12 April 2012: A collection of papers, titled “Corruption, Environment and the UN Convention Against Corruption,” has been published by the UN Office on Drigs and Crime (UNODC) to highlight the role of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in fighting corruption and illegal trade.

The papers stem from a special event, titled “Impact of corruption on the environment and the UN Convention against Corruption as a tool to address it,” held at the fourth Conference of States Parties to the UN Convention against Corruption in Marrakesh, Morocco, on 26 October 2011.

The CITES contribution, written by Marceil Yeater, highlights the existence of corruption in the environment and natural resource sectors, and shows the impact, such as over-exploitation, pollution, loss of wildlife habitat and loss of revenues, that result from these crimes. Yeater highlights that the crimes do not attract sufficient government resources, and underscores the promising role of the International Consortium on Combating Wildlife Crime (ICCWC) in fighting illegal cross-border trade in wildlife.

Yeater concludes that the growing use of electronic permitting and other information technologies should be used to make it more difficult to engage in corruption. She also emphasizes the role of incentives and recognition of those who refuse to engage in corrupt practices. [Publication: Corruption, Environment and the UN Convention Against Corruption]