[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":336},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-how-to-make-better-use-of-political-economy-analysis-in-anti-corruption-and-conservation-programming-2564":3,"news-how-to-make-better-use-of-political-economy-analysis-in-anti-corruption-and-conservation-programming-2564-similar":48,"i-heroicons:arrow-left-20-solid":331},[4],{"id":5,"status":6,"date_created":7,"date_updated":7,"title":8,"type":9,"body":10,"date":11,"topic":12,"slug":16,"activity":17,"nid":20,"topics":21,"activities":22,"programme":23,"area":23,"websites":23,"language":24,"image":23,"translation_of":23,"countries":25,"tags":26,"authors":27,"images":45,"translations":46,"content":47},10628,"published","2026-06-04T21:14:01.000Z","How to make better use of political economy analysis in anti-corruption and conservation programming","Blog","It is becoming a truism that projects designed to address society’s biggest problems – like corruption or environmental degradation – need to be based on an understanding of the political context.\n\nIt is clear why. Without an understanding of the political context, we may miss important policy opportunities or stakeholders who can support and sustain the project goals. Our efforts may clash with power dynamics in unexpected ways, introducing unforeseen risks and undermining what we seek to achieve.\n\nTaking the political context into account in a project’s _theory of change_ enables us to learn about potential obstacles and adapt our plan accordingly. An insight into the local power dynamics and politics can also strengthen and validate the underlying logic of a project.\n\nSo why don’t we use political economy insights in anti-corruption or conservation projects more often and more effectively?\n\n### Six-step guidance\n\nTogether with Micol Martini of WWF, I recently published a [guide](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Ftranslating-political-economy-insights-conservation-practice-six-step-guide) that offers practical suggestions for integrating political economy analysis results into a theory of change.\n\nShe summarises the findings brilliantly in this [IUCN blog,](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.iucn.org\u002Fcrossroads-blog\u002F202311\u002Funderstanding-power-and-politics-better-conservation-outcomes) so I won’t repeat them here.\n\nInstead, at the guide’s [online launch event](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.worldwildlife.org\u002Fpages\u002Ftnrc-event-pea-into-practice-using-political-economy-for-environmental-anti-corruption-theories-of-change), I first highlighted two common barriers to using political economy analyses in practice and ways to mitigate them.\n\n### Myth 1: Political economy analyses are complicated to produce\n\nFirst, political economy analyses are often perceived as complicated to produce, requiring sophisticated political science skills.\n\nThat isn’t true. Political economy analyses come in all shapes and sizes. Our guidance emphasises that pragmatic approaches can be useful in identifying the right political economy analysis approach.\n\nPolitical economy analyses are less about having the right _skills_ and more about asking the right _questions_.\n\n### Myth 2: Political economy analyses are problematic to use\n\nSecond, political economy analyses are sometimes perceived as complicated to use.\n\nThis is reinforced by the idea that politics and power are negative, presenting a danger to programmes.\n\nIn fact, it is helpful to see how politics offers possibilities, not only problems. Understanding the politics and the context helps us to see new connections, find the right stakeholders to engage and spot the low-hanging fruit.\n\nPolitical priorities also shift, so it's good to keep abreast of how changes might impact a new or ongoing programme.\n\n### What’s needed?\n\nAlso at the launch event, I emphasised the need for spaces for dialogue between those conducting political economy analyses and programme implementers.\n\nBecause political economy analysis is not only about thinking politically, it is about _working_ politically.\n\nFor example, as part of a collaboration with the Targeting Natural Resource Corruption (TNRC) project, we [conducted](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fhow-political-economy-analysis-can-support-corruption-risk-assessments-strengthen-law) political economy analyses in three countries to understand why corruption risks may arise in the investigation and prosecution of illegal wildlife trade cases.\n\nWe had two different types of analysis. One looked at what kind of corruption risks may emerge in investigations and prosecutions of illegal wildlife trade cases. The other study explored the broader context and identified the underlying drivers of the corruption risks.\n\nInstead of just sending the results to stakeholders, we organised conversations where we presented the findings of the political economy analysis, summarised the key ideas and reflected on the implications for anti-corruption policies.\n\nIn this way, we helped our colleagues and partners to design anti-corruption interventions that would:\n\n*   be more effective in their particular context;\n*   be more resilient to threats from powerful political interests and stakeholders;\n*   address the causes rather than only the symptoms;\n*   identify better ways to monitor and evaluate progress;\n*   be easier to adapt to changes in the political context.