Different perspectives on ecocides

Throughout this paper, we are going to shed light on environmental crime, which is one of the newest and most profitable illicit activities of organised crime groups. Our object is to consider ecocides from two different perspectives: the harsh deprivation and, oppositely, the forced introduction of resources into the environment. We will meet our goal through the development of two main sections, which are respectively dedicated to waste and endangered species trade. These phenomena analysis will be conducted through the consideration of the main actors involved and their transnational networks. Successively, we are going to analyse these connections from a geographical point of view, examining the departure, transit, and arrival places. Subsequently, we are going to focus on the environmental consequences of these trades: on the one hand, water pollution, soil contamination and infrastructure damages and, on the other hand, ecosystems impoverishment and facilitation of species extinction. In the end, we are going to take into account the organised crime groups’ profits, both in economic and trading terms.