Environmental Crime and the EU: Synthesis

Synthesis of the Research Project "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE)

Publication: Report
Citation: Gerstetter, Christiane, Christoph Stefes, Andrew Farmer, Michael G. Faure, Teresa Fajardo del Castillo, Katharina Klaas, Mitsilegas Valsamis, et al. "Environmental Crime and the EU: Synthesis of the Research Project 'European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime' EFFACE". Report in the framework of the EFFACE research project. Berlin: Ecologic Institute, 2016.

The final synthesis of the 40 month long EFFACE research project is now available. The report is addressed at decision-makers and presents core findings from the EFFACE project in an accessible language. The final synthesis is available for download.

Drawing on the EFFACE work on data and impacts, the report highlights the often incomplete nature of data on environmental crime. It shows the difficulties in estimating the impacts of environmental crime in a quantitative manner. This is illustrated using the examples of poaching, illegal waste exports from the EU to China and forest fires.

Summarising EFFACE research on actors, instruments and institutions, the report describes the most important instruments at the EU level dealing with environmental crime. With regard to the Member States it sheds light at national legal frameworks on environmental crime as well as the functioning of enforcement institutions.

A further section is dedicated to weaknesses in the EU's efforts to address environmental crime in nine areas, including e.g. the system of sanctions or the role of NGOs. This section is based on the EFFACE report on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to the EU's approach in combatting environmental crime.

In the final section, the report presents the most important policy recommendations developed by EFFACE; a more extended version of these recommendations is published in a self-standing report.

Throughout the report, boxes highlight important insights from the EFFACE case studies.

Ecologic Institute coordinated the project and was reponsible for editing the EFFACE synthesis report.

Fighting Environmental Crime in Europe and Beyond

The Role of the EU and Its Member States

Year 2017

Publication:Report

A new report presents the conclusions and policy recommendations of the EU-funded research project, "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE). The report includes recommendations for action to better combat environmental crime at the EU and Member State level, distinguishing between core and supplementary recommendations. In addition to these recommendations, questions for further research are identified. The report is available for download.

European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime (EFFACE): Conclusions and Recommendations

on fighting environmental crime more effectively

Year 2016

Event:Conference

The final conference of the EU-funded research project "European Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) took place on 17 and 18 February 2016 in Brussels. More than 100 participants attended the conference - including representatives of EU institutions, national environmental authorities, police, civil society as well as academic experts on the topic from the EU and beyond. 

Combatting Environmental Crime: Priorities and Opportunities for further EU Action

17 - 18 February 2016
Brussels, Belgium

Publication:Website

The EU research project EFFACE assesses the impacts of environmental crime as well as effective and feasible policy options for combatting it, with a focus on the EU. Ecologic Institute designed and developed the EFFACE website which provides an overview of the project objectives, structure and partners as well as events. Furthermore the website provides links to the project findings, publications and policy briefs and hosts the EFFACE Newsletter. An internal area supports the coordination of the project work that involves 11 European universities and think tanks.

European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime (EFFACE)

Year 2012

Presentation:Speech

What do we know about the effectiveness of legislation to combat environmental crime within the EU and its Member States? And how can we measure its effectiveness? These were the two core questions that Christiane Gerstetter, Senior Fellow in Ecologic's Legal Team, addressed in a presentation at the conference of the European Environmental Law Forum in September 2015 in Aix-en-Provence. The presentation is available for download.

The Effectiveness of the EU's Legislative Framework on Environmental Crime

3 September 2015
Dr. Christiane Gerstetter

Presentation:Speech

In this presentation, Grazia Maria Vagliasindi, University of Catania, and Christiane Gerstetter, Ecologic Institute, presented the results of the EU-funded research project "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) to an audience of criminologists and police officers. The presentation is available for download.

(Preliminary) Results of the EFFACE Research Project

9 September 2015
Dr. Christiane Gerstetter

Event:Workshop

An important part of the research project "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE), which is coordinated by Ecologic Institute, is a series of workshops. They served both to present results of the research project and to invite feedback from academic experts, policy-makers and practitioners. Summaries of the workshops are available for download.

EFFACE Workshops on Environmental Crime

21 January 2014 - 22 October 2015
Berlin, Catania, Brussels, Granada, Den Haag, London

Publication:Report

An important part of the work for the "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) project, coordinated by Ecologic Institute, is the analysis of the costs and impacts of environmental crime. The work includes the collection and analysis of data and information on the extent and the impacts of environmental crime and attempts to estimate the economic costs of the different types of environmental crime. The report "Understanding the Damages of Environmental Crime" is available for download.

Understanding the Damages of Environmental Crime

Review of the availability of data

Year 2014

Presentation:Speech

Christoph Stefes, Senior Fellow at Ecologic Institute, presented during the one-day workshop "Making a case against environmental crime" his case study on environmental crime in the mining sector of the Republic of Armenia. The case study looks at the causes of environmental crime in Armenia, taking the mining sector as an example. It describes measures that the European Union could take to contribute to preventing future environmental crime in the country. The case study is available for download.

