The IMPEL-TFS network announced the progress of their second waste verification project and highlighted recent activities, including: the success of “inspection weeks”'; new Dutch regulations governing “mixed green” waste; inspections along the Swiss-German boarder; interdiction of legal waste shipments between Germany and the Czech Republic; Croatia's experience with transport checks; and more.

The “IMPEL-TFS Verification 2 project” started in December 2004, includes 15 countries: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland, and The Netherlands. The Netherlands provides the project management and project secretariat. Participants execute cooperative inspections at waste sources, treatment facilities, and during transport. In addition, they meet regularly to exchange best practices and information on waste streams.

IMPEL-TFS, a cluster project within the European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement of Environmental Law (IMPEL), is a network of representatives from enforcement authorities of the Member States and some other European countries dealing with matters on Transfrontier Shipments of Waste (TFS).

The TFS network was set up in 1992 in order to harmonise the enforcement of EU Regulation 259/93 (replacing EC Directive 84/631) on Transfrontier Shipments of Waste with regard to the supervision and control of waste shipments into, out of and through the European Union. The aim of the network is to: promote compliance with the EU Regulation 259/93 through enforcement; carry out joint enforcement projects; and promote exchange of knowledge and experience with the enforcement of the EU Regulation 259/93. Every year, the IMPEL-TFS network has a plenary conference where the working program for this cluster is discussed.

Visit the IMPEL-TFS Web site for more information.

Ministerial Declaration Calls for Improved Forest Law Enforcement & Governance

Over 250 ministers, representatives of government, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and research agencies from 48 countries convened in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, from 22-25 November 2005 for the Europe and North Asia Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (ENA-FLEG) Ministerial Conference. The Ministers adopted the St. Petersburg Declaration and endorsed an Indicated List of Actions, reaffirming their political commitment to combat illegal logging and setting a framework for action.

The Ministerial Declaration emphasizes “the fundamental role of governments in providing effective governance, including laws and capacity to enforce them, to eliminate illegal logging, associated trade and corruption in the forest sector, and . . [expresses concern] that forests-related crime is a significant problem in many countries in the region, and that criminal actions have a significant negative impact on the forest sector, leading to the weakening of the rule of law, loss of revenue, degradation of forest ecosystems, and on their contribution to internationally agreed development goals.” The Declaration goes on to call on countries to, inter alia , “review and update forest legislation and regulations, ensuring harmonization with obligations under international agreements . . . and strengthen inter-agency cooperation, particularly among law enforcement and judicial authorities.”

The Indicated List of Actions proposes to, inter alia, “review and update forest law and related legislation to combat illegal logging and corruption . . . strengthen mechanisms and capacity for monitoring and implementation of anti-corruption tools.” It also contains an Annex, which lists selected international and regional organizations, institutions and processes of relevance for FLEG implementation.

The meeting was also an opportunity to share information and experiences on two important thematic issues relating to illegal logging: improving the investment climate and private sector incentives; and ensuring resource access to local populations and equity in resource utilization.

IISD Linkages' coverage of the ENA-FLEG Ministerial Conference is available online. See also, Traffic's article on the meeting: European, Asian and North American ministers commit to action on illegal logging.

Eighty-seven Percent of Large Factories in the EU Fail to Comply with Emissions Permits

The European Commission stated that only 13 percent of more than 45,000 large industrial and agricultural firms across Europe have obtained mandatory operating permits aimed at limiting harmful emissions. The commission said, in a review of a 1996 law designed to limit industrial air, land and water pollution, that action was needed to ensure full compliance with the law by a 2007 deadline. Under the pollution law, large industrial and agricultural installations must prove they are meeting emission standards. The commission is taking legal action against eight EU governments for failing to introduce the legislation.

A longer Associated Press article is available through Environmental News Network's Web site.

European Court Wins Authority to Enforce Penalties for Environmental Crimes

The European Commission may seek criminal charges for violators of environmental regulations, according to a ruling by the European Court of Justice. Experts said the ruling could have broad implications and lead to the enforcement of other types of regulations. For the first time, the European Union's high court extended the authority of the European Commission to criminal law. In the past, cases involving criminal violations of environmental regulations were heard only by member states individually.

A longer news story on the ruling is available from Guardian Unlimited.

EU Wildlife Enforcement Officials Agree to Increase Cooperation

A meeting of law enforcement experts from all EU Member States concluded with an agreement on a range of priority measures to strengthen co-operation and action to tackle illegal trade in wild animals and plants into and within the European Union.

Hosted by the UK Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, in collaboration with TRAFFIC International, the EU Wildlife Trade Law Enforcement Co-ordination Workshop, held in London from 25-27 October, was attended by over 130 enforcement officials from all 25 EU Member States, the European Commission, CITES Secretariat and Interpol.

A statement and recommendations agreed on at the workshop lay the foundation for further development of an Action Plan for EU Wildlife Trade Enforcement, which aims to strengthen enforcement of controls on illegal wildlife trade by different agencies such as Police, Customs and Environmental Inspectorates working in each of the EU Member States.

UK Biodiversity Minister Jim Knight said that the plan was a fundamental step in detecting and preventing illegal trade. "Wildlife crime is an issue that we take very seriously throughout the EU, which is why the UK scheduled this important meeting during our Presidency," he said. "The enlarged EU cannot become a haven for wildlife criminals, and we need to make sure this plan is fully and effectively implemented by all member states."

