Poach, chuck, freeze and launder: South Africa’s criminal justice response to environmental transnational abalone poaching syndicates
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2019
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Abstract
This chapter focuses on transnational organised crime in the context of corruption in Africa and the AU’s priorities as reflected in the Agenda 2063 declaration. It discusses the challenges and constraints that confront the South African criminal justice authorities in coming to grips with the transnational organised crime (TOC) industry that has grown out of the poaching of abalone along most of the South African shoreline. Abalone poaching is covered under treaty-based conventions regulating economic crimes, all of which South Africa has ratified and incorporated into national law, despite which the issue is largely ignored in the legal literature. This chapter specifically examines the shift from regarding illegal abalone poaching as a sustainable wildlife management problem towards viewing it as an environmental economic crime perpetrated by organised international criminal syndicates in South Africa and the Far East. It investigates the potential effects of the environmental economy crime paradigm, identifying the reasons for its emergence and outlining the legal challenges and opportunities that it presents in capacity-building and awareness-raising efforts in criminal law enforcement. It highlights the lack of co-operation between the criminal justice authorities and other governmental agencies responsible for fisheries and environmental conservation and sustenance. The main perspectives of this chapter is to raise awareness of the nature of transnational organised crimes and their socioeconomic consequences on a regional, national and international level, focusing specifically on the African challenges.
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Anti-corruption; Abalone (Haliotis midea) poaching;Environmental sustainability; Law enforcement; Money laundering; Resource reservation; Prosecution of organised crime; Sustainable wildlife management.