Protecting the environment with intelligence
As the gun slammed down on the table and I heard the chilling words “I can shoot you now and I may go to prison but I will still be alive, but you, you will be dead” I realised we were in serious trouble. Ten years ago, after a series of EIA investigations exposing illegal [...]
A few weeks ago I wrote a blog describing how environmental laws are often poorly enforced and not accorded a high enough priority so it’s refreshing to now report on a shining example of effective enforcement – the work being done various US Government agencies in Miami to curb illegal trade in ozone-depleting substances [...]
Only two days into my new job as Visual Communications Officer for EIA, I found myself on a plane to Jakarta, Indonesia. EIA Visuals Specialist Paul Redman, Nanang Sujana, two campaign staff and I travelled to the forest community of Muara Tae, in East Kalimantan, East Borneo, to run workshops in research techniques, photography, film, [...]
That’s why last month EIA went to the 7th INTERPOL Environmental Crime Conference in Lyon. We were invited to present on what we thought the international police network could do to combat environmental crime. With the tiger summit looming, one of the things we proposed they could do (if they had the money!!) is establish “Tiger Desks”.
For most people contact with customs officers is normally limited to deciding whether to choose the green or red channel when arriving at airports. Yet customs agents have a vital role to play in combating environmental crime.