NGO engagement in environmental law enforcement: critical reflections

In recent years Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) have played a growing and increasingly significant role in investigating and exposing environmental crimes. This article examines the kinds of skills and capacities associated with environmental law enforcement and the ways in which NGOs are contributing to this task. It provides critical reflections on two sets of issues stemming from NGO engagement in this area: issues that parallel those of conventional environmental law enforcement agencies (such as expertise, training, and collaboration); and issues that arise from the status and ideological orientation of the NGO itself (such as views of harm/crime, legality of actions, and accountability).