Federal Environment Ministry funds first ever project with INTERPOL through its International Climate Initiative
The Federal Environment Ministry (BMUV) is joining forces with INTERPOL and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to tackle transboundary international environmental crime. The ministry is providing five million euros for this project through its International Climate Initiative (IKI). The three-year project aims to uncover and prevent transboundary criminal offences with major harmful impacts on climate, biodiversity and the environment. The primary goal is to strengthen transboundary cooperation between law enforcement agencies and to protect civil society organisations when uncovering and prosecuting environmental crimes. The cooperation between the Federal Environment Ministry, INTERPOL and WWF covers environmental crime in the areas of fisheries crime, forestry crime, illegal mining, pollution crime, and wildlife crime.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke commented: "Transboundary organised environmental crime exacerbates the triple planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution. So it is important to me to ensure that protecting the environment goes hand in hand with combating environmental crime. Criminal organisations are causing massive damage to the natural foundations of our lives. For example, they kill and trade in critically endangered species, clear forests that provide key carbon reservoirs and habitats, and poison landscapes with illegally dumped waste, making them uninhabitable. Criminals are making billions worth of illegal profits every year by destroying nature. We must protect our environment, nature and climate. By cooperating with INTERPOL and WWF, we will join forces and make a valuable contribution in the fight against transboundary environmental crime."
Heike Vesper, Chief Executive, Transformation and Policies at WWF Germany, Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke and INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza
INTERPOL Secretary General Valdecy Urquiza stressed: "Environmental crimes threaten our planet, our daily lives and the future of generations to come. From illegal logging to hazardous waste dumping, there are no borders to environmental crimes which are often linked with other illegal activities like smuggling drugs, weapons, and even people. This joint project with Germany and WWF will help provide real support in developing capabilities, intelligence and ultimately, operational outcomes."
Heike Vesper, Chief Executive, Transformation and Policies at WWF Germany, noted: "Environmental crime is a phenomenon that has been greatly underestimated to date. Illegal deforestation, fishing and mining contribute significantly to global warming and species loss and therefore pose a massive threat to our human livelihoods. With this cooperation between the Federal Environment Ministry, Interpol and WWF, we are finally taking action against the activities of criminal groups, which all too often go unpunished. Destroying the environment and biodiversity for profit is not a trivial offence, but a serious crime with local and global consequences for people and nature."
Background
The term environmental crime covers a wide range of illegal activities that harm ecosystems, animals, plants and the climate. Environmental crime is one of the most profitable forms of criminal operations worldwide. According to estimates, it is the third most profitable criminal activity after drug trafficking and forgery. Criminals are making billions worth of illegal profits every year.
Environmental crime is particularly appealing to criminal networks because it is hard to uncover and prosecute such offences and because huge profits can be made. These networks often operate internationally, engaging in a range of criminal activities such as money laundering, illegal trade, corruption, human trafficking and trade in weapons and drugs.
The primary goal of the IKI project with INTERPOL and WWF is to strengthen capacities and transboundary cooperation between law enforcement agencies, and to protect civil society organisations when uncovering and prosecuting environmental crimes with major impacts on the environment, climate and nature.
The International Climate Initiative (IKI) is one of the German government’s main funding programmes in the field of international climate action and biodiversity conservation. Germany has been supporting IKI projects in these areas in developing countries and emerging economies since 2008. The initiative therefore plays a key role in implementing the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).