Environmental Crimes and the Role of Green Criminology: New Model for Sustaining Mother Earth

Abstract

Green criminology, an emerging field of study that focuses on the intersection of environmental harm, crime, and justice. International law is increasingly being used to address green crimes. It is important for green criminology as it provides a framework for addressing crimes that cross national borders and affect the global environment. To address environmental crimes in a number of ways, like to create international conventions that set standards for environmental protection and criminalize environmental harm, to create regional and international tribunals that can hold individuals and corporations accountable, to create international organizations like the United Nations Environment Programmed (UNEP) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate/prosecute environmental crimes. Increased use of international law in green criminology is a positive development, in providing mechanism for holding individuals and corporations accountable. However, still many challenges that need to be addressed in order to ensure that international law is effective in protecting environment. Like, lack of international consensus, lack of resources for international tribunals, and the lack of accountability for those who violate international laws. Many environ-crimes are not reported, current research is often limited to a few specific countries or regions. This makes it difficult to draw general conclusions about the causes and consequences of environmental crime. The authors in this paper will primarily focus on the role of green criminology in preventing environmental crimes and sustaining the mother earth for better place of living. The role of national policies and international norms in mitigating natural disaster.