CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Environmental concerns have been at the centre of economic, social and political considerations both at the national and international levels since the last half of the 20th century. This is because of increased awareness and recognition of the fact that the protection and improvement of the environment is a major issue which affects the wellbeing of peoples and economic development throughout the world, which is a necessity for the survival and continuous existence of humans on the planet.^[1]

Human activities are largely responsible for environmental problems. The earth now cries out to us because of the harm we have inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God has endowed her.^[2]  Man is engaged in activities such as mining, forestry, agriculture, hunting, etc., to sustain a living. In carrying out these activities, environmental problems of all kinds are triggered. Environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, global warming with the proliferation of greenhouse gases, is some of these problems. Developing countries, in particular, are faced with severe environmental problems, that directly affect human health and welfare, restricted access to clean water and sanitation, heavy air and water pollution, erosion and destruction of local renewable resources, to mention just a few.^[3] Pollution is an age old problem that has been existing till date, the more the advancement the more pollution level increases. Cameroon being a third world country has a number of challenges caused by environmental harmful activities. Humanity finds itself confronted with many challenges, one of which is to find a solution to environmental problems that are manifold both within nation states and international^[4]. The question of environmental protection was not always at the centre of preoccupations in the world. However, growing public awareness of threats to the environment raised by scientists has created the need for the law to protect the threats surroundings on which human wellbeing depends.^[5]

With this, environmental concerns have become subject to multiple law-making processes. This necessitates the need for law to conserve our environment by regulating environmental crimes. Given that environmental degradation is largely caused by human intervention, the public authority responsible for repression of environmental crimes needs to act by developing legal rules in order to have at hand binding norms.^[6] It is necessary to trace the evolution of modern international environmental law which introduces the concept of environmental crimes.

International environmental law evolved from the international conference by the United Nations in Stockholm in 1972. This conference led to the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration. This Declaration was the first document of importance that placed environmental issues on International scene. It has 26 principles easily seen in a number of concepts that find their place in Multilateral Environmental Assessment (MEAs). The best-known principle 21, later reaffirmed in 1992 Rio Declaration on Biological Diversity in its principle 2 and in 1987 was entitled “Our Common Future”. In this light, the largest inter-governmental event ever held on the occasion of the world summit on sustainable development was conveyed in Johannesburg South Africa in 2002.It had as objective to implement sustainable development and poverty alleviation. The summit resulted in political Declaration that clearly reaffirms the three pillars of sustainable development which are the economic development, social development and environmental protection.

Rio+ 20 conference of 2012 member states agreed to launch a process to a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) which will build upon the Millennium Development Goals (MDGS).^[7] Agenda 20 for sustainable Development summit of September2015^[8] set out what all countries should strive to achieve in order to restore a balance between humans and the environment. The 2030 Agenda integrated plan of action structure in four main parts which are Declaration, a result framework, a means of implementation and global partnership.

In recent years, the harmful effects of human activities on the environment and connection between environmental health and human well-being have become obvious. This makes it clear on the need for governmental restrictions on environmentally harmful activities. The characteristic of environmental protection is that those responsible for harming the environment should bear the cost of protecting it in the form of reparation for damages or injuries sustained. The spectacular economic growth in Cameroon as well as any other country has come at a high price, especially concerning the environmental costs related to this growth.

The obligatory character of environmental law and enforcement mechanisms are designed to prevent acts detrimental to the environment. Not only does environmental law establish rules and regulations, it also provides for other forms of intervention such as management tools, incentives and disincentives.^[9] However, binding rules are not the only element in environmental law; other, nonbinding principles such as declarations might just as well be appropriate to enhance environmental protection. Thus, environmental law is an essential remedy to environmental crimes that cross national jurisdictions and to the depletion of the world’s natural resources. International law is needed because most environmental challenges cross boundaries in their scope.^[10] Due to the serious impact of environmental crimes which cut across national jurisdiction and which is beyond national legislation, the world have been joining forces through regional integration and international actions together to combat such environmental crimes.

