This post on Transconflict.com discusses environmental crime and its contributing factors:
Environmental crime, such as illegal logging, poses a threat to ecosystems around the world and human habitancy of the planet.
Image credit: Chris Sharp on freedigitalphotos.net
Environmental crime is an understated organised criminal activity which is not only placing human lives at risk but is also responsible for the wholesale destruction of the environment and the Earth’s fragile ecosystems. It is arguably one of the most dangerous crimes of our time as its effects can be so wide-ranging that they are more harmful than drug trafficking, an illegal trade which receives far more international attention.
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Politically the impact of environmental crime is high. There have long been links between civil unrest, terrorism, separatist groups and environmental crime. For one example the illegal charcoal industry in Africa has been instrumental in providing funding for the militant group Al-Shabaab. This has involved the deforestation of vast swathes of forest coverage, which are burned to finance the purchase of weapons. According to Mongabay, between 2011 and 2013, an area of around 5,000 square kilometres produced enough charcoal to earn as much as 10 million euros for the group when sold.
Likewise wildlife trafficking has been linked to militant groups who are engaging in the ivory trade to fund their own activities. A lack of enforcement around trafficking of wildlife is pervasive throughout the globe, particularly in Africa where many countries have struggled to cope with poaching as it thrives in areas afflicted by political strife. In a cycle of instability the poaching of wildlife allows militia groups to fund their conflicts which can further destabilise an area or region, thus allowing further damaging environmental activity to continue unchecked. It is for this reason that elephant poaching rates have been higher in politically unstable countries and regions affected by militancy. Kenya, South Sudan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo all suffer poaching on a massive scale due to instability in either their own or neighbouring countries whereas politically stable countries such as Namibia and South Africa have been able to maintain their population’s security.
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