Typology of Environmental Crimes in Iran’s Natural Geography

The aim of this study was to evaluate the typology of environmental crimes in the natural geography of Iran.

First, a checklist of different environmental crimes prepared based  on semi-structured interview method with 169 respondents identified as sample size. Second, using expert opinions and the method of pairwise comparison, environmental crimes are weighted and their importance coefficient was determined. Finally, related data were collected from the legal offices of the relevant organizations, the statistics of violations, and environmental crimes in each provinces of the country between the years 2016 to 2019.

Environmental crimes are classified into 3 major factors, 8 minor-factors, and 23 measurement categories. The highest crime rates were "ecosystem degradation", "environmental pollution" and "biodegradation", respectively. The highest percentage of minor crimes belongs to "water pollution" with 58 percent, followed by "soil pollution" with 26 percent, and finally "air pollution" with 16 percent. In crimes related to "ecosystem destruction"; the highest percentage belongs to  "destruction of forests and pastures" with 48%, followed by "destruction of wetlands and ecosystems" with 35%, and finally, "destruction of mountains and plains" with 17%. In the case of crimes related to "harvesting resources and effects on biodiversity"; the highest percentage of "damage to wildlife" was 57% and the lowest rate was "damage to habitat" with 43%. The highest crime rates belong to  "land-use change" (9.4%) and the lowest is "herbal plant harvests" (0.5%). Mazandaran province with 6674 cases of environmental crimes is at the top of the list of provinces in the country and Khorasan Razavi province with 232 crimes is at the lowest point.

Considering the multiplicity and diversity of environmental crimes in the country and the increasing frequency of crime, it is necessary to take more effective measures in this regard.