Green Criminology, Water Issues, Human Rights and Private Profit

Abstract

Fresh water is a basic essential of life. It is fundamental to the wellbeing of humans, to ecosystems and to flora and fauna. It constitutes the lifeblood of many industries, from tourism to mining, agriculture to aquaculture. Activities and events that threaten the quantity and quality of fresh water therefore have major negative consequences for health, business success and national security. What is more, water is "one of the world's greatest renewable resources and is a natural monopoly essential to health and wellbeing" (Whelan & White, 2005, p. 135). In other words, clean safe water presents as a biological, social, economic, and spiritual necessity for contemporary society (Archer, 1998, p. 30).While essential to life, there are presently a number of threats to fresh water supply on a world scale. The scarcity of water is itself part of the problems. As this chapter demonstrates, water issues have a number of dimensions and from the point of view of human rights can be analysed in relation to notions of crime, criminality and social and ecological justice. Who owns and controls water, and how they do so, is of major concern.

Water Crimes and Governance: The Slovenian Perspective

“…The task of green criminology is to conduct a detailed study of the nature of water crimes and water management (including enforcement, prosecution, and sentencing practices) alongside the systems of criminal, civil, and administrative law designed to manage, protect, and preserve water. White and Eman (2020) emphasise that a variety of crimes against water are emerging which present the core issues of social and ecological justice. At this point, greater attention from green and rural criminology is needed because the majority of water crimes are detected in rural areas.…”

“…Water Crimes White and Eman (2020) believe that risks to water supplies are associated with multiple causes, ranging from industrial pollution and water theft to global warming. The importance of water personally, socially, economically and in terms of health and wellbeing has resulted in increased criminological interest.…”

Authoritarian Environmentalism and Epistemological Violence: A Southern Green Criminology Analysis of the 2014 Lanzhou Water Crisis and the Belt and Road Initiative Expansion into the Global Water Sector

“…Commodification also leads to water grabbing, generating water scarcity for local communities and increased limitations on water access (Bakker 2014;Johnson, South and Walters 2016). The subsequent uneven distribution and access to water resources exacerbates water theft, including illegally acquiring natural water courses and piped or harnessed water (White and Eman 2020). Therefore, the profit motive of transnational water oligarchs initiates water crimes when the commercialization of water resources results in the pollution or depletion of these resources, water theft, manipulation of treatment, and illegal waste management (Brisman et al 2020).…”