Environmental Crimes and Illegal Waste Trade. a Study of The
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Master’s Thesis 2021 60 ECTS Faculty of Landscape and Society Environmental Crimes and Illegal Waste Trade. A Study of the Perception of the Seriousness of Crimes Related to Slow Violence and Ecomafie in the Province of Brescia, Italy Luisa Olivi International Environmental Studies The Department of International Environment and Development Studies, Noragric, is the international gateway for the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Established in 1986, Noragric’s contribution to international development lies in the interface between research, education (Bachelor, Master and PhD programs) and assignments. The Noragric Master’s thesis are the final theses submitted by students in order to fulfil the requirements under the Noragric Master’s programs ‘International Environmental Studies’, ‘International Development Studies’ and ‘International Relations’. The findings in this thesis do not necessarily reflect the views of Noragric. Extracts from this publication may only be reproduced after prior consultation with the author and on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation contact Noragric. © Luisa Olivi, May 2021 [email protected] Noragric Department of International Environment and Development Studies The Faculty of Landscape and Society P.O. Box 5003 N-1432 Ås Norway Tel.: +47 67 23 00 00 Internet: https://www.nmbu.no/fakultet/landsam/institutt/noragric 1 Declaration I, Luisa Olivi, declare that this thesis is a result of my research investigations and findings. Sources of information other than my own have been acknowledged and a reference list has been appended. This work has not been previously submitted to any other university for award of any type of academic degree. Signature………………………………... Date: 29th May 2021 2 Acknowledgments I would like to express my gratitude to all of those wonderful people that supported me during the Master at NMBU and during this research project. First of all, I would like to thank my supervisor, Esben Leifsen: your insights were essential and helped me to see things from other perspectives. Thank you for your support and motivation throughout this long journey. Also, I would like to give a huge thank to Lars Kåre Grimbsy and Joseph Domfeh for answering all of my questions about the waste management and for the interesting information that you gave me about transnational waste trade. Thank you to the local group of Legambiente Brescia, and to Giuseppe Giuffrida of Libera Brescia for facilitating the access to the information about the crimes in the province, and for giving an exhaustive picture of what is happening in the province, which was the starting point for the creation of the research. Some thankful words need to be said to all of those association and institutions that are fighting against the mafia, starting from WikiMafia, Libera, Legambiente and the Observatory on Organized Crimes (CROSS) of the University of Milan. Your amazing work is the prove of the engagement of the civil society and gives hope to all of us citizens to keep believing that there is a real possibility of an Italian society based on respect and solidarity. Thank you to all of my friends in Norway too: together we were able to stand in front of the pandemic. Covid-19 changed everyone’s life, and we were lucky enough to have each other during this period where we could not go home. I cannot express with words how much I appreciate each one of you and how grateful I am that you were here, with me, during this awful period. Thank you for having my back, for be there in the most difficult times and for showing that are the simple things and attentions that makes the difference. Obviously, last but not least, the biggest thank goes to my family, for the unconditional support despite the distance and for never stop believing in me, and to my friends from home that are able to sending me courage and strengths. 3 Environmental crimes and illegal waste trade. A study of the perception of the seriousness of crimes related to slow violence and ecomafie in the province of Brescia, Italy. Table of Contents Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................ 3 Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... 4 Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ 6 Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter 1. Environmental crimes: an underestimated topic .................................................. 8 1.1 The research ....................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 Methodology ..................................................................................................................... 12 1.3 Environmental crimes and theories ............................................................................... 15 Chapter 2. Mafia and the environment: legislations about environmental crimes and the characteristics of ecomafie............................................................................................................... 21 2.1 The legislations about environmental crimes and waste trade ................................... 21 2.1.1 Environmental Legislation: the European approach .................................................. 21 2.1.2 Italian legislations about environmental crimes ......................................................... 24 2.1.3 Waste management in Italy: a general introduction ................................................... 26 2.2 Ecomafie and illegal waste trade in Northern Italy ...................................................... 28 2.2.1 A general introduction of the characteristics of mafia-type organizations................. 28 2.2.2 When mafia groups commit eco-crimes: the peculiarities of ecomafie ..................... 32 Chapter 3. The new Land of Fire: environmental crimes in the province of Brescia......... 37 3.1 The context of the research: the province of Brescia ................................................... 37 3.1.1 PCB pollution: the Caffaro Case ................................................................................ 39 3.1.2 Environmental disasters related to the waste cycle and illegal waste trade ............... 41 3.2 Italian legislation related to environmental crimes. Implementation of the law through the case study of the Prosecutor’s District of Brescia. ............................................... 46 Chapter 4. Perceptions of environmental crimes and slow violence..................................... 53 4 4.1 Perception of the seriousness of environmental crimes ............................................... 53 4.1.2 Environmental crimes and health ............................................................................... 61 4.2 Victimization and perception of slow violence related to illegal waste trade ............ 63 Chapter 5. Ecomafie’s aggravated circumstances and the role of society............................ 67 5.1 The perceptions of the roles of ecomafie in the illegal waste trade ............................. 67 5.1.1 Ecomafie as an aggravated form of environmental crimes ........................................ 67 5.1.2 Corruption .................................................................................................................. 72 5.1.3 The “grey area” where ecomafie operates .................................................................. 73 5.2 Civil society and environmental crime’s awareness ..................................................... 75 5.2.1 Are we paying attention? The role of mass media in the diffusion of information about environmental crimes. ...................................................................................................... 75 5.2.2 Institution’s roles and trust ......................................................................................... 77 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................ 80 References .................................................................................................................................. 84 Figure Index ........................................................................................................................... 84 Tables Index ........................................................................................................................... 84 References .............................................................................................................................. 85 Appendix .................................................................................................................................... 91 1. Map of the province of Brescia ........................................................................................ 91 2. Environmental crimes registered by the Public Persecutor of Brescia (2015-2019) ... 92 3. Survey questions ................................................................................................................ 94 4. Interviewer’s responses ....................................................................................................