EU Environmental Enforcement Networks Conference

‘Strengthening Implementation of EU Environmental Law in

the Compliance Chain: Challenges and Solutions’

Dome Church Utrecht, Netherlands – 12/13 May 2016

In 2012, the European Commission published a Communication on improving implementation and suggested that failure to fully implement environmental legislation costs the EU around €50 billion every year in health costs and direct costs to the environment. Improving the implementation of environmental law is a priority theme of the 7th (current) Environment Action Programme of the European Union. Identifying and tackling these ‘Implementation Challenges‘ is therefore a key target for all of the networks involved in the organisation of this conference: IMPEL, the EU Network of environmental practitioners; ENPE, the EU Network of Prosecutors for the Environment; EUFJE, the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment; and EnviCrimeNet, a network of police officers and criminal agency’s focusing on tackling environmental crime. Recent research and analysis of responses from environmental regulators across Europe on practical implementation challenges highlight a number of challenges but two key areas are: a lack of resources (human and financial) and weak enforcement, insufficient penalties and sanctions. In an era of resource scarcity and declining resources for the environment, we must learn to innovate, to improve our efficiency and effectiveness, and learn from others. To strengthen enforcement, we must learn how to improve the links in the compliance chain and improve communication between the four key actors: practitioners (permitters and inspectors), police, prosecutors, and judges. This conference will highlight the key challenges and present practical solutions and best practice from Europe and the rest of the world on these themes.

Thursday 12 May Registration 08.00 – 09.00 Session 1 – Opening of Conference 09.00 – 09.30 Welcome by the hosts: The official opening of Conference will be made by the Vice-Governor of the Province of Utrecht, Ms. Pennarts-Pouw and Mr. J.A. van den Bos, Inspector-General of the Human Environment and Transport Inspectorate Session 2 – The Implementation Challenge 09.30 – 11.00 Chair: Dr. John Seager Improving the implementation of environmental law is a priority theme of the 7th (current) Environment Action Programme of the European Union. Failure to fully implement environmental legislation costs the EU around €50 billion every year in health costs and direct costs to the environment (EC, 2012). All networks involved in the organisation of this conference have a role in improving implementation of environmental legislation. Key actions in this regard are:

To address and improve weak and inconsistent enforcement across Europe; and To do so with an already small, but also shrinking, resource base.

We must be innovative and efficient, but also increase communication between those involved in environmental crime enforcement and prosecution both on the ground and in the courtrooms. This session will identify the challenges and also present practical solutions from Europe and beyond. We will get to hear directly from the four networks hosting the conference and how they are they are responding to the Challenge. A reminder of the Implementation Challenge including a summary of the recent literature e.g. IMPEL study on Implementation Challenge

John Seager

View from the European Commission: Director to give overview, 2 years into the start of the 7th EAP on its progress, what we can expect now and going forward, how they will consolidate on their ideas included in the 7th EAP

Aurel Ciobanu Dordea,

Key note speeches from the Network Partners: Four mini-presentations on key management challenges throughout the

compliance chain:

1. IMPEL 2. Envi CrimeNet 3. ENPE 4. EUFJE

1. Chris Dijkens 2. Roel Willekens 3. Jonathan Robinson 4. Jan Van den Berghe

Coffee Break & Networking 11.00 – 11.30 Session 3 – Information and Knowledge base 11.30 – 12.30 Chair: Antonio Vercher Noguera This session will focus on the information and knowledge resource that is available to practitioners through presentations from a variety of agencies and projects involved in combating environmental crime in Europe. Specialist input from the academia, EFFACE and Europol is provided. What can we do to improve the information and knowledge base of our respective networks? The Implementation Challenge study highlighted that many regulators feel as if they do not have enough information with which to base their decisions.

1. Prof. Matthew Hall & Dr. Tanya Wyatt

2. Andrew Farmer 3. Werner Gowitzke

Questions & Answers Lunch 12.30 – 13.30 Session 4 – Effective Approaches to Enforcement Challenges 13.30 – 15.00 Chair: Jonathan Robinson This session highlights good practice examples of effective approaches to Enforcement Challenges. The compliance chain is examined, as are effective approaches to enforcing wildlife and trans-frontier waste shipment crime through presentations from expert practitioners including prosecutors and judges. Delegates will have opportunity for further discussion through breakout groups focussing on the presentation topics.

Presentations: 1. Approaches to effective enforcement in the compliance

chain

2. Case Studies: a) Hunting Tourism b) Illegal Killing of Birds /CITES c) ‘Doing the Right Things’ for Permitting & Inspection

Rob de Rijck a) Teodor Nita b) Farah Bouquelle &

Jan Van den Berghe c) Tony Liebregts &

Rob Kramers

Questions & Answers Coffee Break & Networking 15.00 – 15.30 Session 4 (Continued...) – Effective Approaches to Enforcement Challenges 15.30 – 17.00 Chair: Chris Dijkens Breakout Groups:

1. Approaches to be effective in compliance chain (Beeleart van Bloklandzaal –Pope House)

2. Hunting Tourism (Sacristie room – Dome Church)

3. Illegal Killing of Birds & CITES (Ball room – Pope House)

d) ‘Doing the Right Things’ for Permitting & Inspection (Plenary room – Dome Church)