 This started with the Stockholm Declaration of 1972 ^[11]and the 1992 Rio declaration^[12]. These declarations particularly in the 1992 Rio Declaration introduce some fundamental principles to fight against crimes amongst others; the principle of precaution, prevention and polluter pay principle. These principles were put in place to mitigate the occurrence of environmental crimes since there can be no life without crimes. These Declarations also recognise the link between the environments and development.

In Cameroon, the anxiety to protect the environment in general and combat environmental crimes in particular was made official by the government of Cameroon since 1990s.^[13] In the industrial realm, the official document that was attached to the decree laying down the procedure for granting incentives under the investment code of 1990 made it mandatory that the assessment of the benefits of productive investments should equally take into consideration the impact of such an investment on the environment The government of Cameroon’s efforts to protect its environment was accentuated after Cameroon participated in the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. This resulted in the creation of Cameroon’s Ministry of Environment and Forest and the drawing up of the National Environmental Management Plan (NEMP) for Cameroon.^[14] In the same light, Law no 96/12 of 5 August 1996 on environmental management was promulgated to enhance environmental protection in Cameroon. This law regulates the following sectors, maritime waters, coastal waters, air, soil, noise, pollution and toxic and hazardous substance or waste. 

Before the advent of this international and national legal order, the provisions relating to environmental considerations including trans-boundary environmental crimes were integrated into legislation. These were generally sectorial laws^[15] and found in laws regulating industrialisation, utilisation of water resources, forest exploitation, mine extraction, marine and coastal management, and public hygiene amongst others. They were not implemented sufficiently, and besides they looked at the environment from a limited perspective and concentrated on the direct consequence of interventions. This is evident as there is still a rise or an increase in the commission of environmental crimes. From the 1992 Rio Declaration, environmental consideration was henceforth to be viewed from a more global perspective.

The policy and regulatory framework for environmental crimes in Cameroon is based on the traditional normative or command and control type of legislation. This type of legislation is typified by the control of discharges to the atmosphere, water and land. Command and control succinctly describes the operation of such environmental legislation because while the legislation sets the environmental standards for a certain process or operation, the command part, inspection is necessary by enforcement authorities to ensure compliance to the standards that is the control part.^[16] Normative legislation is necessary. Indeed, it has fundamental principles towards the effective and efficient management of harmful activities in the environment. These principles include the precautionary principle; the polluter pays principle and the principle of adopting best available technology or less environmentally dangerous alternatives.

Environmental crimes are aspect of environmental damage which is governed by environmental law and other related criminal provisions which attributes rights and responsibilities both to government and pollutants. Industrial revolution brought about drastic changes in the social and economic lives of humans. The benefits of the revolution are felt even today, but so are the adverse effects. Environmental crimes by their very nature are trans-boundary and involve cross-border criminal syndicates. A tiger skin or an ivory tusk passes through many hands from the poaching site to the final buyer. A tree felled illegally can travel around the world from the forest via the factory to be sold on the market as a finished wood product. In the era of global free trade, the ease of communication and movement of goods and money facilitate the operations of groups involved in trans-border environmental crime.

The ecosystem has been significantly impacted as a result of the occurrence of environmental crimes and its consequences will affect future generations. In Cameroon big industries and its manufacturing plants uses a significant amount of water from the nearby lakes, rivers, oceans to operate. During the manufacturing process the water are exposed to chemical and heavy metals. They later return the water back into its original water source not only does his process affects the plants, animals, insects and humans. Famers also use that water for irrigation causing harmful effect to the food we eat. Industrial pollution is a concept which necessitates proper concern. The alarming natures of industrial pollution as a result of increase in industries in its resulting activities in Cameroon have disastrous consequences. Many areas in Cameroon have been damage in one way or the other as a result of industrial discharge of waste that has become common in our today society.

