ECOSOLVE - Innovative solutions against environmental crime

The project brings new approaches to the response to fighting global environmental crime. The environmental crime is a major contributor to the growth in serious criminal activities and is bound up with threats to global peace and security, while also providing a soft entry point into global illicit flows for traffickers.

ECO-SOLVE monitors the online trade, extracting data that can inform law enforcement and broader regulation, while driving greater cooperation in responding to illicit markets. It investigates and exposes the corrupt politicians and private sector actors who bear the greatest responsibility for facilitating global illicit environmental flows. It works to include community perspectives in local policing strategies, and to ensure the voices of communities – key potential agents of change – are heard in multilateral forums.

At the core of the ECO-SOLVE approach is the collaboration among the numerous stakeholders that are the target beneficiaries or partners of this programme. To ensure synergy, the activities have been designed to align with the needs of the Europol-led European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT), as well as global development priorities. The activities involve the participation and partnership of local communities exposed to organised environmental crime, national and international NGOs, law enforcement bodies, researchers and policymakers.