Breakout Group Leader 1. Rob de Rijck

2. Teodor Nita

3. Jan Van den Berghe

& Farah Bouquelle 4. Horst Buether

Plenary –

1. A presentation on the EU Action Plan on Wildlife Trafficking, by Helge-Elisabeth Zeitler

2. Breakout Groups will be asked to report back to plenary. Close of Day One 17.00 – 17.15 Chair: John Seager

ENPE General Assembly (For ENPE members only) 17.15 – 18.15 (Plenary room – Dome Church) Evening event - Welcome Drinks & Formal Dinner 19.00

Friday 13 May Session 5 – Investigations & Proving Cases 09.00 – 10.30 Chair: Roel Willekens This session is focussed on strengthening and improving cases for prosecution of environmental crime. It will take delegates through a sequence of presentations starting with evidential requirements, moving on to criminal investigations and then techniques including presentations on forensic evidence. We will hear from the CWIT team about their findings in how to reduce and tackle the illegal waste trade. Case study material will include recent and on-going waste crime-related projects to increase awareness and build capacity around international waste crime and multi-agency consortium approaches to tackling international crime. A question and answer session at the end will provide delegates with an opportunity to raise specific queries and explore in more detail their area of interest with the presenters. Presentations:

1. Evidence needed in environmental cases 2. DOTCOM Waste Project 3. Forensic evidence

Speakers: 1. Anne Brosnan 2. Federico Magalini 3. Marion Stelling

Questions & Answers Conference Photograph And then, Coffee Break & Networking 10.30 – 11.15 Session 6 – Sanctions & Cost Recovery 11.15 – 12.30 Chair: Luc Lavrysen Assigning sanctions for environmental crime is not straightforward. This session examines various approaches to this with further presentations on the financial investigation of environmental crime and ensuring appropriate financial recovery is actioned, removing the proceeds of crime recovery costs. A question and answer session with presenters at the end will allow delegates additional time to raise specific questions and discuss areas of interest. Presentations:

1. Cost Recovery / counting the cost of inspection, enforcement and prosecution.

2. Financial investigations / ‘Proceeds of Crime’

Speakers 1. Simon Bingham

2. Gerben Wijnja

3. ‘An Effective Sanction for Environmental Crime’ 4. Use of guidelines

3. Lorna Dempsey 4. Judge Ian Dove

Questions & Answers Lunch 12.30 – 13.30 Session 7 – Working Groups 13.30 – 15.30 Session 7 is divided into the organising networks’ respective areas of expertise (ENPE & EUFJE, IMPEL & ENVI CrimeNet) and comprises discussions around on-going work areas and themes. Delegates can attend different discussions to find out in more detail what the different networks are focussing on at present with network member topic experts leading the sessions. Guests not affiliated to any of the four networks are welcome to attend any of the sessions, except ENVI CrimeNet’s session, which remains closed to external participants. EUFJE & ENPE (Kanunniken room – University Hall) Case study discussions:

Wildlife crime: An introduction by Lars Magnusson Waste & TFS: An introduction by Rob de Rijck Industrial / Chemicals: Lorna Dempsey Sanctioning: by Carol Billiet

IMPEL (Plenary room – Dome Church) IMPEL’s Strategic Work Programme to 2020 and evaluating and reporting on the benefits of participation in IMPEL’s work. During the session the development of a reporting framework based on some key questions concerning the benefits of IMPEL’s work will be discussed, including:

Has participation in IMPEL’s programme helped your organisation to overcome specific challenges in implementing EU environmental law?

Has compliance with the requirements of EU environmental legislation improved and have there been consequent benefits for the environment, people and wildlife as a direct result of engagement in IMPEL’s programme?

Is your organisation operating more efficiently and effectively as a result of applying the know-how, tools and techniques acquired from IMPEL’s projects and activities?

Are senior officers responsible for your organisation able to tell us that the outputs from IMPEL’s programme are being taken up and embedded in their organisations and that they are receiving the benefits that they expect from their membership and investment in IMPEL?

ENVI CrimeNet (Belle van Zuylen room – University Hall)

Outcomes end next steps on Environmental Financial Expert Meeting of 10-12 May Preparation of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Bratislava Outcomes of recent meetings / events) Update on TECUM meeting in Rome, 6-7 May, and future events Upcoming events Bucharest, Bratislava; birds meeting in Egypt INTERPOL update (Cees van Duijn) Europol update (IPEC; Silver Axe) EU Policy cycle & Working Groups (GENVAL, LEWP, CCWP) Update on the EFFACE project EU Action Plan on Wildlife crime Green Criminology & Safety Measures (wildlife trade and waste trafficking) Intelligence agendas in European perspective Activities of the Wildlife Justice Commission Future developments.

Coffee Break & Networking 15.30 – 16.00 Session 8 – ‘Will Enforcement & Justice save the Environment?’ 16.00 – 16.30 Chair: John Seager A concluding session, which examines, summarises and reports on the conference findings. Our guest speaker will provide an overview of the 2 days, as well as looking to the future and next steps we all need to take to strengthen implementation. Inspiring speaker: Professor Michael Faure Session 9 – Closing of Conference 16.30 – 17.00 Chair: John Seager Formal closure of the conference by the Conference Chair: Dr. John Seager