\n\n### Learn more\n\n*   Read the six-step guide for practitioners: [Translating political economy insights into conservation practice](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Ftranslating-political-economy-insights-conservation-practice-six-step-guide), by Micol Martini and Saba Kassa\n*   Read our TNRC practice note: [How political economy analysis can support corruption risk assessments to strengthen law enforcement against wildlife crimes](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fhow-political-economy-analysis-can-support-corruption-risk-assessments-strengthen-law).","2023-12-21",[13,14,15],"Green Corruption","Prevention"," Research and Innovation","how-to-make-better-use-of-political-economy-analysis-in-anti-corruption-and-conservation-programming-2564",[18,19],"Research","Insights",2564,[13,14,15],[18,19],null,"English",[],[],[28],{"id":29,"news_id":30,"authors_id":42},1380,{"id":5,"status":6,"user_created":31,"date_created":7,"user_updated":31,"date_updated":7,"title":8,"type":9,"body":10,"image":23,"date":11,"topic":32,"slug":16,"activity":33,"nid":20,"topics":34,"activities":35,"programme":23,"area":23,"websites":23,"translation_of":23,"language":24,"countries":36,"tags":37,"authors":38,"images":39,"translations":40,"content":41},"03bebfd8-0b40-4a2a-820d-b9d9c13b9de6",[13,14,15],[18,19],[13,14,15],[18,19],[],[],[29],[],[],[],{"id":43,"name":44,"position":23,"image":23},559,"Dr Saba Kassa",[],[],[],[49,83,114,144,169,190,209,247,267,292],{"id":50,"body":51,"status":6,"type":52,"date":53,"slug":54,"title":55,"image":56,"countries":57,"topic":61,"activity":62,"tags":64,"nid":73,"topics":74,"activities":75,"authors":76,"images":77,"websites":23,"area":23,"programme":23,"language":24,"translations":78,"translation_of":23,"user_created":31,"date_created":79,"user_updated":31,"date_updated":80,"content":81,"link":82},10613,"Carbon markets are meant to help finance forest protection and climate action. Yet too often they are undermined by weak governance, corruption risks and a lack of transparency.\n\nConcerns over the credibility of some carbon credits erode trust in a system designed to channel climate finance and support forest-dependent communities.\n\nA new international project aims to address these challenges head-on by strengthening governance and anti-corruption safeguards across forest carbon markets. The Basel Institute on Governance is pleased to join this effort as a project partner, contributing its expertise through the Green Corruption programme.\n\n### A collaborative effort for better carbon market governance\n\nThe project, [Towards Inclusive Governance for Forest Carbon Markets](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.transparency.org\u002Fen\u002Fprojects\u002Ftowards-inclusive-governance-for-forest-carbon-markets), is led by Transparency International and funded by the UK Government through the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) [Forest Governance, Markets and Climate](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.gov.uk\u002Finternational-development-funding\u002Fforest-governance-markets-and-climate-fgmc2-programme-accountable-grants) programme.\n\nRunning until March 2028, the initiative brings together a consortium including the Basel Institute on Governance, Resource Extraction Monitoring and local Transparency International chapters in focus countries. Together, the partners will work to reduce corruption risks in forest carbon markets and strengthen the integrity of carbon credit systems.\n\nThe project will focus on three key countries – Indonesia, Ghana and Cameroon – supporting governments, civil society organisations, certifiers, private sector actors and forest-dependent communities to better identify and mitigate corruption risks linked to carbon credit projects.\n\nCarbon markets are inherently transnational: credits may be generated in one country, verified in another and purchased in a third. This complexity creates opportunities for corruption networks to exploit regulatory gaps, conflicts of interest and weak oversight mechanisms. The project aims to close those gaps by combining evidence generation, national advocacy and international engagement.\n\n### Bringing anti-corruption expertise to forest carbon markets\n\nThe Basel Institute will play a central role through our [Green Corruption programme](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fgreen-corruption), which focuses on tackling corruption linked to environmental crimes and natural resource governance.\n\nOur team is leading the project’s first major output: consolidating available data, gathering evidence to identify typologies of corruption risks in forest carbon markets and developing global, gender-sensitive guidelines to help prevent them.\n\n*   Working closely with partners and national stakeholders, we are leading the organisation of corruption risk identification workshops in Indonesia and Ghana. These workshops will bring together key actors across the carbon market ecosystem to map corruption vulnerabilities in carbon markets systems and identify practical actions to mitigate these risks. The findings will feed into country-specific risk assessments.\n*   In parallel, our team is conducting an assessment of global carbon markets governance dynamics and vulnerabilities to corruption.