EPA Chief Executive Tony Circelli, in his role as Chair of the Australasian Environmental Law Enforcement and Regulators Network (AELERT), recently took part in the Second International Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Conference in Singapore.
Mr Circelli spoke on Vibrant Networks and Capacity Development at the conference which was convened by the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
“As environmental crimes occur within national, regional or global contexts, they are increasingly connected to other crimes such as fraud, theft and various forms of trafficking,” Mr Circelli said.
“The role of networks such as AELERT in facilitating inter-agency cooperation and collaboration is becoming increasingly important bringing regulatory practitioners together with other law enforcement agencies helps to build intelligence and regulation interventions where organised crime involves different regulators or indeed where it crosses state and federal boundaries,” he said.
“This leads to successful outcomes in the apprehension and prevention of environmental crime and other illegal activities and across Australia, including here in SA, where this happens in areas such as illegal dumping of waste, fisheries crime and wildlife regulation.”
Participants also took part in sessions on sustainable development goals and effective environmental compliance and enforcement, international cooperation on climate legislation, enhancing enforcement capabilities and vibrant networks and capacity development.