Crimes against nature: illegal industries and the global environment

310 Pages·2011·2.26 MB·English

by  Don Liddick

Crimes Against Nature

Crimes Against Nature
Illegal Industries and
the Global Environment
DONALD R. LIDDICK
Copyright2011byDonaldR.Liddick
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedina
retrievalsystem,ortransmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,
mechanical,photocopying,recording,orotherwise,exceptfortheinclusionofbrief
quotationsinareview,withoutpriorpermissioninwritingfromthepublisher.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Liddick,Don.
Crimesagainstnature:illegalindustriesandtheglobalenvironment/Donald
R.Liddick.
p.cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978–0–313–38464–6(hbk.:alk.paper)—ISBN978–0–313–38465–3
(ebook)
1. Offensesagainsttheenvironment.2. Industries—Environmentalaspects.
I.Title.
HV6401.L53 2011
363.7—dc22 2010043755
ISBN:978–0–313–38464–6
EISBN:978–0–313–38465–3
15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5
ThisbookisalsoavailableontheWorldWideWebasaneBook.
Visitwww.abc-clio.comfordetails.
Praeger
AnImprintofABC-CLIO,LLC
ABC-CLIO,LLC
130CremonaDrive,P.O.Box1911
SantaBarbara,California93116-1911
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepaper
ManufacturedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
I would like to dedicate this book to my academic mentors,
Alan A. Block and Richard A. Ball
The Earth isdefiled byitspeople; theyhave disobeyed thelaws,
violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant.
New International Version
Isaiah, chapter 24, verse 5 ( –NIV)

Contents
Chapter 1 TheNature of theProblem 1
Chapter 2 TheTraffic in Garbage andHazardous Wastes 13
Chapter 3 TheIllicit Traffic in Wildlife 41
Chapter 4 Illegal Fishing 71
Chapter 5 Illegal Logging 95
Chapter 6 Conclusion 117
Appendices 125
Appendix A: BaselConvention onthe Controlof Transboundary
Movementsof Hazardous Wastesand Their
Disposal 127
Appendix B: Conventionon InternationalTrade in Endangered
Speciesof Wild Faunaand Flora 177
Appendix C:TheLacey Act 267
Bibliography 281
Index 293

1
CHAPTER
The Nature of the Problem
Perhaps the greatest challenge of the twenty-first century will be
balancinghumanconsumptionandneedswiththesoundstewardship
of our physical environment. Fortunately, human prosperity and
environmental health are not mutually exclusive. The application of
private capital, the production of wealth, the advancement of the
human condition, and environmental protection are objectives that
can and should be pursued with equal vigor, especially as they are
endeavors that complement each other. Yet the impediments to
attaining these objectives are legion. Identifying and establishing the
proper balance will be difficult, and subject to ideological arguments
and political fights over definitions of economic, social, and environ-
mental justice. Moreover, population growth, rapid technological
advances, the dynamics of global politics, and the liberalization of
trade will continue to exacerbate the difficulties in realizing the cor-
rect formula for human and environmental advancement. This ardu-
ous task is made even more problematic by unscrupulous private
elites and corrupt public officials who exploit consumer demand and
misapplycapitalinamannerthatdepletesnaturalresourceswithlittle
regard for sustainability. Subsequent overconsumption unnecessarily
drains the natural world of species and materials, and wrecks social,
economic, and environmental havoc.
Thegoalofthisbookisnottoidentifyordefineinprecisetermsthe
proper balance between human and environmental concerns, but to
describeandanalyzeillicitandquasi-licitbehaviorsthatconfoundthe
searchforthatbalance.Crimesthatnegativelyimpacttheenvironment
may be categorized in one of two ways: those that cater to the ever-
growingproblemofgarbageproduction,especiallyhazardouswastes;
and the illegal harvesting or extraction of natural resources. Human