ABSTRACT
Increasing global concern about environmental and natural resource protection has prompted new efforts to understand the characteristics and causes of environmental harms. This book contributes to such efforts by bringing together legal and social science perspectives on environmental crimes, with the aim of fostering greater dialogue among policymakers, academics from different disciplines, representatives from international organisations, activists and concerned citizens around the world. Given the complex nature of many environmental offences, and the dearth of current knowledge about some aspects of these crimes, it is not surprising that interdisciplinary environmental research has recently gained greater prominence. Indeed, scholars have argued that a combination of disciplinary perspectives and types of expertise is essential for achieving a more comprehensive understanding of environmental harms, and for developing appropriate strategies to respond to such offences. 1 In particular, as this edited collection demonstrates, an exchange and integration of knowledge among legal scholars and social scientists could improve our understanding of, and responses to, environmental crimes.
