South Asian Regional Governance of Environmental Crime: A Growing Menace to Our Future

Abstract

Environmental crime has arisen as a significant but neglected problem in South Asia, including illicit operations such as animal trafficking, smuggling of ozone-depleting substances (ODS), hazardous waste disposal, illegal logging, and uncontrolled fishing. Notwithstanding their catastrophic ecological and socio-economic consequences, these offenses often get less enforcement focus owing to their global characteristics and diminished visibility. South Asia, characterized by its abundant biodiversity and permeable borders, has emerged as both a source and a destination for environmental crimes, notably the extensive poaching and trafficking of endangered animals such as tigers, rhinos, and pangolins. The unlawful commerce in Ozone-Depleting Substances (ODS) and hazardous waste has deteriorated public health and compromised climate resilience, while illicit logging and fisheries exacerbate biodiversity loss and economic instability in rural areas.
This paper rigorously analyses the institutional, legal, and enforcement deficiencies in South Asian nations and highlights effective but isolated initiatives such as Operation Hutan Lestari, Project Sky-Hole Patching, and contentious wildlife preservation strategies in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park. It underscores the pressing need for regional collaboration, environmental criminal tribunals, corporate responsibility, capacity enhancement, and international agreement to govern and alleviate the harm inflicted by these offenses. The document promotes a multidisciplinary and transnational strategy for environmental governance, contending that robust political commitment, institutional collaboration, and worldwide enforcement networks are essential to address the growing menace of environmental crime in South Asia.