Driving momentum for stronger criminal justice responses to crimes that affect the environment at the 35th Session of the CCPCJ

Recently, the Wildlife Justice Commission contributed to a crucial UN meeting on fighting crime, the 35th Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ). The CCPCJ plays a key role in advancing implementation of the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC)—two international treaties essential to tackling wildlife trafficking and other transnational crimes affecting the environment (CAE). 

These treaties provide governments with the legal framework and practical tools to investigate, prosecute, and cooperate across borders, including through financial investigations, anti-money laundering measures, asset recovery, and specialised investigative techniques. They also provide an avenue for technical assistance and capacity building, helping countries strengthen their ability to prevent, investigate, and prosecute these crimes. Unfortunately, these powerful tools remain underused in the fight against wildlife trafficking and other environmental crime, allowing organised criminal networks to continue operating with relative impunity. 

Strengthening the international response to CAE is increasingly urgent, as wildlife trafficking not only drives species to extinction but also fuels organised crime and corruption, undermines livelihoods and national security, and threatens the health and resilience of ecosystems that provide climate stability and sustainable development. 

Why this CCPCJ mattered for the fight against wildlife trafficking 

The recent CCPCJ meeting came at a pivotal moment for strengthening the global response to CAE, including wildlife trafficking. Other key international crime-fighting meetings are coming up. These include the Fifteenth UN Crime Congress, where States will set international crime prevention and criminal justice priorities for the next five years, and the 13th Conference of the Parties (CoP13) to the UNTOC, where States are expected to consider launching negotiations on a dedicated Protocol on CAE. The Protocol would be the first legally binding global instrument specifically targeting transnational organised environmental crime. 

Together, these developments represent a rare opportunity to strengthen and better coordinate the global fight against wildlife trafficking and other CAE. 

At CCPCJ, Wildlife Justice brought operational evidence directly into policy discussions, drawing on investigations we have conducted with law enforcement partners around the world. This evidence informed discussions on how a dedicated Protocol to UNTOC could address key gaps in the current international legal framework, while also supporting implementation of UNCAC Resolution 11/9 by promoting stronger responses to corruption linked to CAE. Through organising side events, holding bilateral meetings with policy makers, and submitting written and oral statements. 

At this CCPCJ, Wildlife Justice placed particular emphasis on tackling the illicit financial flows associated with CAE. 

With the support of Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and WWF International, Wildlife Justice organised the side event From Commitment to Action: Following the Money to Address Crimes that Affect the Environment, moderated by our Executive Director, Olivia Swaak-Goldman. 

Panellist Mvuseni Ponye, a prosecutor with the National Prosecution Authority of South Africa explained that “CAE have become a major driver of transnational organised crime, generating significant illicit profits while remaining low-risk, high-reward. Despite international recognition of the growing threat, less than 1% of illicit proceeds are recovered.” His point was furthered by WWF International’s Rob Parry-Jones, who argued that “Environmental crimes drain resources that could otherwise be allocated to public services; they distort markets, erode trust in institutions, undermine human rights, and erode environmental integrity and resilience”. Terrestrial, marine and forest crime combined is estimated to be worth up to USD 69-199 billion per year, with total annual economic impacts estimated at USD 1-2 trillion, factoring in effects on climate regulation and ecosystem services.  

Crimes affecting the environment often converge with other serious crimes, including drug trafficking, human trafficking, and corruption. Highlighting the scale and complexity of the problem, H.E. Ambassador Marcela Tovar Thomas, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Colombia to the UN in Vienna, stressed that, “Following the money is not simply a technical tool, it is a strategic imperative for complex problems (and) complex solutions”. Carlos Sanchez del Aguila, Minister Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Peru to the UN in Vienna and former Chair of UNTOC Intergovernmental Expert Group on CAE added that, “Following the money must become a central pillar of our collective response. (…) If we understand CAE as a business model, our objective must be to dismantle and make that business model unprofitable.” 

To further illustrate the value of financial investigations, Wildlife Justice Director of Policy Lisa Hartevelt presented a case study involving a criminal network operating between Africa and Asia that trafficked more than 17 tonnes of wildlife products, with an estimated wholesale value of nearly USD 9 million. Financial evidence, including cryptocurrency transactions, helped identify key actors, reveal how the network operated, and contributed directly to successful prosecutions. The case demonstrated that financial investigations, international cooperation, and multi-stakeholder partnerships are essential for targeting those who organise, finance, and profit from environmental crime.  

