Natural Resources and Violent Conflict - WaterWiki.net

130 crossin, hayman, and taylorintergovernmental support and intelligence to a CTR. Other nongovernmentalorganizations like Global Witness, Global Survival Network,WildAid, and the Environmental Investigation Agency have alsocarried out extensive investigations into trade routes of particularforms of contraband.Interagency Partnerships. Multiagency partnerships may also benecessary. The U.K. Metropolitan Police’s Operation Charm has linkedwith the East Asian traditional medicine community and wildlife conservationnongovernmental organizations to educate traders and increasepublic awareness of the trade in endangered species throughwidely publicized enforcement actions, public information packs, andnew forensic resources.Clear processes can be set up to allow field observation and intelligencefrom industry informants, the public, and nongovernmentalorganizations to be relayed through appropriate government and enforcementagencies. Established networks of local and internationalnongovernmental organizations already exist and can be further promotedand developed.Whether it is better to have a specialized unit or a multiple-agencypartnership or simply to provide general training to all enforcementagents depends on the size of the available resources. Multiple-agencypartnerships often lack dedicated budgets and tend to be highly dependenton the goodwill of the participants involved. When few dedicatedresources are available, it may be better to concentrate them inaspecialist unit to prevent dilution and loss of enthusiasm. Wherelarger funds are available, it may be possible to integrate an understandingof the basic principles and aims of specific CTRs into the curriculaof law enforcement agencies and customs and to take a phasedapproach to capacity building through clustering and training-thetrainerprograms.Effective (Criminal) Sanctions. Penalties are often inadequate andmay be treated more as operating costs for unscrupulous entrepreneursthan as a serious deterrent to market entry. Even when deterrentpenalties are permitted in national legislation, they may not be appliedby the judiciary, which is generally unaware of the aim and purpose ofCTRs and the potentially devastating effects of their violation. A lackof awareness and cooperation among prosecutors and investigatorsmay lead to loss of cases through technicalities. In addition, costs ofenforcement tend to be “sunk” and are rarely recovered on successfulprosecution of offenders. 14The use of criminal sanctions to deter some of the more seriousCTR breaches on hazardous waste and endangered species has gained