): The example of “Guards and customs agents are bribed” implies the relevance of indicators that measure experiences with bribery, such as Indicator 16.5.1: “Proportion of persons who had at least one contact with a public official and who paid a bribe to a public official, or were asked for a bribe by those public officials, during the previous 12 months.”

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Table

Source: theguardian.com