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shell companies, violence, and even hacking of government
websites to obtain or forge permits. The hacking of websites
shows some actors’ level of sophistication. The more typical
and easier way, however, is simply to bribe corrupt officials
so that they issue the necessary and required permits and
certificates and other relevant documents. In this way laun-
dering of illegally sourced wood, fish and other wildlife prod-
ucts in the supply chain is commonly practiced. Corruption
is a deeply embedded feature of environmental crime, facil-
itating crime across all levels of the supply chains. Compre-
hensive anti-corruption measures must be a key feature of
the overall effort.
Due to the complexity of the issue of illegal wildlife trade, a
diverse response is required in the short and long-term, and
from local to international levels. To curb the rise in illegal
wildlife trade responses must involve a range of legal meas-
ures, enforcement, legislation, regulation, environmental
management, consumer- and demand-reduction strategies,
and promotion of alternative livelihood opportunities. Fully
understanding the phenomenon of illegal wildlife trade
requires a broad insight into the relationship between the envi-
ronmental resources at stake, their legal and illegal exploita-
tion, loopholes, the scale and type of crimes committed, and
the dynamics of the demand driving the trade. The resulting
threat finance fuelling conflicts and terrorism is often also an
integral element of the supply chain.
Illegal trade in wildlife is depriving developing economies of
billions of dollars in lost revenues and development oppor-
tunities. Due to the problem’s broad scale, a comprehensive
approach is required. To curb the rise in environmental crime
the response must involve legal responses, enforcement, legis-
lation, regulation, environmental management, consumer-
and demand-reduction strategies, and alternative livelihood
opportunities. Understanding the phenomenon requires
a broad insight into the relationship between the environ-
mental resources at stake, their legal and illegal exploitation,
loopholes, as well as the scale and type of crimes committed.
The threat finance fuelling conflicts and terrorism is often an
integrated part of this picture, and must be taken into account.
Environmental crimes are difficult to define as they involve a
range of types of crime of varying gravity. Ahelpful starting point
is the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime
(UNTOC), which defines a transnational organized crime as
“any serious transnational offence undertaken by three or
more people with the aim of material gain”. The problem with
relying only on this definition is that ‘serious crime’ is defined
as an offence punishable by a maximum prison sentence of
