Utente:Cecimngr/environmentalmaritimecrime

MARITIME ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME

Environmental maritime crime constitutes one of the key components of the broader domain of blue crime, and it describes and includes activities that detrimentally impact the marine environment. Its effects have had extremely detrimental impacts on marine life, both in terms of marine ecosystems and the life quality of coastal citizens, with damages that are often not reparable.

overview

Environmental maritime crimes include activities such as illegal and unregulated fishing, fuel dumping, the discharge of residues, garbage, and sewages. These actions have had devastating effects on the marine environment, with for example the loss of biodiversity, the destruction of coral reefs, and overall imposing an important weight on the issue of climate change as well . It is a category of maritime security of key importance, as it endangers not only the ecosystem, but the millions of activities and lives that relate to it, with an estimated 40 million people being involved in the maritime domain.

Environmental maritime crimes are committed at sea with the intent of avoiding regulations and extra fees, meaning that criminals can have important financial gains by bypassing legal protocols. As an example, dumping fuel instead of going through the designated legal processes can save companies from 80 to 220.000 dollars. Contrary to popular belief, these harmful actions are often carried out by major corporate companies and organized groups, challenging the prevailing assumption that smaller actors are responsible for the majority of environmental  crimes at sea.

Maritime environmental crimes have the characteristics of affecting people across borders, which means that robust international cooperation and coordination are necessary to effectively address and mitigate their adverse effects. These illicit activities often intertwine with a range of other unlawful practices, spanning from smuggling to tax evasion, extending their consequences beyond maritime boundaries into broader territorial realms.

One of the most relevant challenges in addressing environmental maritime crime is identifying and apprehending the offender. Even when perpetrators are brought to justice, the effectiveness of deterrent measures is often compromised by lenient penalties that prioritize financial compensation, in the form of fines,  over preventing future violations. This means that there is an urgent need for more rigorous regulatory frameworks and enforcement mechanisms to adequately suppress environmental wrongdoing.

Despite the relevance of the issue and the stakes it presents, there remains a significant gap in the monitoring and reporting of maritime environmental crimes by many countries, including several developed nations. The lack of regular tracking and public reporting hampers efforts to combat these crimes effectively on a global scale, underscoring the need for increased collaboration and transparency among nations to protect marine ecosystems and biodiversity.

definitions

A universally institutionalized definition of environmental crime remains elusive, and neither scholars nor International Organizations have so far been able to come up with a fully inclusive and widely accepted definition. Despite this, it must be noted that a general consensus has been reached on a set of fundamental criteria and factors that define the criminal activities: these include violations of environmental regulations, meaning that the actions can be treated as offenses and prosecuted legally;  the involvement of major criminal enterprises is also of key importance, and the obvious consequences of the actions, hence alterations of maritime wildlife, including both flora and fauna, and the impact of the adjacent contexts. These factors provide a robust foundation for gaining a basic understanding of the term, and are extremely important for policy formulation.

addressing maritime eco-crime: regulatory environment

Because of the nature of maritime environmental crimes, which go beyond borders and might lead to having the effects of an accident be felt all over the globe, international actions aimed at restoring the damages, while also making sure that crimes are prosecuted and repetition is avoided, are necessary. Because of these reasons, the main International Organizations have all come up with initiatives.

European Union policies

The EU has a key role in combating environmental maritime crimes, due to the fact that it is the number one economic zone in the world, and much of the trade is conducted via sea, meaning that ocean health is crucial to the EU’s economic and social advancements; the Organization also hosts some of the countries with the highest number of fleets, with Greece being first worldwide, as well as Norway and Denmark. In the latest revisions of the “EU maritime strategy and action plans”, climate change and marine pollution are identified as crucial evolving threats to maritime security. According to council conclusions (14280/23 2023), these environmental challenges are important and enduring, including “biodiversity loss, depletion of fish stocks, coastal inundation, and the degradation of critical ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves”.

Therefore, the EU has come up with a large number of policies and initiatives; some of the latest policies include the protection of the marine flora and fauna from degradation and exploitation emerging as a central concern, which pushes Member States to take proactive  measures and relief strategies on such issues. Notably, the EU has introduced the "biodiversity strategy for 2030" as a cornerstone of the European Green Deal, which includes legally binding actions for Member States. These actions encompass the establishment of protected areas covering at least 30% of the EU's sea surface, alongside a substantial annual funding allocation of 20 billion Euros.

