Green crime in West Africa: uncovering the threats to human security and ecosystem integrity in Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal

The perpetration and negative consequences of green crime in West Africa are not a recent development. The recent emergence of discussions on the region's security has primarily focused on environmental security and climate change, with its incursion into discourses being a relatively recent development. Moreover, the discourse surrounding green crime frequently confines itself to topics such as the illicit trade of wildlife and illegal logging. Although the aforementioned concerns are of utmost importance, it is imperative to acknowledge that various other types of green crime, including but not limited to contamination of water, land, and air due to unlawful disposal of hazardous waste and unauthorized mining activities, pose substantial threats to human security and warrant due consideration. The objective of this study is to analyze the occurrence of environmental offenses in West Africa, specifically in Cote d'Ivoire, Nigeria, and Senegal. The research will concentrate on the examination of green crimes in these countries. The study endeavors to offer an understanding of the frequency and consequences of green crimes in the aforementioned nations, with a specific focus on their implications for human security, through the use of secondary data sources. The purpose of this paper is to argue for the securitization of green crime in the region and provide a framework for both state and non-state actors to respond to this issue.