Book review: David Rodríguez Goyes, Hanneke Mol, Avi Brisman and Nigel South (eds), Environmental Crime in Latin America: The Theft of Nature and the Poisoning of the Land (Palgrave Studies in Green Criminology)
| Published date | 01 August 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1362480618791098 |
| Date | 01 August 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Book reviews |
Book reviews 497
rather, to implement a model based on the co-generation of knowledge, where the epis-
temological capacity of everyone is recognized.
In sum, this book explores the many forms that collaboration can take when seeking
to prevent and curb environmental harm, and the benefits derived from each form of col-
laboration. Key elements for effective collaboration, as identified in this volume, can be
divided into interpersonal skills and organizational strengths. Among the former are
strong leadership, trust, consensus and equality among partners—that is, ‘the human fac-
tor’. Part of the latter include constant evaluation of the performance of the network, the
sustenance of its momentum, coordination and standardization of its activities, the crea-
tion of links between the diverse lines of work, the development of protocols to guide the
work and avoid misunderstandings and the operational autonomy of the partners.
In many respects, Environmental Crime and Collaborative State Intervention is a
missing piece in the green criminological literature and opens up new lines of potential
exploration. Among the interesting topics remaining to be studied are the dynamics of a
‘meta-collaboration’; that is, the interactions between two separate networks at work on
the same issue (e.g. illegal wildlife crime) regarding their respective strengths, overlaps
and frictions. Another topic is inter-agency collaboration against environmental harms
not yet defined as unlawful. Perhaps most urgently needed is a critical analysis of intra-
collaboration dynamics, focusing on how contested concepts, such as ‘good environ-
mental governance’ and ‘sustainable development’, are defined. This is particularly
relevant in cases where some actors guide others to ‘build capacity’. Such work would
show the power relations mediated by political and economic interests that shape signifi-
cantly the repertoire of global environmental discourses.
ORCID iD
David Rodríguez Goyes https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4287-8631
David Rodríguez Goyes, Hanneke Mol, Avi Brisman and Nigel South (eds), Environmental
Crime in Latin America: The Theft of Nature and the Poisoning of the Land (Palgrave Studies in
Green Criminology), Palgrave: London, 2017; 313 pp.: 9781137557056, $77.99 (eBook),
9781137557049 (hbk), $99.99
Reviewed by: Kerry Carrington, School of Justice, Faculty of Law, Queensland University of
Technology, Brisbane, Australia
The idea behind this novel compendium of essays came from the editors’ realization that
green criminology has largely overlooked the Global South. Hence a truly transnational
green criminology needs to ‘ensure that the environmental crimes and harms affecting
the lands of the peoples of the Global South are brought to the forefront’ (p. 2). This
unique volume about the exploitative practices of commerce, the plunder and ruination
of lands by mining extraction, the mono aqua and agricultural practices that destroy
To continue reading
Request your trial