This section provides a round-up of news stories related to Environmental crime, both from INTERPOL and from other sources around the world.
Disclaimer: Please note that views and opinions expressed on external websites do not necessarily represent the views of INTERPOL or its employees.
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24 February North Atlantic - Plastic Rubbish Blights Atlantic Ocean

Scientists have discovered an area of the North Atlantic Ocean where plastic debris accumulates. The region is said to compare with the well-documented "great Pacific garbage patch".
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21 February South-East Asia - Monkeys, Butterflies, Turtles… How the Pet Trade's Greed is Emptying South-east Asia's Forests

Countries across south-east Asia are being systematically drained of wildlife to meet a booming demand for exotic pets in Europe and Japan and traditional medicine in China – posing a greater threat to many species than habitat loss or global warming.
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19 February International - Great White Shark is More Endangered than Tiger, Claims Scientist

Great white sharks may be more endangered than tigers, with only a few thousand left in the world's oceans, according to a leading marine biologist.
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19 February Australia - Australia tells Japan: Stop Whaling or Face Court

Australia has set a deadline for Japan to stop whaling in the Southern Ocean by November this year, or face international legal action.
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18 February International - Deep-sea Trawling is Destroying Coral Reefs and Pristine Marine Habitats
Deep-sea trawling is devastating corals and pristine marine habitats that have gone untouched since the last ice age, a leading marine biologist has warned.
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18 February International - Almost Half of all Primates Face 'Imminent Extinction'
Almost half of the world's primate species – which include apes, monkeys and lemurs - are threatened with extinction due to the destruction of tropical forests and illegal hunting and trade.
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16 February India - 'Wildlife Trade Exists Due to Less Funds for Monitor Body'
Organised wildlife syndicates across the world including those in India continue to thrive in the absence of adequate funding for security agencies that fight illegal trade, says head of a top global policing body.
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10 February China - China Sees Vast Pollution
China's government said its water is far more polluted and its industry is producing far more waste than previously realized, in a major study that environmentalists welcomed as a step toward greater transparency.
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8 February China - Fewer Than 50 Wild Tigers Left in China: Expert
China has an estimated 50 or fewer tigers left living in the wild, but efforts to stabilize one population in the bleak northeast are starting to pay off, a conservationist said on Monday.
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7 February China - China Marks Year of Tiger with Drive to Save Biggest Cat
China marks year of tiger with drive to save biggest cat
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5 February Sweden - Sweden Wants Explanation on Baltic Nuclear 'Dumping'
The Russian military allegedly dumped nuclear waste into the Baltic Sea in the early 1990s, according to a report on Swedish television. Radioactive material from a military base in Latvia is thought to have been thrown into Swedish waters.
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5 February Malaysia - End of the Road for Illegal Loggers
Following a tip-off from villagers, the Hulu Selangor District and Land Office and Selangor Forestry Department has successfully stopped illegal logging in Hulu Tamu, Hulu Selangor.
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4 February European Union - Carbon Trading Fraudsters Steal Permits Worth £2.7m in 'Phishing' Scam
European Commission launches investigation after 250,000 permits stolen from companies in Germany and Czech Republic by fraudsters who duped companies into giving their details via a fake website.
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3 February North America - Climate Change Causes Wolverine Decline Across Canada
The wolverine, a predator renowned for its strength and tenacious character, may be slowly melting away along with the snowpack upon which it lives. Research shows wolverine numbers are falling across North America. Their decline has been linked to less snow settling as a result of climate change.
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3 February France - France Backs Ban on Bluefin Tuna Exports
France has added its voice to calls for a ban on the global trade in bluefin tuna, the numbers of which have dwindled through overfishing.
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3 February International - The World's Radioactive Rubbish is Piling Up
A report into the problem of disposing of radioactive waste from civilian nuclear power.
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2 February European Union - Study Calls for EU Waste Enforcer
The European Union needs a dedicated agency to oversee and enforce EU waste legislation, a study recommends. Illegal dumping continues on a "significant scale" and "many landfill sites are sub-standard", the report for the European Commission warns.
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31 January Brunei - Leave peat swamps alone, UK expert advises Brunei
Brunei must continue protecting its peatlands, as research has shown that a significant amount of carbon emissions from disturbed, often illegally logged peatlands have been released into the atmosphere in Southeast Asia, said an expert yesterday.
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31 January USA - Game wardens use night flights to help nab illegal hunters
Night hunters are being hunted from the air in Alabama, as poachers try to take advantage of increased deer activity due to the annual rut, or breeding season.
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31 January International - Surge in ivory poaching fuelled by organised crime, says report
The dramatic increase in ivory poaching across Africa is being fuelled by organised crime based in China and the Far East, according to a new report.
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29 January Thailand - 13 Countries Agree Plan to Save Wild Tigers
A dozen Asian nations and Russia vowed Friday to double the number of wild tigers by 2022, crack down on poaching that has devastated the big cats and prohibit the building of roads and bridges that could harm their habitats.
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29 January Indonesia - Study says military complicit in illegal logging
A research conducted by the University of Indonesia revealed that military personnel were involved in illegal logging practice in border areas.
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27 January Zambia - Employ New Strategies to Curb Wildlife Crime - Namugala
Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources Minister Catherine Namugala has called for more cooperation and improved strategies among law enforcement agencies if they are to fight the ever-increasing sophistication in wildlife crime.
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21 January United Kingdom - Time Team-style scanner to uncover illegally buried waste
Environment Agency to use new technology to trace buried waste sites and prosecute polluters
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20 January International - Thai ivory-smuggling ring broken up
Crackdown on ivory smugglers as conservationists warn that wealthy buyers in US and Asia are putting fresh pressure on African herds
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17 January International - Asia's greed for ivory puts African elephant at risk
Slaughter by poachers intensifies as governments seek to increase legal sales
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14 January Arctic - Arctic Polar Bears Imperilled by Man-made Pollution
The long term survival of polar bears is being threatened by man-made pollution that is reaching the Arctic.
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13 January Chad - In Pictures: Saving Chad's Elephants
In 2005, almost 4,000 elephants roamed Zoukouma park. Today, only 550 remain. Poaching has devastated the park. A BBC photo report.
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8 January New Zealand - Poaching Season Targets Native Species
Wildlife officials are on full alert as poaching season looms, sparking an increase in the illegal trade of exotic species.
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7 January Kenya - Shoot Out with Poachers
Kenya Wildlife Service officers shot dead two members of a gang in an ambush at Kubihoke area of Igembe North District at around 2000hrs, on 5 January 2010.
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6 January Kenya - No Ivory Trade Concessions says Kenya
The Kenyan government has already given clear indication that they will not budge from their policy of a complete prohibition of trade in ivory and related products during the next CITES conference due in Qatar in March this year.
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4 January Kenya - Authorities Arrest 'Rhino Poaching Gang'
The Kenyan Wildlife Service has arrested a gang suspected of killing a white rhino and cutting off and selling its horns.
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2 January Kenya - No End to Triton Saga One Year On
A year after Triton Petroleum shocked Kenya through disappearance of fuel worth nearly Sh8 billion, the Yagnesh Devani empire in Kenya seems headed for the annals of history.
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1 January International - Asia's Wildlife Trade
An exposé of the world's most notorious wildlife dealer, his special government friend, and his ambitious new plan.
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