shell companies, violence, and even hacking of government websites to obtain or forge permits. The hacking of websites shows some actors’ level of sophistication. The more typical and easier way, however, is simply to bribe corrupt officials so that they issue the necessary and required permits and certificates and other relevant documents. In this way laundering of illegally sourced wood, fish and other wildlife products in the supply chain is commonly practiced. Corruption is a deeply embedded feature of environmental crime, facilitating crime across all levels of the supply chains. Comprehensive anti-corruption measures must be a key feature of the overall effort. Due to the complexity of the issue of illegal wildlife trade, a diverse response is required in the short and long-term, and from local to international levels. To curb the rise in illegal wildlife trade responses must involve a range of legal measures, enforcement, legislation, regulation, environmental management, consumer- and demand-reduction strategies, and promotion of alternative livelihood opportunities. Fully understanding the phenomenon of illegal wildlife trade requires a broad insight into the relationship between the environmental resources at stake, their legal and illegal exploitation, loopholes, the scale and type of crimes committed, and the dynamics of the demand driving the trade. The resulting 14
threat finance fuelling conflicts and terrorism is often also an integral element of the supply chain. Illegal trade in wildlife is depriving developing economies of billions of dollars in lost revenues and development opportunities. Due to the problem’s broad scale, a comprehensive approach is required. To curb the rise in environmental crime the response must involve legal responses, enforcement, legislation, regulation, environmental management, consumerand demand-reduction strategies, and alternative livelihood opportunities. Understanding the phenomenon requires a broad insight into the relationship between the environmental resources at stake, their legal and illegal exploitation, loopholes, as well as the scale and type of crimes committed. The threat finance fuelling conflicts and terrorism is often an integrated part of this picture, and must be taken into account. Environmental crimes are difficult to define as they involve a range of types of crime of varying gravity. A helpful starting point is the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), which defines a transnational organized crime as “any serious transnational offence undertaken by three or more people with the aim of material gain”. The problem with relying only on this definition is that ‘serious crime’ is defined as an offence punishable by a maximum prison sentence of