Organising responses to organised environmental crimes: collaborative approaches and building capacity

The aim of this paper is to discuss the ways in which collaboration and a coordinated approach to dealing with criminal groups involved in environmental crime can be established and bolstered. The paper begins by examining the challenges associated with organised criminal networks and transnational crimes for environmental law enforcement agencies. Such analyses continually highlight several factors: the importance of collaboration in combatting organised criminal networks; flexibility in dealing with fluid on-the-ground situations; the importance of up-skilling in order to move laterally across different institutional and national contexts; and the lynchpin across all of these areas, capacity building for sustainable practice (that is, putting into place practices and procedures that will ensure continuity over time). Various forms of collaboration are outlined as well as the importance of trust and relationships in maintaining cooperative arrangements. Case studies are used to illustrate contemporary developments that are bolstering the possibilities of enhanced collaboration in regards to environmental law enforcement.