Spheres of Transnational Ecoviolence: Environmental Crime, Human Security, and Justice

311 Pages·2021·3.259 MB·English

by  Peter Stoett, Delon Alain Omrow

Spheres of
Transnational Ecoviolence
Environmental Crime,
Human Security, and Justice
Peter Stoett · Delon Alain Omrow
Spheres of Transnational Ecoviolence
·
Peter Stoett Delon Alain Omrow
Spheres
of Transnational
Ecoviolence
Environmental Crime, Human Security, and Justice
Peter Stoett Delon Alain Omrow
Faculty of Social Science and Faculty of Social Science and
Humanities Humanities
Ontario Tech University Ontario Tech University
Oshawa, ON, Canada Oshawa, ON, Canada
ISBN 978-3-030-58560-0 ISBN 978-3-030-58561-7 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58561-7
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Preface
One of the greatest threats to environmental and human security today
is transnational ecoviolence and crime, which has become both a lucra-
tive enterprise and a mode of life in many regions of the world. Taking
an explicitly interdisciplinary approach, this text provides a comprehen-
sive overview of transnational ecoviolence, moving away from the more
traditional treatment of ecoviolence as the study of conflicts resulting
from resource scarcity (though these are certainly involved as well). If
we expand the conventional definition of crime to include both acts and
structures of violence, future historians may well look back at the current
eraastheeraoftransnationalecoviolenceandcrime,whenwefailedto
come to grips with its extent and to deal effectively with it on numerous
jurisdictionallevels.WeuseecoviolencehereasLauraWestrauseditinan
often overlooked volume she published in 2004; though it encompasses
violence related to conflicts over natural resources (as Thomas Homer-
Dixonandothershaveresearchedsowell),italsoincludesviolenceagainst
nature that is either illegal or, as some would say, damn well should be.
We argue that we cannot seriously consider stopping ecoviolence
without also promoting environmental (and climate) justice as well as
human security. Environmental crime is linked intimately to, and could
even be defined as, violence: violence against nature, violence against
humans.Thebookengagesinaconceptualdiscussionofthisera-defining
violence and offers case study material that illustrates the complexity of
v
vi PREFACE
the issues. Clearly, we need robust and programmatic responses to egre-
gious violence against nature and insults to environmental justice on a
broadspectrumofscale,fromsmallcommunitiestothebiosphere.Impor-
tantly,borrowingfromthepioneeringworkofgreencriminologistRobert
White,weshouldnotviewtransnationalenvironmentalcrimeasa“south-
ern” problem, since northern states and corporations are also heavily
invested in the criminal projects that taken together threaten the ability
of future generations to care for themselves.
And a point we readily confess to belaboring throughout this book: it
is essential to integrate the theme of climate justice in any contemporary
treatment of transnational ecoviolence and crime, not merely for ethical
reasons but for the strategic necessity of legitimizing efforts, often less
than agreeable, to reduce ecoviolence itself. Surprisingly to some North
Americans, perhaps, this is not a contentious point. From aiding the
spread of invasive species and transmission of new diseases, to the rise in
sealevelsanddisruptiveextremeweatherevents,climatechangeisshaping
the landscape for transnational ecoviolence today. If the prolific expan-
sion of global trade opened new doors for environmental crime in the
pastcentury,climatechangeisopeningthemagaintoday,evincingevery-
thingfromclimatemitigationfraudtolandgrabsdisguisedascommunity
resettlement programs organized by coercive forces and criminal gangs.
We dedicate a chapter in this book to climate crime, ranging from fraud-
sterssellingfakecarbonoffsetstogullibleconsumerstowhatsomewould
no doubt argue is the crime of the century, the deliberate spreading of
misinformation on the reality and impacts of climate change by the fossil
fuel industry and others with monetary stakes in a carbon-based global
economy. But climate permeates all the issues discussed in the book.
A second major factor in enabling the commission of transnational
ecoviolenceandcrimetodayistheadventofmoderntechnology:digitized
and instantaneous communication across the globe is but one example.
The systemic use of the dark net, for example, which has made child
pornography readily available for viewing, has also permeated the illegal
wildlife trade. However, as with climate change, there is another side to
this constantly evolving coin. Technology can be used to fight transna-
tional environmental crime in an unprecedented manner today: moni-
toring the Internet through algorithm, the use of high-resolution satel-
lite and drone surveillance, the use of DNA sampling to identify species’
origins,andothertechniqueshaveallcomeintovogue.Aretheyallpolit-
ically acceptable/feasible in liberal democracies? Are they further steps
PREFACE vii
towardanAI-driventotalitarianism,oreventhe“greenleviathan”loathed
by those who fear dictatorship and authoritarianism arising from scarcity,
or a corporatism driven by the tech industries themselves?
Thetextalsoaddressesthedebateoverdefiningecocideandtheestab-
lishment of international legal institutions that can effectively respond
to transnational ecoviolence and crime today. Because it is so intimately
linked to political violence, economic and physical displacement, and
development opportunity costs, we believe that transnational ecoviolence
must be viewed primarily as a human security issue (the term “human
security” has a long and complicated lineage at this point, but as long
as there are decision-making human beings, we will periodically circle
back to discussions about its legitimacy and practicality). However, this