Additionally, efforts to address biodiversity loss include the "nature restoration law", mandating the implementation of recovery measures covering a minimum of a fifth of the EU's marine territories by 2030. The EU assumes a central international role by monitoring Member States' progress towards the set objectives and actively participating in multilateral conventions, such as the "2022 Convention on Biological Diversity" and the "15th United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP 15)". These engagements have contributed to the formulation of a post-2020 global framework aimed at guiding global actions to protect and restore nature by 2030 and beyond.

The centrality of maritime environmental security in the  EU is also demonstrated by looking at their "climate neutrality by 2050" policy, which underlines the need  to maintain clean bodies of water as a prerequisite for success. The EU is also actively developing tools to support these efforts, including technologies for early warning and strategic foresight, as well as mechanisms for monitoring ocean elevation and degradation and monitoring oil spills and attributing responsibility, such as the CleanSeaNet satellites.

Ship pollution and the illicit dumping of fuels or regulated materials are part of the challenges to maritime environmental security overall, and the EU plays a central role in developing regulatory frameworks, having adopted and amended key directives aimed at addressing maritime environmental crimes. An example is the 2008 directive "on the protection of the environment through criminal law" , which ordered Member States to establish legal frameworks to prosecute maritime environmental offenses. Subsequent amendments in 2005 and 2009 focused on the regulation of ship-source pollution levels and introducing penalties for violations. A revolutionary vote was reached in February 2024, when the European Parliament voted to pass a policy that puts criminal charges on companies for the extended destruction of biodiversity, with the executives being eligible for long periods of prison time.

Moreover, the EU recently implemented regulations that target the shipping industry set by organizations such as the UN and the MARPOL convention. These regulations impose stricter penalties and open up the scope of punishable offenses to include illegal discharges of harmful substances garbage and residues. Through these various efforts, the EU is attempting to reinforce its commitment to safeguarding marine ecosystems and promoting sustainable maritime practices.

United Nations policies

The United Nations (UN) has been at the forefront of global efforts to combat maritime environmental crime, recognizing the critical importance of protecting and preserving the marine environment. Key initiatives stem from instruments such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78), developed in response to major incidents of ship-source pollution. MARPOL is responsible for the key legislation known as the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), which enforces the regulations outlined in the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL). Under APPS, it is considered an offense to knowingly breach specific provisions of MARPOL, APPS itself, and other pertinent pollution statutes. Additionally, the Organization took upon itself the responsibility to organize various conferences and events open to all Members to spread information about the issue at stake, with examples such as the UN Oceans Conference in 2022, which mobilized action to address issues like IUU fishing, marine degradation, and water contamination.

other International efforts

International initiatives for addressing maritime environmental crime that originate from outside of the main International Organizations have gained momentum in recent years, spurred by the efforts of various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Global Fishing Watch and the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation. These organizations play a crucial role in monitoring and reporting incidents of environmental violations at sea. International efforts to combat maritime environmental crime have been further bolstered by initiatives such as INTERPOL's Operation 30 Days at Sea, launched in 2018. These operations focus on increasing the reviewing of ships with a specific emphasis on illegal pollution activities. During the first 30 Days at Sea operation in 2018, agents from around the world detected over 500 crimes, primarily related to illegal oil and garbage disposal, leading to hundreds of investigations. Additionally, environmental obligations stem from various international conventions and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) enacted since the Second World War. Many of these agreements are in force within the territories of European Union (EU) Member States. Despite the richness of this body of international environmental protection principles, it often faces fragmentation and overlaps, highlighting the ongoing challenge of coordinating global efforts to safeguard marine ecosystems.

criticisms

International policies on maritime environmental crimes have been criticized often, mostly directed to the significant shortcomings in current approaches, especially within the European Union and the United Nations. Despite initiatives proposed by the EU, experts have pointed out the organization's ineffectiveness in prosecuting unlawful behaviors that contribute to maritime environmental erosion. This ineffectiveness grows from a lack of legal coherence, the judicial system being complex, and failures to harmonize laws and establish a common definition of maritime eco-crimes and their respective penalties. Critics underline the urgent need for internationally recognized definitions and appropriate prosecutions to ensure adequate punishment for crimes with long-lasting environmental consequences. Critics also highlight shortcomings in current regulations that govern ship pollution and fuel directives, in terms of low compliance by states and the non-binding nature of regulations. They advocate for immediate action to integrate such measures into international law to ensure compliance and address these systemic flaws effectively.