A/HRC/35/33 and Africa.47 Checks were done at over 300 seaports, with customs administrators notifying each other of suspicious activities through the Organization’s secure communication tool. Over 36,000 metric tons of waste were seized during the operation. 54. In 2016, the largest-ever criminal penalty involving deliberate vessel pollution was reached in a plea deal following a case involving cooperation between authorities in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States. 48 An engineer for a cruise ship of Princess Cruise Lines Ltd. found the company dumping waste into the ocean and decided to expose the illegality to the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency, which shared the information and other evidence given by the whistle-blower with the United States Coast Guard, which in turn inspected the ship upon arrival in New York. This led to an official investigation by the United States Department of Justice and a $40 million penalty imposed on the company for deliberately polluting the seas and intentionally trying to cover it up. 55. These simple acts of notifying a different jurisdiction of the arrival of a criminal entity and providing evidence given by a whistle-blower led to a massive fine, $1 million of which was shared with the United Kingdom, the notifying State, for projects benefitting the marine environment. Established mechanisms, such as legal instruments providing for cooperation, multilateral networks and online tools to facilitate information exchange dealing with the transfer and disposal of hazardous wastes, have also yielded successful prosecutions of economic actors. 2. Wildlife and forestry crime 56. Wildlife and forestry crime consists of the acquisition, possession or trade of wild fauna and flora contrary to domestic or international law. That includes poaching of endangered animals such as elephants and rhinoceroses for their body parts, and illegal logging. 57. Such activities threaten species and ecosystems, leading to a loss of biodiversity and impacts on the food security and livelihood of communities. Wildlife crime often occurs together with a range of other crimes, including fraud, corruption, money laundering, kidnapping, murder and the trafficking of weapons, drugs and people. 49 Organized criminal groups and non-State armed groups derive significant income from the exploitation and trading of natural resources. Illegal logging itself deprives Governments of billions of dollars of tax revenue and undercuts legitimate, environmentally-responsible forest enterprises. Thus, the total effects of wildlife crime have significant negative impacts for human beings, animals, the environment, business and States themselves. 58. Those impacts are rarely confined to the territory of a single State. Contrary to the trade in hazardous wastes, the illicit trade in wildlife typically flows from less developed countries to more developed countries. 50 Therefore, the transnational nature of wildlife crime calls for a coordinated global response. 59. The most comprehensive international instrument regulating wildlife crime is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which requires States to set up a system whereby permits are required to import or export listed species. For the most restricted set of animals and plants, trade is prohibited unless scientific and management authorities in both the exporting and importing States authorize 47 48 49 50 See World Customs Organization, “Operation Demeter: Executive Summary” (Brussels, 2010). Available from www.wcoomd.org/~/media/wco/public/global/pdf/topics/enforcement-andcompliance/activities-and-programmes/environmental-crime/ex_sum_demeter_en.pdf?db=web. See www.justice.gov/opa/pr/princess-cruise-lines-pay-largest-ever-criminal-penalty-deliberatevessel-pollution. See INTERPOL, “Environmental Crime and its Convergence with other Serious Crimes” (Lyon, France, 2015). See Daan van Uhm, “Illegal Wildlife Trade to the EU and Harms to the World”, in Environmental Crime in Transnational Context: Global Issues in Green Enforcement and Criminology (2016), pp. 43-49. 13