Tuesday 18 November 2014

Watching the Detectives?


It seems that Interpol is finally starting to take environmental crime seriously (http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/nov/17/interpol-launches-first-appeal-for-environmental-fugitives) as it has been recognised that big players in this area can extract billions of dollars (the proceeds of  which could be used for all sorts of additional unpleasant illegalities), can seriously threaten important species with extinction, can damage the economies of entire countries and can even damage the health of human populations. I would simply add, however, that going after 9 individuals is a bit limited as the thousands of smaller offenders must also collectively have very powerful effects. Of course, dealing with different scales of offence may require different solutions. Smaller offenders might be more fruitfully deterred by educational programs and giving them financial stakes in species conservation and pristine environments.

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