\n*   Ultimately national and international assessments will inform the development of global guidelines, which will be designed to strengthen anti-corruption safeguards across carbon markets.\n*   These global guidelines will then support advocacy and reform efforts led by Transparency International and its national chapters.\n*   We will also contribute to global advocacy efforts by advising international certification bodies and other actors on improving safeguards and governance standards in carbon markets.\n\nDr Amanda Cabrejo le Roux, Deputy Director of the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption programme, said:\n\n> _“Carbon markets hold real promise for forests, communities, and the climate_ _— but promise alone isn't protection. Like any system that moves money at scale, they are vulnerable to those who would bend the rules for personal gain. The first step is a rigorous analysis of corruption risks: mapping_ _scenarios and building clear typologies, through sector-wide workshops and consultations with all key stakeholders. From there, those same actors can work together to develop practical mitigation measures_ _— building a system that is genuinely resilient. That is exactly what this project sets out to do.\"_\n\n### Part of a wider “green” governance agenda\n\nThe project aligns with the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption strategy, which increasingly focuses on corruption and governance challenges linked to climate change and the global energy transition.\n\nForest carbon markets involve complex financial flows, transnational actors and high-stakes environmental outcomes, making strong governance and anti-corruption safeguards essential.\n\nWith years of experience analysing corruption risks in environmental and natural resource sectors and beyond, the Basel Institute is well placed to contribute to this work.\n\nBy contributing our expertise to the project, we aim to help ensure that carbon markets deliver on their promise: protecting forests, supporting communities and advancing credible climate action.\n\n### Learn more\n\n*   View the full [project overview](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.transparency.org\u002Fen\u002Fprojects\u002Ftowards-inclusive-governance-for-forest-carbon-markets) on the Transparency International website.\n*   Interested in corruption and governance in the environmental space? Join the [Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum](https:\u002F\u002Fenvironmental-corruption.org\u002F), a global community of practitioners jointly led by the Basel Institute on Governance, Transparency International, WWF and TRAFFIC.","News","2026-05-27","new-international-project-targets-corruption-risks-in-carbon-markets-2973","New international project targets corruption risks in carbon markets","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F2c25ec09-133d-47b9-a236-7cdd888ae525?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[58,59,60],7810,7811,7812,[13],[63],"Partnerships",[65,69],{"tags_id":66},{"id":67,"name":68},859,"Corruption risks",{"tags_id":70},{"id":71,"name":72},1303,"Environment",2973,[13],[63],[],[],[],"2026-06-04T21:13:42.000Z","2026-06-04T21:13:43.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fnew-international-project-targets-corruption-risks-in-carbon-markets-2973",{"id":84,"body":85,"status":6,"type":52,"date":86,"slug":87,"title":88,"image":89,"countries":90,"topic":92,"activity":93,"tags":94,"nid":105,"topics":106,"activities":107,"authors":108,"images":109,"websites":23,"area":23,"programme":23,"language":24,"translations":110,"translation_of":23,"user_created":31,"date_created":80,"user_updated":31,"date_updated":111,"content":112,"link":113},10614,"Malawi’s forests and wildlife are under growing pressure from illegal exploitation, driven by rising demand for natural resources and enabled by corruption and illicit financial flows. From illegal logging to wildlife trafficking, environmental crimes not only threaten biodiversity and local livelihoods, but also weaken public institutions and deprive the country of vital resources for sustainable development.\n\n> Charcoal illustrates the complex challenges involved: According to Malawi’s National Charcoal Strategy 2017–2027, 97% of households rely on illegally and unsustainably sourced charcoal and firewood for cooking and heating. In response to the resulting deforestation and forest degradation, the government has tightened enforcement against illegal wood harvesting and charcoal production while promoting alternative cooking fuels.\n\nBuilding on several years of collaboration with government partners in Malawi, the Basel Institute on Governance is launching a new project to strengthen the country’s response to environment-related financial crime and corruption.\n\nThe three-year initiative, _Mainstreaming Malawi’s progress in tackling environment-related financial crime and corruption_, is funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and implemented through the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption programme.\n\nActivities have commenced on the ground and will run through to June 2028.\n\n### A joined-up approach: enforcement and prevention\n\nThe project supports Malawi’s Department of National Parks and Wildlife, Department of Forestry and Anti-Corruption Bureau in strengthening both enforcement capacities and corruption prevention systems linked to wildlife and forestry crimes.