1st Edition

Governance of the Illegal Trade in E-Waste and Tropical Timber Case Studies on Transnational Environmental Crime

By Lieselot Bisschop Copyright 2015
    220 Pages
    by Routledge

    220 Pages
    by Routledge

    This book responds to the call for more research on transnational environmental crime and its governance by investigating the illegal trade in electronic waste (e-waste) and tropical timber, major forms of transnational environmental crime. The book is based on a qualitative multi-method research combining document analysis, interviews with key informants and field visits. Bisschop focuses on the flows that pass through the research setting of the Port of Antwerp (Belgium) and those between Europe and West and Central Africa. The study examines the emergence and social organization of these transnational environmental flows, illustrating that although profit or lure play a very important role, a range of factors on individual, organizational and societal levels together provide the motivations and opportunities. Building on these insights, the book addresses the governance of these two cases. The responsive regulatory pyramid and networked governance are used as theoretical frameworks for this analysis. This book is essential reading for scholars and academics interested in transnational environmental crime and corporate crime, as well as governance studies.

    Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 Methodology; Chapter 3 Explaining Transnational Environmental Crime; Chapter 4 Governing Transnational Environmental Crime; Chapter 5 The Illegal Trade in E-Waste; Chapter 6 Illegal Trade in Tropical Timber; Chapter 7 Comparative Case Analysis; Chapter 8 Conclusion;

    Biography

    Lieselot Bisschop has a PhD in Criminology (Ghent University, Belgium) and is an Assistant Professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (USA). She is also affiliated with Ghent University as a post-doctoral Fellow of the Research Foundation Flanders. Her areas of interest and expertise include environmental crime, organizational crime, environmental governance and policing. She is an assistant editor of the European Journal of Policing Studies.

    ’As a green criminology matures it needs to be able to draw upon excellent empirical research, revealing the breadth of transnational environmental crime, and to engage with the challenges of regulation and governance. Bisschop provides an exemplary contribution, relevant not only to criminology but also the study of international relations and trade.’ Nigel South, University of Essex, UK ’This book is a valuable contribution to the expanding field of green criminology. By providing rare empirical evidence to the study of e-waste and tropical timber trafficking, Lieselot Bisschop uncovers new and important insights on the nature and extent of these transnational environmental crimes that all criminologists should read.’ Tanya Wyatt, Northumbria University, UK ’Transnational environmental crime traverses time and space and involves multiple agencies, organizations and actors. Yet how it specifically does this, and the implications of these kinds of globalized social practices have rarely been studied empirically. In this remarkable book, Lieselot Bisschop exposes the flows and networks that are associated with the illegal trade in electronic waste and tropical timber. It thus provides a major contribution to understanding the pressures and limits of environmental governance and will be an essential guide for academics and practitioners well into the future. A major achievement.’ Rob White, University of Tasmania, Australia ’Bisschop has made an important contribution to our understanding of transnational environmental crime and green criminology. This book is both empirically rigorous and theoretically sophisticated. Through detailed research, it provides us with valuable insight into the criminal organization and regulatory governance of two key sectors of illegal environmental trade. Highly recommended.’ Lorraine Elliott, Australian National University