ABSTRACT
Green criminology is concerned with crimes and harms affecting the environment, the planet and the associated impacts on human and non-human life. The development of critical thinking around green issues in criminology has produced case studies and theory that connect to and interweave with aspects of philosophy, political science, sociology, economics, arts and the environmental sciences. An important aspect of green criminology is the way that it directs attention to cases and causes of harms, crimes and conflicts, and related connections and consequences that are usually overlooked or neglected in criminology. Harms and crimes are caused by those involved in destruction and misuse of forest and woodland environments and in traditional lands. Since the mid-1970s, most Western countries have toughened up anti-dumping and pollution laws and regulations. Social and economic conflicts arising from resource scarcity or exploitation, as well as climate change phenomena, present major challenges for human rights, civil society and species preservation in many parts of the world.
