But what is environmental crime?

​Speaking at the national level workshop on capacity building for effective Wildlife Law Enforcement, Kamal Datta, joint director of the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau in India, acknowledged that there is a shortage of data when it comes to wildlife crime. Among other things, he considered that a good knowledge of the law was important to counter wildlife trafficking. 

​This statement, which is not at all trivial given the complex nature of such crime, could be extrapolated to any other type of environmental crime, whether it is the production and trade of ozone depleting substances, the disposal of hazardous waste, or illegal logging. 

The truth is that grasping the concept and scope of environmental crime can be an overwhelming challenge, with the line between ‘legal’ and ‘criminal’ changing depending on the country; and with both the proceeds and resources themselves (air, water, forests and wildlife) crossing borders, often taking the discussion from the national to the transnational.

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