The Convergence of Environmental Crime and Corruption: An Operational Typology

Environmental crime is an urgent international issue and proliferates worldwide. Environmental crime includes acts against the environment and consists of the following: the illegal gathering of wild fauna and flora, illegal hunting, illegal fishing, illegal logging, trade, or possession of protected and prohibited species of fauna and flora, illegal mining, illegal movement, or dumping of waste activity, and air, water, and soil pollution and degradation. Corruption includes bribery, embezzlement, money laundering, and other financial crimes. Corruption can facilitate environmental crime. Environmental crime and corruption converge in four stages along the commission of environmental crime: (1) acquiring access, (2) extraction, (3) transport, and (4) consumption and disposal. These four stages are viewed through the lens of the Type, Activity, Sector, and Place (TASP) framework to create an operational typology. This typology can be used to address the convergence of environmental crime and corruption to prevent such criminal activity. This paper concludes with identifying gaps and challenges to this research as well as recommendations for future research.