EFFACE Case Study Presentation "Environmental Crime in Armenia"

25 March 2015
Prof. Christoph H. Stefes, PhD

Language: English
Authorship: Dr. Christiane Gerstetter

Prof. Christoph H. Stefes, PhD

Dr. Stephan Sina

Katharina Klaas

Lucy Olivia Smith
Credits: Concept: Beáta Vargová, Christiane Gerstetter
Graphic design: Beáta Vargová
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International
Year: 2016
Dimension: 47 pp.
Project: European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime (EFFACE)
Project ID: 2720
Table of contents: Click to show full table of contents

List of Boxes
List of Figures
List of Tables
Abbreviations
1 Introduction
2 EU-related environmental crime and its impacts – what do we know?
2 .1 How can we describe the impacts of environmental crime?
2.2 Environmental crime and its impacts: examples
3 EU and Member States' efforts to combat environmental crime
3.1 Actors and institutions addressing environmental crime
3.2 Instruments used to fight environmental crime: the EU level
3.3 Instruments used to fight environmental crime: the national level
4 Problems and shortcomings of the EU’s efforts to fight environmental crime
4 .1 Data and information management
4.2 Substantive environmental criminal law at the EU level
4.3 Systems of sanctions
4.4 Enforcement institutions and cooperation between them
4.5 Victims and civil society and their role in fighting environmental crime
4.6 The environmental liability directive (ELD)
4.7 The external dimension of EU action against environmental crime
4.8 Action on organised environmental crime
4.9 Corporate responsibility and liability
5 Policy recommendations
References to non-EFFACE documents
List of EFFACE reports
Keywords: EU

Evaluation

Governance

Trade

environmental crime, enforcement, policy analysis, EU environmental law, sanctions, environmental impacts, policy assessment

Europe

brochure, design, layout

Further Links

EFFACE project website

ProjectFP 7European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime (EFFACE)

The interdisciplinary research project "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) assessed the impacts of environmental crime as well as effective and feasible policy options for combatting it, with a focus on the EU. The project was funded under the... Read more

European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime (EFFACE)

Duration: Dec 2012 - Mar 2016
Funding: European Commission, Directorate-General Research & Innovation (DG Research & Innovation), International

PublicationReportResearch on Actors, Institutions and Instruments Relevant for Fighting Environmental Crime

One facet of the "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) project, coordinated by Ecologic Institute, is research on the instruments, actors, and institutions involved in the fight against environmental crime. The overall work consists of a main... Read more

Faure, Michael G., Christiane Gerstetter, Stephan Sina and Grazia Maria Vagliasindi. "Instruments, Actors and Institutions in the Fight Against Environmental Crime." Study in the framework of the EFFACE research project. Berlin: Ecologic Institute, 2015.

PublicationReportUnderstanding the Damages of Environmental Crime

Farmer, Andrew, Lucas Porsch, Anna Rita Germani, Niels Philipsen, Stephanie Newman, Emma Watkins, Filippo Reganati, et al. "Understanding the Damages of Environmental Crime". Report in the framework of the EFFACE research project. Berlin: Ecologic Institute, 2014.

Farmer, Andrew. "Qualitative and monetary analysis of the impacts of environmental crime: Overview". Study in the framework of the EFFACE research project. London: Institute for European Environmental Policy, 2015.

PublicationCase StudyEuropean Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime (EFFACE): Case Studies on Environmental Crime

EFFACE partners have compiled twelve case studies on different types of environmental crime. The purpose of conducting these case studies was to identify the mechanisms and impacts of different types of environmental crime within and outside of the European Union and... Read more

European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime (EFFACE) 2012-2016: Case Studies on Environmental Crime.

PublicationReportEvaluation of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Threats and Opportunities Associated with EU Efforts to Combat Environmental Crime

One of the main outcomes of the EU-funded FP7 project "European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime" (EFFACE) is the report 'Evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (SWOT) associated with EU efforts to combat environmental crime'. This... Read more

Farmer, A. (Ed.) (2015). Evaluation of the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities (SWOT) associated with EU efforts to combat environmental crime. Study in the framework of the EFFACE research project.

PublicationReportEuropean Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime (EFFACE): Conclusions and Recommendations

Faure, Michael; Niels Philipsen; Teresa Fajardo del Castillo et. al. (2016): Conclusions and Recommendations. Study in the framework of the EFFACE research project.

NewsEFFACE Policy Briefs on Environmental Crime

EventWorkshopEFFACE Workshops on Environmental Crime

Workshop:EFFACE Workshops on Environmental Crime

Date: 21 January 2014 - 22 October 2015
Location: Berlin, Catania, Brussels, Granada, Den Haag, London