1.2 Statement of Problem

Trans-border environmental crimes today are in the increase with its associating impacts on the mother earth, to human health and the society at large in Cameroon in particular and within the CEMAC sub-region in general. The increase in such crimes unavoidable threaten the health and integrity of the environment and equally act as a threat to friendly relations between member states of the CEMAC sub-region due to the possibility of another country facing the impacts of an environmental crime committed in a neighbouring country. More often than not, such crimes go unpunished providing powerful incentives to perpetrators. It is on this backdrop that this work seeks to investigate into the effectiveness in the implementation of the legal instruments regulating trans-border environmental crimes within the CEMAC sub-region. From the examination of relevant literature, however, it is indeed clear that the overall effectiveness and efficiency of these initiatives is questionable. Thus, this work sets to question the effectiveness of the mechanisms put in place to sanctioned trans-border environmental crimes within the CEMAC. This leads us to the following research questions. 

1.3 Research Questions

The work sets out to answer the following questions which are both main and specific questions.

1.3.1 Main Research Question

Are trans-boundary Environmental offences within the CEMAC sub-region effectively repressed?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

• What are the impacts of trans-border environmental crimes within the CEMAC sub-region?
• What are the mechanisms and the actors put in place for the control and repression of trans-border environmental offences within the CEMAC zone?
• What are the challenges in the enforcement of trans-border environmental offences legal instruments and policies within the CEMAC sub-region
• What policy recommendations can be made to solve the issues raised?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

This work is based on the following objectives.

1.4.1 Main Research Objective

The main objective of this study is to assess the repression of trans-border environmental crimes within the CEMAC zone.

1.4.2 Specific Research Objectives

To this main objectives can be attached specific objectives

• Assess the impacts of trans-border crimes within the CEMAC sub-region.   
• To examine the mechanisms and actors put in place for the control and repression of trans-border environmental offences within the CEMAC zone.
• To assess the challenges in the enforcement of trans-border legal instruments and policies within the CEMAC sub-region.
• To make policy recommendations can be used to solve the issues raised.

[1]Tamasang C. F. & Atanga S. N.(2018), “Environmental Impact Assessment under  Cameroonian Law”, in Ruppel O. C. &Kam Yogo E. D. (eds), Environmental law and policy in Cameroon –  Towards making Africa the tree of life, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Yaounde Cameroon, pp. 274-295.

[2]Nina Mekenjo C. (2016), Environmental Protection under Cameroonian investment Legislation, Master Dissertation, University of Dschang, p. 2.

[3]Neumayer E. (2001), Greening Trade and Environment: Environmental Protection without Protectionism, 1^st Edition, U.K, Earthscan Publications ltd, P. 1.

[4]Mekenjo C. (2016), opcit(note2).p.1.

[5] Shelton D. & Kiss A. (2005), Judicial Handbook on Environmental Law, 1^st edition, Nairobi, United Nations, p.3.

[6]Ruppel O. C. & KamYogo E. D. (eds.), 2018, Environmental law and policy in Cameroon –
Towards making Africa the tree of life, Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Yaounde Cameroon, p. 82.

[7]The goals are contained in paragraph 54 United Nations Resolution A/RES/70/1 of 25 September 2015.

[8]Where leaders of UN member states adopted the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development which include a set of 17 sustainable development Goals. These 17 goals are our roadmap of next 15 years, 2015 to 2030 Agenda.

[9]Ibid.

[10]Kiss, A & D Shelton, (2004), International environmental law, New York, Transnational Publishers, p.3.

[11] Declaration of the UN Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 5-16 June, 1972.

[12] Rio Declaration on the Environment and Development, Rio De Janeiro, 4-14 June, 1992.

[13]Alemagi D., Oben P. M. Ertel J. (2006), “Mitigating Industrial Pollution Along the Atlantic Coast of Cameroon: An Overview of Government Efforts”, The Environmentalist, Vol. 26, pp. 41–50.P. 55.

[14]Ibid.

[15] See Law N0. 94/01 0f 20 January 1994 to lay down forestry, wildlife and fishery regulations, Law N0. 96/12 of 05^th of August 1996 relating to environmental management, Law N0. 2012/006 OF 19 April 2012 to institute gas code, law N0. 2016/017 of 14 December 2016 on the mining code.

[16] Ngohfeyi A. (2020), pollution and the law in Cameroon, Masters Dissertation, University of Dschang, p. 11.