Using the criminal law to protect the environment: Possibilities and problems

Abstract

Global biodiversity has declined rapidly in recent decades, and existing laws have proven insufficient to protect the environment from harm. There is no ‘silver bullet’ to remedying species population declines and extinctions and loss of ecosystems, but criminal law could be a crucial tool. We present an interdisciplinary perspective (conservation biology, criminal law, environmental law and green criminology) to propose that criminal law can and should be engaged more in protecting the environment. However, the criminal law is a captive of its own anthropocentric history. We must reconsider criminal law's core principles, informed by scientific methods and green criminological perspectives, to more effectively protect nature. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.