Presentazione di PowerPoint

1
ECO-CRIMESthe environmental crimes and the role
of the organized crime Antonio
PergolizziItalian Observatory for Environment
and Legality of Legambiente
2
Preamble

• The environmental crimes are getting more
  worrying than ever due to two factors linked to
  the Western countries growth and development
  model
• Industrialization (toxic waste production, etc.)
• Mass consumerism (well-being, use and throw
  culture, etc.) that considers the environment
  just to be exploited.

3
What does eco-crime mean?

• Interpol definition
• Environmental crime is a serious and growing
  international problem, with criminals violating
  national and international laws put in place to
  protect the environment. These criminals are
  polluting the air, water and land. They are
  pushing commercially valuable wildlife species
  closer to extinction and they are significantly
  impacting the biological integrity of the
  planet.  
• In Italy it is indicated with the term of
  ECOMAFIA.
• Main activities unauthorized building and
  illegal disposal of toxic waste.

4
Which are the most frequent environmental crimes?

• cement cycle
• waste cycle
• illegal trade in protected species and generally
  the animal racket (illegal dog fighting and
  horse running)
• illegal trade in works of art

5
It is on the use/devastation of the territory
that wicked alliances are formed among criminal
groups, businessmen, white collars, corrupted
politicians, financial and bank institutes.
6
What Ecomafia Report is?

• Its an annual dossier on environmental crimes in
  Italy and abroad
• Its the only case in Italy and Europe
• A Report based on data and info taken from Police
  dept., from judiciary reports, from journalistic
  inquiries and from info collected by Legambiente
  local offices.

7
What Ecomafia Report is?

• Environmental crimes
• Unauthorized building, water pollution, forest
  fire, soil contamination, unauthorized dump, air
  pollution, animal racket
• Established infraction 23.668 (almost 3 reati
  every hour)
• Number of people arrested 163
• Number of people reported 20.124
• Seizures made 7.587

8
Pollution crime not only damages the environment,
but also results in significant profits for
criminals, in some cases totaling millions of
dollars. The illegal disposal of waste into
waterways, the air and the ground can
significantly damage a communitys livelihood,
destroy jobs and lower property values.
9
Italy. The business of the waste disposal
(billion Euro)
10
Cement Cycle
 Its the whole illegality chain that starts from
the unauthorized quarry, that destroyes entire
hills, damages rivers and beaches for the
acquisition of materials needed for the concrete
production (sand, gravels and rubble) and that
ends with the building of unauthorized properties
(both in private than pubblic areas) up to the
criminal infiltration in pubblic competitive
tenders.
11
UNAUTHORIZED QUARRY
12
(No Transcript)
13
The quarries

• The criminal path, linked to the cement cycle,
  starts from the quarries.
• Symbol-tool of the territory control
• Precious source of raw material for concrete FOR
  FREE
• Last act in the waste cycle

14
Environmetal crimes and natural disasters
The sack of the territory due to eco-crimes is
one of the main causes of more and more frequent
natural disasters. Es. Unauthorized building in
hydrogeologically fragile areas
15
Waste cycle
Its a set of activities that includes the
collecting and disposal of waste producted in a
country. Its very similar to the cement cycle
criminal organizations operate in the market next
to healthy and law-abidhing companies.
16
The dealers

• Pubblic sector it contributes to award tenders
  for the urban waste collection, transport and
  disposal.
• Private sector it operates in the market
  collecting and transferring of special waste,
  most of which from industrial origin.
• Private sector It manages processing and
  disposal plants. 

17
Waste are not producted by organized crime.
Clearly there are entrepreneurs who, for saving
reason, prefer to put in organized crimes care
their waste. Disposing legally the waste it
would be too expensive.
18
Before and after
Initially the illegal waste management methods
were quite simple transport and dumping of waste
wherever (illegal dump, in the sea,
etc.) Recently there are more sophisticated
methods.
19
The counterfeiters
To obtain the maximum profit and to reduce costs,
the criminals regularly falsify all documents
that accompanied the waste, so that it seems that
those waste have been processed, recycled (in
nonexistent plants) and not toxic anymore.
20
The waste business in Italy

• From 1994 to 2005 there have been established
  30.376 infractions related to the waste cycle,
  more than 6 crimes per day.
• More than 40 is concentrated in regions with
  high rate of mafias crime.
• In 2006 the illegal business reached 5,8 billion
  Euro, 38 compared to 2005.
• Total turnover 41,8 billion since 1994.

21
The government pays 3 times

• Because of the illegal disposal, it does not earn
  anything from the taxes.
• It has to go to great expenses for cleaning the
  polluted area.
• It suffers for the destruction of its territory,
  the most precious resource.

- The environment and the citizens heath is under
threat! -
22
The environment damages are incalculable
23
The favourite victims

• Seas
• Rivers
• Lakes
• Water-bearing stratum
• quarry
• farmland
• air

24
FARMLAND
The waste, instead of being processed in
appropriate plants, are dumped as they are in
farmlands with vegetables and wheat. So all the
pollutants in the waste are being absorbed by the
land.
25
(No Transcript)
26
Global environmental crime
Eco-crime is an international business whose
routes cross every corner of the planet. The
legislative fragmentation among the countries and
their inability to act together gives to
organized crime huge advantages.
Pollution do not have borders!
Around the 70 of environmental crimes had
transnational effects (UE, 2003)
27
The customs

• Apart from the Italian one, customs of other
  countries usually pay little attention on the
  flow of hazard material (es. waste)
• Usually they do not dialogue with each others
• There are no comprehensive data about their
  activities, nor reports, nor analyses.

28
International Waste Traffic

• The few studies and researches available admit
  the connection between transnational organized
  crime and illicit traffics of toxic waste.
• See case studies available about the toxic waste
  ships.

29
Starting from 80, the depths of the sea become
the perfect hiding place for illegal disposal of
toxic and radioactive waste. Tens of ships
disappear with their poisoned loads.
30
Reasons why the illicit traffics increase

• Huge profits
• Globalization and esponential growth of the world
  trade.
• Low risks to be uncovered
• Inadequate sanctions

31
Its always about money

• The owners of Italian companies and dumps, in
  order to get rid of 15 tons of hazardous waste
  legally, have to pay around 60.000 euro.
• For the same amount of waste, the illegal market
  in Orient asks only 5.000 Euro.

32
Basel Convention (1989 )
It forbids the export of waste from
industrialized countries to the developing ones
which are parts of the Convention.
London Convention (1972)
It considerably limits the list of waste that can
be dip. It forbids in particular the dip of any
kind of radioactive waste.
33
UE
February 2007 Proposal of the directive of the
European Commission about environmental crimes.
Main objectives (Legambientes battle since 1994)
To oblige Member States to treat serious offences
against the environment as criminal acts and to
ensure that they are effectively sanctioned To
give norms that Member States have to acknowledge
to guarantee the SAME treatments and repressions
against environmental crimes.
34
Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said "The
recent hazardous waste disaster in the Ivory
Coast shows how environmental crimes can have
devastating effects on people and the
environment. It also underlines once again how
urgent it is to improve the way environmental
legislation is enforced in order to avoid such
incidents". Franco Frattini, the Commission's
Vice-President responsible for Justice, Freedom
and Security, said "The proposed directive is
crucial to avoid criminals profiting from the
existing discrepancies in Member States' criminal
law systems which damage the European
environment. We cannot allow safe-havens of
environmental crime inside the EU".
35
(No Transcript)