The Nimes Call made by Laurent NEYRET, during the "Security and environmental crimes" conference. November 9 & 10 2015.

1. The Nimes Call
Combating environmental crime
Background
The International Conference « Security and Environmental Crimes» gathered numerous
stakeholders in Nîmes on the 9th and the 10th of November 2015, following an INTERPOL,
Nîmes Métropole and FITS initiative. It was the opportunity for the attendees to launch a call
for the enforcement of appropriate measures to reduce the ever-growing phenomenon of
environmental crime.
Preamble
We, public, political, administrative and judiciary authorities, legal experts, police authorities,
economic actors, non-governmental organizations and members of the civil society involved
in the fight against international environmental crime,
Preoccupied by the unprecedented increase of unlawful activities gravely endangering the
environment, such as trafficking of toxic waste, illegal fishing and deforestation, or
trafficking in protected species of wild fauna and flora,
Conscious of the considerable profits generated by environmental crimes, estimated to be
worth between 70 and 213 billions dollars annually, overall the fourth largest global illegal
trade for the organized crime1
,
Emphasizing the low risk of prosecution and sanction for of environmental crimes
perpetrators,
Concerned by the narrow and growing links between environmental criminality and other
kinds of international criminality such as transnational organized crime, illicit trafficking,
money laundering and corruption,
Deeply aware that environmental crime threatens not only ecological security, but also social
and health security, economic security, climate security, and the geopolitical security of
whole regions,
1
Report « Environmental crime crisis», UNEP/INTERPOL, 2014

2. Recalling the INTERPOL General Assembly Resolutions « INTERPOL response to emerging
threats in Environmental Security» (2014) and « Sustainable Environmental Crime
Programme » (2010) calling upon state members to mainstream environmental crime in law
enforcement responses,
Recalling also that the Eurojust Strategic Project on Environmental Crime (2014) emphasizes
the lack of seriousness in addressing these crimes at national level and calls for a close
cooperation between national authorities in the fight against environmental crime, given the
potential impacts of those crimes,
Taking note of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights presented to the President of the
French Republic by the Lepage Mission on September 25th
, 2015 which recalls that protection
of the Earth is a fundamental issue for present and future generations,
Taking note also of the Paris Declaration (ParisClimate2015 – OCEAN Objectives) of June
8th, 2015 which underlines the urgent need to protect oceans from adverse consequences of
human activities and the Lyon Declaration (World Summit Climate and Territories) of July
2nd
2015 which calls for an enhanced global responsibility from state and non-state actors in
the fight against climate change,
Relying on the United Nations General Assembly Resolution of July 30th
, 2015 on « Tackling
illicit trafficking in wildlife » which « encourages Member States to adopt effective measures
to prevent and counter the serious problem of crimes that have an impact on the
environment »,
Relying also on the EU Action Plan against wildlife trafficking (July 2015) which denounces
the fragmented approach taken to address wildlife trafficking, both within the EU and at a
global level, due to a lack of awareness about the seriousness of the issue,
Convinced of the seriousness of the situation and the urgency to act more efficiently against
environmental criminality,
Encourage the decision-makers to adopt the following measures, organized around five
strategic priorities, to:
I. Strengthen environmental crimes prevention,
II. Pursue the coordination efforts to fight against criminal networks,
III. Intensify environmental crimes prosecution,
IV. Improve remedies for damages caused by environmental crimes,
V. Monitor the impact of the measures taken against environmental crimes.

3. I. Strengthen environmental crimes prevention :
Measure 1. Encourage States to promote research, education and public awareness to
environmental crime ;
Measure 2. Encourage economic actors to join efforts to protect the environment and to take
into consideration sustainable development and risks linked to environmental crime, for
instance by initiating and implementing compliance programs or enabling security techniques
and other suitable tools to detect, deter and compensate those crimes ;
Measure 3. Reinforce information exchange between States, regional and international
institutions in the field of environmental criminality, to detect and react to cross-over-crimes ;
Measure 4. Create statistical and comparative tools to assess environmental crimes at national,
regional and international levels in order to identify best practices related to protection and
efficiency in fighting environmental crime ;
Measure 5. Consider specific measures against corruption ;
Measure 6. Reinforce the expertise of the police, customs and the judiciary, mandated to
prevent, detect, apprehend and prosecute environmental crimes ;
II. Pursue the coordination efforts to fight against criminal networks
Measure 7. Foster international cooperation between police, customs and judiciary authorities,
in the fight against environmental crime, based on existing cooperation and mutual assistance
mechanisms applied to corruption and transnational organized crime, and create inter-agency
and inter-state task forces specialized in environmental crime matters, such as the National
Environmental Security Task Force (NEST) concept designed by INTERPOL ;
Measure 8. Clarify and harmonize offences and penalties regarding environmental crime at
the international level to counter the environmental dumping phenomenon ;
III. Improve remedies for damages caused by environmental crimes
Measure 9. Improve the penalties applicable to environmental crimes, especially through
restorative justice approach for the victims (damages, rehabilitation, compliance programs,
compensation fund for the environment and public health, local development programs, and,
if relevant, symbolic remedies adapted to the cultural aspect of environmental damages such

4. as public apologies to affected communities) ;
Measure 10. Facilitate access to justice by enforcing the victims’ rights of access to
information and public participation to decision-making in environmental matters as provided
by the Aarhus Convention (1998), and involving the civil society in prosecutions ;
IV. Intensify environmental crimes prosecution:
Measure 11. Ensure that the pre-existing national, regional and international laws regarding
environmental crime and trafficking are properly enforced ;
Measure 12. Recognize the inherent impact of crimes against the environment in national
legislations ;
Measure 13. Encourage States to mainstream environmental crimes and cross over crimes
committed by organized crime networks within the meaning of the UN Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC, 2000) to allow the use of specific investigation
techniques such as undercover operations, wiretapping, and electronic surveillance ;
Measure 14. Ensure proportional penalties to the profits criminals gain when committing
environmental crimes, for an effective deterrent effect; and employ a mix of administrative
and criminal remedies in doing so ;
V. Monitor the impact of the measures taken against environmental crimes:
Measure 15. Proceed to a regular review of achievements and new objectives regarding the
understanding of environmental criminality and the development of fighting strategies, by
way of regular high level meetings and the periodical publication of an environmental crime
assessment report.