Came across this today, seems like a good step and reflects well on our perceived need for an International Environmental Criminal Court (IECC). Its intent to go after the higher levels of organised crime are indeed risky, and will open the operatives up to attack. Note that the WJC will have no powers ~ either to compel or to prosecute ~ and hopes to use ‘public outrage’ to shame governments into acting! The article’s final three paragraphs explain much … and are the same issues as for the IECC. The need to have such court is right now ~ otherwise biodiversity loss will just continue unabated ~ but the process of establishing one will be furiously resisted on many levels.
Finally, I wonder if there is a link between Mozambique and Macau ~ both former Portuguese colonies ~ with the former providing the export gateway, and Macau as the import route to Asia? Should be one for us to watch 🙂
It’s a good news that an organization is on to the high profile figures of the poaching industry. I hope one day we will be in a position to actively and effectively help them. We need someone very familiar with the flavour of Chinese used around Macau area to watch.
There have certainly been some renewed efforts towards environmental justice in recent years, in fact more than there has ever been in decades. It is likely that such efforts will gather momentum, depending on how much we all add to it. On the other hand there is a country like Japan openly flaunting court decisions, simply because the mechanisms for applying such court decisions are inexistent. The avenue of sanctions have been used successfully in other situations in the past, but it has always been in situations where the powerful prevails over the weak, with the powerful still standing to gain out of such actions. But who will openly go against Japan, except those who have little power to sway decisions.
But we are slowly moving in the right direction.