ERC grant for criminologist Daan van Uhm: research into 'green laundering'

On 22 November, it was announced that Daan van Uhm, affiliated to the Willem Pompe Institute at Utrecht University, is the recipient of an ERC Starting Grant for his research proposal on the green laundering of natural resources. Increasingly, criminal organisations are shifting their scope to the lucrative 'laundering' of illegally obtained tropical hardwoods, protected species, metals and minerals. When these eventually reach the international market, they possess all the right papers to pass for legal merchandise. "To facilitate green laundering, crime groups collaborate with corporations and corrupt government officials. My research aims to understand how and why these criminal partnerships, in which the underworld and legitimate world are intertwined, launder natural resources, and what the environmental consequences are," Van Uhm explains his research plans.

With this research, I aim to map the interactions between the actors that facilitate green laundering – criminal organisations, companies and corrupt government officials – to see where regulation and enforcement fall short.

For criminal organisations it may be appealing to switch from their traditional field of activity – such as the production and smuggling of cocaine or opium – to commodities that are not illegal per se, but where the exact origin determines whether laws and regulations are violated. Consumers who buy a gold wedding ring, a hardwood floor or protected species on the international market, thus unwittingly become part of a trade with devastating environmental consequences. "There is a continuum between legality and illegality, a grey area where the origin of products is unclear. This is where criminogenic, economic and political interactions between actors – criminal organisations, companies and corrupt government officials – arise that facilitate green laundering. With this project, I want to map the interactions between those actors and the environmental harms from a 'green criminology' perspective, to see where regulation and enforcement fall short."

While rainforests are rapidly disappearing, animal species are facing extinction and pollution is a growing problem, Van Uhm sees that enforcement of green crime often does not receive priority, and also is complicated. "Often a transaction looks alright on paper, but there is a suspicion that the documents are inaccurate or forged." The Netherlands can then submit a legal assistance request to the country of origin, for further investigation into a suspicious shipment or transaction, but this is of course extremely sensitive matter if corrupt government actions are involved.

Green laundering 'hot spots'

The research project has three components, Van Uhm explains. First, a quantitative analysis of more than a hundred green laundering cases, in order to identify patterns and trends. In addition to this analysis, three PhD students, through fieldwork consisting of interviews and observations, will map very closely how green laundering in practice takes shape in three 'hot spots'. "One case study is in Borneo, where illegal deforestation has been a major problem for decades. There you see, for example, that illegally logged timber is accommodated in existing concessions, only to be legally resold. The second case study revolves around the trade in rhino horns from Southern Africa. Even though horn trading is forbidden, there is an exception for antique rhino horns. This has created a loophole for laundering illegal rhino horns into antiques. The third case study focuses on the Surinamese part of the Amazon, where a lot of gold is mined. Here you see that illegal gold is laundered from neighbouring countries via Suriname."

Crime script analysis

In the final research phase, the quantitative and qualitative analyses are brought together through crime script analysis. In such crime scripts, the process of green laundering is mapped out step-by-step. They are analytical summaries of the business model behind this form of organised crime, including all the ramifications to accomplices in the upper world that are indispensable for its success. "How does the whole process behind green laundering work? Where are the regulatory and enforcement loopholes that are abused? It is a systematic criminological analysis," says Van Uhm. These insights can be crucial for policymakers, companies, NGOs and enforcement to develop inventive solutions to prevent and tackle natural resource laundering.

Towards an ecocentric approach

Van Uhm drew inspiration for this new line of research from his previous research on 'green crime', where the intertwining of the criminal underworld with legitimate businesses and officials became clear to him. As an example, he cites organised crime working closely with corrupt officials in the rainforest to facilitate trade in illegal timber, gold and protected species. Yet he is convinced that most companies and consumers would welcome more transparency and sustainability in the natural resource chain. Understanding the interaction behind natural resource laundering and the environmental harm from a green criminological perspective, is urgently needed to address the gaps in the current (anthropocentric) regulation, policy and enforcement, and introduce ecocentric perspectives, according to Van Uhm.