Differing legal frameworks are a key barrier limiting effective financial investigations into CAE. Lieutenant-Colonel Hervé Marie, Head of the National Analysis, Animation and Support Centre at the French Gendarmerie Nationale’s Command for Environment and Public Health (CESAN) explained that “Dirty money travels faster than mutual legal assistance treaties or international data sharing. Organised criminal groups understand this perfectly” and “due to the lack of harmonised definitions of CAE across States, the principle of dual criminality required to prosecute money laundering becomes almost impossible to apply.” 

Another challenge was highlighted by Oswaldo Cuadro, Coordinator of the Environmental Crime Analysis and Operations Group at Colombia’s Financial Intelligence Unit (UIAF), who pointed to the limited interoperability of information systems. Because institutions collect data for different purposes, information often remains fragmented and difficult to connect. He stressed that stronger interagency coordination and better integration of financial intelligence with data from sectors such as mining and agriculture are essential to tracing illicit financial flows linked to environmental crime.  

Parry-Jones also highlighted the critical role of the private sector in tackling illicit financial flows linked to environmental crime. To support this, WWF has developed an environmental crimes financial toolkit in collaboration with banks. 

Panellists underlined how a dedicated UNTOC Protocol on CAE could help address these challenges by harmonising criminalisation frameworks, facilitating international and intersectoral cooperation, and enabling the more systematic use of anti-money laundering measures.  As explained in Wildlife Justice’s written statement to the CCPCJ, a Protocol could also support the general recognition of CAE offences as predicate offences for money laundering. 

H.E. Marcelo Souza Della Nina, General Coordinator for Combatting Transnational Illicit Activities at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, called on States to strongly support a negotiating mandate for a dedicated Protocol. He reiterated that, alongside addressing other prevention and enforcement gaps, a Protocol could strengthen the use of financial investigative tools under UNTOC in CAE cases, enhance international cooperation, and better disrupt the illicit profits that fuel environmental crimes. 

The case for negotiating a dedicated Protocol on CAE under the UNTOC framework was a central theme of the event Multistakeholder Priorities for a Potential Protocol under UNTOC on Crimes That Affect the Environment, co-organised by Wildlife Justice. 

Kimberly Prost, a member of Wildlife Justice’s Independent Review Panel and former UNTOC negotiator with the Canadian delegation, explained: “The Protocols were designed to be able to address specific types of crimes that in different times, different eras will arise and will become a real threat in terms of organised criminal groups. You need a Protocol to bring attention to them and to adjust special tools that might be necessary for those particular types of crimes. This was meant importantly to be a living process. This was meant to add Protocols to address modern threats just as criminals add crimes to their repertoire.” She stated: “The time is right. This proposed Protocol fits perfectly with the purpose, aim, and spirit of the Transnational Organized Crime Convention and its Protocols and would be a welcome addition to the fight against organised crime.” 

Similarly, Sheldon Jordan, Co-Founder of the Canadian Environmental Crime Research Network and former Director General of Wildlife Enforcement for Environment and Climate Change Canada, representing the Global Initiative to End Wildlife Crime, called for “21st century legal frameworks to take on 21st century crimes that affect the environment”. 

A growing coalition of countries and civil society organisations, led by Brazil, is calling for States at UNTOC CoP13 to adopt a decision establishing an Ad Hoc Committee to negotiate a Protocol on CAE. A strong civil society backing for this approach was evident at the CCPCJ during the side event Civil Society Priorities for the CCPCJ, Crime Congress, UNTOC CoP and Beyond, where participants identified launching negotiations on a dedicated Protocol on CAE as a key priority. 

This year’s CCPCJ saw unprecedented attention to CAE, with growing engagement from Member States and other stakeholders. The momentum generated in Vienna reflects increasing recognition that stronger international action is needed to address CAE and the corruption that enables it. 

With the UN Crime Congress and UNTOC CoP13 approaching, the focus must now shift from commitments to action. Wildlife Justice remains committed to supporting States and international partners with operational evidence and policy expertise to strengthen the global response to wildlife trafficking and other CAE. 

Watch the recording of the event “From Commitment to Action: Following the Money to Address Crimes that Affect the Environment”:

Watch the recording of the event “Multistakeholder Priorities for a Potential Protocol under UNTOC on Crimes That Affect the Environment”:

Watch the recording of the event “Civil Society Priorities for the CCPCJ, Crime Congress, UNTOC CoP and Beyond“