makes fighting transnational ecoviolence, in a world still driven by the
central concerns of national and corporate security, and even through
relatively legitimate institutions such as INTERPOL, a very complex task
that will be affected by geopolitics, nationalism, deregulatory impulses,
authoritarianstates,rebelfactionsandextremists,broadersocio-economic
patterns, and many other factors.
This book is not intended as a primer in how to “fight” crime. It
is not written, strictly, from a criminological viewpoint, but rather is
intendedtocoverthepoliticsbehind(andinfrontof)formalandinformal
transnational ecoviolence, including the international political economy
that drives it, and which stresses the legitimacy of efforts to combat both
its pernicious effects and root causes. We are not claiming to have solved
any of the problems we discuss in the book; our goal is to encourage
further discussion and the application of possible solutions. But as we
struggle through the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,
the zoonotic origins of which may have been linked to the illegal wildlife
trade,andasindigenouspeopleinBrazil,Canada,andelsewherestruggle
to protect their land from further assault, and as we drain the oceans of
marinelife,andasclimatechangecontinuestothreatenourverycollective
survival, this discussion is more pertinent than ever.
Oshawa, Canada Peter Stoett
Delon Alain Omrow
Acknowledgments
The first thing to acknowledge is the immense patience of the edito-
rial crew at Palgrave Macmillan, who tolerated two-year-long extensions
required due to a change in Dr. Stoett’s employment circumstances as
he moved from Director of the Loyola Sustainability Research Centre at
ConcordiaUniversityinMontrealtoDeanofSocialScienceandHumani-
tiesatOntarioTechUniversityinOshawa,nearToronto;andthentaking
onamajorassignmentco-chairingthefirstinternationalassessmentonthe
spread and control of invasive alien species with the Intergovernmental
Science-PolicyPlatformonBiodiversityandEcosystemServices(IPBES).
It has been an ongoing pleasure working with Anca Pusca and Rachel
Moore at Palgrave, who have provided clear guidance and stuck with the
project throughout all the curves in the road.
Both authors are grateful to the Canadian Institute for Advanced
Research (CIFAR), which sponsored a workshop held in January 2019
in Toronto that gathered experts from around the globe to discuss the
challenge of transnational environmental crime; this resulted in a joint
publication in Nature: Sustainability (Gore et al. 2019) and a commit-
ment to look deeper into the conceptual and practical implications of the
threats posed by the spheres of transnational ecoviolence discussed here.
Many of those who attended the meeting have been primary sources of
inspirationandinformation,includingSheldonJordan,DirectorGeneral,
Wildlife Enforcement, at Environment and Climate Change Canada, and
many authors cited in this book.
ix
x ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are very grateful for the extremely helpful comments of an anony-
mous reviewer, who put together a direct, detailed, and insightful review
in amazingly short turnaround time. Special thanks also to freelance
British-Tunisian journalist and co-founder of the West Africa Fisheries
Journalism Training Project Mona Samari, who provided a succinct case
study of illegal fishing off the coast of West Africa which we included in
Chapter 4.
Delon acknowledges with gratitude the support of Tas Rasool, whose
warmthcontinuestoencourageandinspirehiminhisintellectualpursuits.
He is grateful to his nieces, Tianna and Naya, for giving him a renewed
sense of hope for the future. He would like to extend a special thanks to
Peter for inviting him to contribute to this book and is humbled to work
with such a brilliant and prolific writer. He dedicates this book to the
memoryofhisgrandmother,Moongeah“Edith”ThakurdinnéeRamesra,
who passed away with inimitable grace in January 2019.
Peter thanks the staff and especially Executive Assistant Kirstie Ayottte
at the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities at Ontario Tech Univer-
sity for coping with his unusual schedule. He is grateful to Delon for
coming onboard and adding his intellectual acumen, writing skills, and
creative energy to this project at just the right time. And he is especially
grateful to his family, including Gianluca, Giuliana, and Alexandra; and
the incomparable Cristina Romanelli, who is not just a partner in life
but a constant source of knowledge and light, and whose work on the
links between biodiversity and health has informed the world. He dedi-
cates this book to the memory of his father, Frederik Stoett, who left
us after a valiant struggle in February 2020; and to the future of his
granddaughter, Everley Stoett Small, who joined us soon after.
Toronto and Montreal
May 2020
Reference
Gore, M., P. Braszak, J. Brown, P. Cassey, R. Duffy, J. Fisher, J. Graham,
R. Justo-Hanani, A. Kirkwood, E. Lunstrum, C. Machalaba, F. Masse, M.
Manguiat, P. Stoett, T. Wyatt, and R. White. 2019. “Transnational Envi-
ronmentalCrimeThreatensSustainableDevelopment.”NatureSustainability
2(1): 784–786.
Contents
1 Transnational Ecoviolence and Crime: Revisiting
Environmental Justice and Human Security 1
Introduction 1
Defining Violence 5
Agential and Structural Ecoviolence 12
Environmental Justice and Human Security 16
What Is Transnational Ecoviolence and Crime? 24
Moving Forward: Spheres of Transnational Ecoviolence 30
Conclusion 32
References 33
2 Ecoviolence Against Fauna: The Illegal Wildlife Trade 41
Introduction 41
The Contemporary IWT 42
The Architects of Ecoviolence 45
Global Responses to the IWT 50
The Illegal Trade of Turtles 54
The Illegal Trade of Pangolins 55
The Illegal Trade of Hyacinth Macaws 58
Syncretic Analysis: The Seed-Finch’s Song of Freedom 60
Conclusion 64
References 65
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