It is with great pride that we present this database on the links between environmental crime, human security, and biosecurity policies and legislation. This work was made possible through a SSHRC Insight Grant obtained in 2021, and the efforts of Dr. Delon Omrow, postdoctoral researcher at Ontario Tech University. Thanks to the collaborators involved in the SSHRC grant, whom we hope can also contribute to this database when time permits.
As Dean of the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities, I am grateful to Executive Assistant Kirstie Ayotte and all the staff who enable me to dabble in the research sphere in addition to my decanal duties. It is hoped that this database will continue to grow and be refined in the coming years, and we welcome further additions/suggestions for accuracy and improvement. It is also our hope that NGOs. governments, corporations, international organizations, and other entities can benefit from the information found here.
We are also excited to include a helpful link to a dashboard on wildlife offences and penalties which was produced as part of a broader scoping project on the potential for adopting Restorative Justice approaches in response to wildlife crime. Building on Professor Tanya Wyatt’s AHRC funded research into CITES sanctions, Dr Alison Hutchinson conducted a rapid global assessment of existing wildlife, forestry, and fisheries legislation, where she recorded details of wildlife crimes and their corresponding penalties. The first page of the dashboard provides a consolidated global overview of wildlife crimes and their corresponding penalties. The map can be filtered by legislation and offence groups to display the minimum and maximum associated penalties. The second page of the dashboard enables a more in-depth focus on individual countries, displaying details for all unique wildlife offences. Data is split by the penalty focus (custodial, financial, restorative, and any additional sanctions). The final page of the dashboard provides references to the legislative sources used. Contributions to the dashboard – as with our transnational environmental crime database – are encouraged. This project was funded by Northumbria University (UK). Special thanks to Drs. Wyatt and Hutchinson for giving us permission to link to this important dashboard.
The fight against environmental crime is both noble and urgent; but it must be continued with human security and rights, as well as the rights and ecological resilience of the environment, firmly in mind.
