Law-Enforcement Challenges, Responses and Collaborations Concerning Environmental Crimes and Harms in Bangladesh

• Date: 01 March 2022
• Published date: 01 March 2022
• Author: Nigel South,Sarker Faroque
• DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20969938
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X20969938

International Journal of

Offender Therapy and

Comparative Criminology

2022, Vol. 66(4) 389 –406

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/0306624X20969938

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Article

Law-Enforcement Challenges,

Responses and Collaborations

Concerning Environmental

Crimes and Harms in

Bangladesh

Sarker Faroque1 and Nigel South2

Abstract

As Kailemia observes, “environmental crimes are an area of increasing concern, not

only because of [their] globalized nature” but because these crimes have “impacts

beyond the capacity of criminal justice systems of most states to comprehend or

address.” How then can criminal justice agencies, particularly in the global south,

respond to national and transnational environmental challenges? This paper takes

the case of Bangladesh and outlines examples of anthropogenic activities that are

destroying biodiversity and polluting the environment in this country. It then situates

these crimes and harms in the context of environmental law, and the work of police

and environment agencies, in Bangladesh. The paper concludes with a consideration

of future options for environmental law enforcement in Bangladesh.

Keywords

Bangladesh, environmental crimes, law enforcement, police, environmental courts

Introduction

Environmental crimes increasingly draw global attention as wide-spread understanding

of their short-term impacts and long-term consequences grows. Violations of environ-

mental laws and regulations might be local but the effects that follow may be felt long

distances away. Hence, such crimes are acknowledged as “a serious problem worldwide

1Police Staff College, Bangladesh

2University of Essex, UK.

Corresponding Author:

Nigel South, Department of Sociology, University of Essex, Colchester CO4 3SQ, UK.

Email: n.south@essex.ac.uk

969938IJOXXX10.1177/0306624X20969938International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative CriminologyFaroque and South

research-article2020

390 International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology 66(4)

in different forms, with some of them being among the most profitable criminal activities

in the world. The most common crimes against the environment are connected with the

unlawful exploitation of wild fauna and flora, pollution and waste disposal” (Sustainability

for All, 2018). This is a problem affecting the whole planet—but it is particularly the

global south that has been vulnerable to external and internal environmental exploitation

and damage caused by, for example, extractive industries, or government sponsored infra-

structure mega-projects (Brisman et al., 2018; Deb, 2020; Goyes, 2018; Goyes et al.,

2017; White, 2018). Bangladesh is no exception to this. As Yardley (2013: Section-A:1)

observes, “Environmental damage usually trails rapid industrialization in developing

countries. But Bangladesh is already one of the world’s most environmentally fragile

places, densely populated yet braided by river systems, with a labyrinth of low-lying

wetlands leading to the Bay of Bengal. Even as pollution threatens agriculture and public

health, Bangladesh is acutely vulnerable to climate change, as rising sea levels and chang-

ing weather patterns could displace millions of people and sharply reduce crop yields.”

The conventional, broad categories of environmental crimes found in various juris-

dictions are summarized by White (2011, p. 3) and these are also found in Bangladesh:

“unauthorized acts or omissions that are against the law and therefore subject to crimi-

nal prosecution and criminal sanctions; crimes that involve some kind of cross-border

transference and an international or global dimension; and crimes related to pollution

(of air, water, and land); crimes against wildlife (including illegal trade in ivory as well

as of live animals); and illegal fishing . . . .” In Bangladesh, pollution, trafficking in

wildlife (including critically endangered species), deforestation, dumping of electronic,

industrial and domestic waste, and illegal fishing, are all common and well-known

environmental crimes. Severe air, water, and noise pollution are threatening human

health, ecosystems and economic growth in the country and, as shown below, are the

subjects of media and political attention.

This paper takes the case of Bangladesh and provides examples of anthropogenic

activities that are destroying biodiversity and polluting the environment. It then situates

these crimes and harms in the context of, first, environmental law and regulation, and

then, second, in relation to the work of the police and specific environment agencies, in

Bangladesh. The paper follows the work of Pink and White (2016a, 2016b) and Jones and

Honorato (2016), in aiming to provide a preliminary overview of capacity and collabora-

tion, as well as obstacles to cooperation, in Bangladesh. However, as Kailemia (2018)

observes, “environmental crimes are an area of increasing concern, not only because of

[their] globalized nature” but because these crimes have “impacts beyond the capacity of

criminal justice systems of most states to comprehend or address.” A central question here

then is to ask how criminal justice and conservation agencies, particularly in economies

of the global south, can respond to national and transnational environmental challenges?

Environmental Crimes and Harms, and Enforcement and

Collaborative Responses in Bangladesh

According to Pink and White (2016b, pp. 3–4) we can approach the breadth of these

challenges by thinking of environmental crimes in terms of a “continuum” of ways of