Summary of Findings and the Way Forward

Abstract

In this final chapter, the main findings of the cases studies are reviewed and summarized, highlighting differences and similarities and drawing policy lessons for national and EU policy-makers. A first step in studying the environmental crimes addressed by the different case studies was to understand the nature, the aetiology, and the illegal reality around them. The core focus of the case studies was not only to investigate causes and motivations of illegal environmental misconducts looking at the behaviours of offenders and responsible for harms and crimes in question, but also to shed some light on the victims of environmental crimes and how they are victimized. Often perceived as ‘victimless’, in fact, environmental crimes often do not have immediate consequences and the harm may be diffused or go undetected for several years but the cumulative impact of repeated violations in the long-run can be irreparable. Some of the case studies demonstrated, moreover, that enforcement of laws is inadequate to deal with the fight against environmental crimes. At the European level and beyond, efforts to tackle environmental crimes have often been offset by an unsystematic and heterogeneous enforcement approach where the deputed agencies and institutions approach environmental crime without really reducing the dimensions and the magnitude of the phenomenon. The implications of the above multifaceted analysis are drawn for suggesting some policy-making recommendations. It is hoped that the book will contribute to a greater awareness and a critical understanding of how the framework and institutions of environmental policy-making can be improved, at the national and European level.