This edited collection is grounded in a green criminological approach to understand whether the law, both in effect and implications, reflects, refracts, or sublimates the social, political and ecological conditions of our times. Since its initial proposal in the 1990s, green criminology has focused the criminological gaze on a wide array of harms and crimes affecting humans, animals other than humans, ecological systems, and the planet as a whole. As a continuously blossoming field of criminological inquiry, green criminology recognizes and examines behaviours that are both illegal and legal (yet detrimental), and in varying ways has made great efforts to provide insight into harms in a more fulsome manner. At the same time, there have been many significant legal instances, domestic, and international, including case law, legislation, regulation, treaties, agreements and executive directives which have troubled the law’s understanding of green harms, illegal and legal activity, pushing legal boundaries in the process. Recognizing that humanity and nature are inextricably integrated, Green Criminology and the Law reflects the range and depth of high-quality research and scholarship, combining contributions from established scholars willing to explore new topics and recent entrants who are breaking new scholarly ground.

This groundbreaking text provides students with an overview and assessment of green criminology as well as a call to action. Green Criminology draws attention to the ways in which the political-economic organization of capitalism causes ecological destruction and disorganization. Focusing on real-world issues of green crime and environmental justice, chapters examine ecological withdrawals, ecological additions, toxic towns, wildlife poaching and trafficking, environmental laws, and nongovernmental environmental organizations. The book also presents an unintimidating introduction to research from the physical sciences on issues such as climate change, pollution levels, and the ecological footprint of humans, providing a truly interdisciplinary foundation for green criminological analysis. To help students succeed in the course—and to encourage them to see themselves as future green criminology researchers—the end-of-chapter study guides include: • Questions and Activities for Students that review topics students should be able to conceptualize and address. • Lessons for Researchers that suggest additional areas of research in the study of green crime.

A comprehensive introduction to green criminology, this book is a discussion of the relationship between mainstream criminal justice and green crimes. Focused on environmental harm within the context of criminal justice this book takes a global perspective and Introduces students to different theoretical perspectives in green criminology Looks at the victims of environmental crime throughout Covers topics such as; wildlife crimes, animal abuse, the causes of environmental crime, regulation, exploitation, environmental activism, policing, prosecution and monitoring. Designed to help readers develop a thorough understanding of the principles of environmental justice and green criminology, as well as contemporary developments, this book will be excellent support to students of green criminology and environmental crime.

This unique study of social harm offers a systematic and critical discussion of the nature of environmental harm from an eco-justice perspective, challenging conventional criminological definitions of environmental harm. The book evaluates three interconnected justice-related approaches to environmental harm: environmental justice (humans), ecological justice (the environment) and species justice (non-human animals). It provides a critical assessment of environmental harm by interrogating key concepts and exploring how activists and social movements engage in the pursuit of justice. It concludes by describing the tensions between the different approaches and the importance of developing an eco-justice framework that to some extent can reconcile these differences. Using empirical evidence built on theoretical foundations with examples and illustrations from many national contexts, ‘Environmental harm’ will be of interest to students and academics in criminology, sociology, law, geography, environmental studies, philosophy and social policy all over the world.

Few criminologists have drawn attention to the fact that widespread and significant forms of harm such as green or environmental crimes are neglected by criminology. Others have suggested that green crimes present the most important challenge to criminology as a discipline. This book argues that criminology needs to take green harms more seriously and to be revolutionized so that it forms part of the solution to the large environmental problems currently faced across the world. It asks how criminology should be redesigned to consider green/environmental harm as a key area of study in an era where destruction of the earth and the world’s ecosystem is a major concern and examines why this has remained unaccomplished so far. The chapters in this book apply an environmental frame of reference underlying a green approach to issues which can be addressed from within criminology and which can encourage criminologists and environmentalists to respond and react differently to environmental crime.

Over the past ten years, the study of environmental harm and ‘crimes against nature’ has become an increasingly popular area of research amongst criminologists. This book represents the first international, comprehensive and introductory text for green criminology, offering a concise exposition of theory and concepts and providing extensive geographical coverage, diversity and depth to the many issues pertaining to environmental harm and crime. Divided into three sections, the book draws on a range of international case studies and examples, and looks at the conceptual and methodological foundations of green criminology, before examining in detail areas of environmental crime and harm, and how they are addressed, including: climate change and social conflict; abuse and harm to animals; threats to bio-diversity; pollution and toxic waste; environmental victims; environmental regulation, law enforcement and courts; environmental forensic studies; environmental crime prevention. Green Criminology is packed with pedagogical features, including dialogue boxes, case examples, discussion questions and lists of further reading and is perfect for students around the world engaged with green criminology and crime against the environment.

