Criminal Justice Response to Wildlife and Forest Crime in Cambodia: A Rapid Assessment

Key Points in Document:

• A 2015 rapid assessment by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime on the status of Cambodian criminal justice response to wildlife crime.
• Information for the assessment was compiled from structured interviews and literature reviews of publications, articles, and government documents.
• The assessment contains an overview of national legal frameworks, a review of eight sectors of law enforcement authorities, advanced investigative techniques, inter-Agency cooperation, strengths and weaknesses of environmental law agencies, and conclusions and recommendations for the country.
• The objective of the assessment “to analyse the role of the criminal justice system in combating the illegal trade in timber and wildlife with a view to engage the Government of Cambodia to improve its performance.”
• Conclusions of the rapid assessment include:

-       Corruption in forest and wildlife agencies represents a risk to effective governance.

-       Despite substantial penalties for environmental crime, little evidence exists that penalties are imposed, likely due to low capacity for prosecutors and judges.

-       Inadequate communication and collaboration between related agencies contributes to information silos.

• Recommendations from the assessment are given both in the short- and medium-term for capacity building and include, among many other recommendations:

-       In the short-term:

• Create an Environmental Court for judges and prosecutors to develop specialized knowledge;
• Increase training for border officials, park rangers, and police on offences, surveillance, evidence management, and interview techniques
• Provide proper equipment, training, and staffing to support all environmental crime agencies;

-       In the medium-term:

• Increase use and capacity for geospatial intelligence systems
• Establish a pilot program for drone use in detecting environmental crime
• Establish a computerized intelligence system for use by all agencies.

 

Citation: UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific. Criminal Justice Response to Wildlife and Forest Crime in Cambodia: A Rapid Assessment. Bangkok, Thailand; 2015. doi:10.1007/s13398-014-0173-7.2.