Drawing on analysis and recommendations from TRAFFIC's report, "Expanding Borders,” the statement calls upon policy makers and senior government officials in the EU to recognize the seriousness of illegal wildlife trade into and within the EU and to support the development of the Action Plan. Agreed on measures include greater efforts to improve enforcement effort and collaboration between different government agencies within each country.

At an EU level, it was agreed to strengthen the role of the EU Wildlife Trade Enforcement Group, develop methods for better information and intelligence exchange, designate focal points for the exchange of information on illegal wildlife trade, and ensure that penalties provided for and applied present an effective deterrent to illegal trade.

For more information contact Rob Parry-Jones, UK Enforcement Support Officer, TRAFFIC International at rob.parryjones@trafficint.org.

European Commission Issues Report on IPPC Implementation

The European Commission issued a new report in November on implementation of Article 16 (3) of Council Directive 96/61/EC concerning integrated pollution prevention and control (the IPPC Directive). The report concentrates on the years 2000 to 2002 and is therefore limited to the fifteen states who were members in those years ( hereinafter the EU 15). This is the first such report on the implementation of the Directive since its entry into effect in October 1999.

The IPPC Directive aims at achieving integrated prevention and control of pollution arising from about 45.000 large industrial installations across the EU 15. It is thereby addressing, through a system to determine permit conditions based on Best Available Techniques (BAT), the most significant emissions to water, air and soil, as well as other environmental impacts.

The report summarizes the information transmitted by Member States on the basis of a questionnaire adopted by the Commission. All Member States replied to the questionnaire. Most Member States replied with delay. The Commission has not checked all the information reported by the Member States in this context, although an analysis of the responses has been provided by an external study carried out for the Commission. In parallel, and as presented in this report, the Commission has carried out its own analysis on the conformity of national legislation with the IPPC Directive.

A number of key implementation issues were already raised by the Commission in its Communication “On the Road to Sustainable Production,” adopted in June 2003. This Communication additionally launched a consultation on the implementation and possible further development of the IPPC Directive, the findings of which are also taken into account in the report.

Click here for a copy of the report.

New Online Database Aids EU in Fight Against Illegal Wildlife Trade

The European Commission, in cooperation with the Belgian Federal Police, Customs and CITES Management Authority, and TRAFFIC Europe , announced the launch of the European Union Trade in Wildlife Information eXchange (EU-TWIX). This new online database will host centralized information on wildlife trade seizures reported by the EU Member States, as well as information on forensics institutes, rescue centers and wildlife trade experts.

"The system will allow enforcement officers to quickly share information on emerging fraud or specific illegal activities at the EU level," said Laurent Grolet, Chief Inspector at the Belgian Federal Police. "The information regarding a seizure made by customs or police officers in one country will be rapidly available in other EU countries, which will contribute notably to better control of cross-border criminality."

The European Community is one of the largest and most diverse markets for wildlife products in the world. Worth millions of Euros, the trade includes live animals, ornamental plants, tropical woods, food, leather, ivory, tourist curios, and wildlife-based medicines. Many of these species are regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Although a great deal of the wildlife trade is legal, a significant portion of the trade is illegal and threatens the survival of species in the wild. Seizures made by police and customs in the EU are common. For example, only last month, Belgian Customs of Zaventem airport seized a courier shipment described as "a diplomatic pouch" containing 35 kg of ivory tusks en route to China from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The absence of internal border controls in the EU's single market underlines the importance for strict controls at the EU's external borders and improved co-operation between the EU Member States, including enhanced information exchange among law enforcement officers. This is especially the case as illegal wildlife traders adapt quickly to changing laws and markets and target new species for which demand is high. New smuggling methods and routes are actively sought out by offenders to avoid detection, consequently making countries with weak border controls vulnerable targets. EU-TWIX is meant to help law enforcers in the EU fight wildlife trade crime in Europe by increasing the flow in information between enforcement authorities.

For more information contact Geneviève Crémer, Communication Officer, Traffic-Europe at gcremer@traffic-europe.com.

Paper Addresses the Role of Judges in Environmental Law in the EU

A new paper summarizes the findings of the first conference of the EU Forum of Judges for the Environment (EUFJE), held December 3, 2004, at The Hague. The report discusses: the organisation of national judiciaries, with regard to environmental law; investigation of environmental crime; civil environmental litigation, judicial training in environmental law; and the availability and public access of environmental information, including laws and regulations. The findings are based on responses from nineteen EU members to a questionnaire. The report was written by Luc Lavrysen, Judge with the Court of Arbitration (Constitutional Court), Brussels, and Director Environmental Law Centre, Ghent University.

EUFJE was established in February 2000 as an international non-profit association based in Belgium. The objective of the Forum is to promote the enforcement of national, European and international environmental law in the context of sustainable development. The Forum aims to: exchange training practices; contribute to a better knowledge of environmental law; share experiences with environmental case law; and contribute to more effective enforcement of environmental law. Every judge in the European Union and the European Free Trade Association with a special interest in environmental law can become a member of the Forum. Representatives of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the European Commission and the Council of Europe, as well as judges from countries that have applied for membership in the European Union may be admitted as observers.