In the past three decades, a stream of criminological inquiry has emerged which explores, measures, and theorizes crimes and harms to the environment at the micro-, mezzo-, and macro-levels. This “green criminology”, as it has come to be known, has widened the criminological gaze to consider crimes and harms committed against air, land (from forests to wetlands), nonhuman animals, and water in local, regional, national, and international areas or arenas. Accordingly, green criminology has endeavored to understand the causes and consequences of air and water pollution, biodiversity loss, climate change, corporate environmental crime (e.g., illegal waste disposal), food production and distribution, resource extraction and exploitation, and wildlife trade and trafficking, while also exploring potential responses to these issues. This book seeks to introduce the green criminological perspective to a broader social science audience. Recognizing that green criminology is not the first social science to explore the phenomena and harms at the intersections of humanity and ecology, this book offers an introduction to some of the unique insights developed over nearly 30 years of green criminological thought and scholarship to students, professors, researchers, and practitioners working in the fields of anthropology, economics, environmental humanities, environmental sociology, geography, history, and political ecology. This book contains contributions from researchers in green criminology from around the world, including early- and mid-career scholars, as well as more established voices in the field—all of whom are dedicated to exposing, understanding, and ultimately hoping to thwart further environmental degradation and despoliation.

As planet Earth continues to absorb unprecedented levels of anthropogenically induced environmental and climatic change, two similar academic schools of thought have emerged in recent years, both making sustained efforts to explain how and why this state of affairs has evolved. These two disciplines are known as green criminology and earth jurisprudence. Whilst these areas of study can be seen as sub-disciplines of their parent subjects, law and criminology, this book proposes that much can be achieved by authors uniting and collaborating on their academic work. By doing this, it is argued that green criminology stands to benefit from a discipline that places mother nature at the heart of lawmaking and therefore providing a solution to the environmental harms identified by green criminologists. Furthermore, earth jurisprudence will profit from utilising the breadth of academic work produced within the green criminology academic arena. Therefore, this book seeks to unite green criminology and earth jurisprudence in an effort to find solutions to the extraordinary environmental problems that the world now faces.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to and overview of eco-global criminology. Eco-global criminology refers to a criminological approach that is informed by ecological considerations and by a critical analysis that is global in scale and perspective. Based upon eco-justice conceptions of harm, it focuses on transgressions against environments, non-human species and humans. At the centre of eco-global criminology is analysis of transnational environmental crime. This includes crimes related to pollution (of air, water and land) and crimes against wildlife (including illegal trade in ivory as well as live animals). It also includes those harms that pose threats to the environment more generally (such as global warming). In addressing these issues, the book deals with topics such as the conceptualization of environmental crime or harm, the researching of transnational environmental harm, climate change and social conflict, threats to biodiversity, toxic waste and the transference of harm, prosecution and sentencing of environmental crimes, and environmental victimization and transnational activism. This book argues that analysis of transnational environmental crime needs to incorporate different notions of harm, and that the overarching perspective of eco-global criminology provides the framework for this. Transnational Environmental Crime will be an essential resource for students, academics, policy-makers, environmental managers, police, magistrates and others with a general interest in environmental issues.

‘Green Crimes and International Criminal Law’ examines crimes against the environment, which impact not only humans, but also wildlife and ecosystems more generally. A significant point of discussion in the volume is whether green crimes can fit effectively into existing international criminal law frameworks or not. Chapter authors explore these crimes from both a definitional and theoretical perspective and in various contexts in different parts of the world, questioning whether these violations have led to or are violations of international criminal law. While the recognition of green crimes in the international criminal law community has been slow, it has increasingly gained widespread attention. This volume acknowledges the growing interest and seeks to promote debate among academics and professionals working on the subject. The aim of these texts is to encourage meaningful action around green crimes within the international criminal law community so that environmental justice can become established. The collection will be of particular interest to practicing attorneys and academics studying international criminal law, especially those keen on investigating how green crimes can be incorporated into the specific canon of international law.