Page 207 - Supplemento 2-2016 (ENG)

Tackling Environmental Crime throUgh standardized Methodologies

Principal activities of the Italian Forestry Corps in combacting
environmental crimes

Donato Monaco
Head of 1st Department - Environmental Police, Forestry, Agribusiness and Civil
Protection of the Italian Forestry Corps

Introduction
Good morning, Mr. Commanding General of the Carabinieri, Mr. Chief

of the State Forest Department, distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.
My name is Donato Monaco and I am the Chief of Service 1 of the

General Inspectorate.
My speech today will be divided in three parts.
First I will mention the international cooperation bodies that the State

Forestry Department cooperates with, in the context of globally sharing activi-
ties to confront the global phenomenon of environmental crime.

In the second part, I will outline a brief overview of the main environ-
mental crimes in Italy and the main activities to safeguard biodiversity.

In conclusion I will outline some correlations between the present threats
in broad terms (particularly between environmental crimes and terrorism) and
the consequent need for a holistic approach to the issue, also highlighting the
powers of environmental police forces.

Environmental crimes have over time undergone profound changes and
have increased their dissemination, often assuming an international dimension
and spanning across different continents. According to OCSE, UNEP, CITES,
UNODC and INTERPOL, they provide organized criminality with an income
that is estimated between 70 and 213 million dollars. This is also the reason why
the trafficking of waste, of wild animals and plants, and of timber, has also
generated the growing interest of international police cooperation agencies.

In fact, amongst others, INTERPOL is getting interested and has created
permanent working groups on waste, on wildlife and on fishing, in addition to
specific projects on issues of particular interest such as the fight against ivory
trafficking or against illegal logging.

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