\n\nRather than focusing solely on individual criminal cases, the initiative takes a broader institutional approach. It combines financial investigation techniques and case-based mentoring with efforts focusing on prevention to strengthen internal controls, improve inter-agency coordination and reduce corruption vulnerabilities within environmental agencies themselves.\n\nAmong the planned activities are:\n\n*   mentoring investigators and prosecutors working on corruption and money laundering cases linked to wildlife and forestry crime;\n*   supporting the development of digital case registration and tracking systems to strengthen case management from investigation to prosecution;\n*   helping Institutional Integrity Committees and internal auditors identify and mitigate corruption risks; and\n*   developing training, practical guidance and knowledge products to support long-term institutional capacity.\n\nDr Amanda Cabrejo le Roux, Deputy Director of Green Corruption and the project lead, said:\n\n> _“This project represents a significant step forward in our efforts to support environmental agencies in protecting Malawi’s wildlife and natural resources, while also reinforcing institutional integrity. By combining financial investigation techniques with robust prevention systems, we help our government partners create a sustainable framework for countering financial crime linked to the environment.”_\n\n### Building on proven partnerships\n\nThe project expands on [earlier DEFRA-funded work](https:\u002F\u002Fiwt.challengefund.org.uk\u002Fproject\u002FXXIWT117) implemented jointly by the Basel Institute and the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, which helped strengthen anti-corruption responses to wildlife crime through a combination of enforcement support and corruption prevention measures.\n\nThrough this and over a decade of engagement in Malawi, we enjoy strong working relationships with Malawi’s Anti-Corruption Bureau, Department of National Parks and Wildlife, Department of Forestry and Malawi Police Service – partnerships that now provide the foundation for broader and more ambitious work on environment-related financial crime.\n\nThe initiative also connects to the Basel Institute’s wider Green Corruption programme, which supports governments and partners around the world in addressing corruption linked to environmental crime, climate change and the global energy transition.\n\nAs global demand for timber, minerals and other natural resources increases, corruption risks linked to environmental exploitation are becoming more complex and transnational. Through our work in Malawi and beyond, the Basel Institute aims to strengthen the governance systems needed to protect natural resources, safeguard communities and ensure environmental policies can be effectively enforced.\n\n### Learn more\n\n*   Find out about the [Green Corruption programme](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fgreen-corruption).\n*   Interested in corruption and governance in the environmental space? Join the [Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum](https:\u002F\u002Fenvironmental-corruption.org\u002F), a global community of practitioners jointly led by the Basel Institute on Governance, Transparency International, WWF and TRAFFIC.","2026-05-26","advancing-malawis-efforts-against-corruption-and-environmental-crime-2974","Advancing Malawi’s efforts against corruption and environmental crime","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F40863cc9-1058-40d7-a0e5-404a96dc9ae9?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[91],7813,[13],[63],[95,97,101],{"tags_id":96},{"id":71,"name":72},{"tags_id":98},{"id":99,"name":100},1373,"Corruption prevention",{"tags_id":102},{"id":103,"name":104},1374,"Law enforcement",2974,[13],[63],[],[],[],"2026-06-04T21:13:44.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fadvancing-malawis-efforts-against-corruption-and-environmental-crime-2974",{"id":115,"body":116,"status":6,"type":9,"date":86,"slug":117,"title":118,"image":119,"countries":120,"topic":123,"activity":124,"tags":125,"nid":134,"topics":135,"activities":136,"authors":137,"images":138,"websites":23,"area":23,"programme":23,"language":24,"translations":139,"translation_of":23,"user_created":31,"date_created":111,"user_updated":140,"date_updated":141,"content":142,"link":143},10615,"When Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007, many believed it would lead to more secure, transparent and less corrupt borders. New regulations, infrastructure modernisation and digitalised customs procedures all followed. European standards and money arrived together.\n\nYet corruption did not disappear at the Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint, the main land crossing between Bulgaria and Türkiye and one of the busiest gateways between Europe and Asia. Instead, it evolved.\n\nThis is the central finding of a recent [article](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fevolution-corruption-and-crimes-kapitan-andreevo-border-checkpoint-impact-eu-accession) by the Prevention, Research and Innovation team of the Basel Institute on Governance – Dr Jacopo Costa, Dr Claudia Baez Camargo, Noémi Jäger and Dr Saba Kassa – published in the _Journal of Illicit Trade, Financial Crime, and Compliance_.\n\nThe article examines how criminal networks, smugglers, businesses and corrupt officials adapted to Bulgaria’s EU integration. It illustrates how corruption behaves like an adaptive ecosystem: when regulations and border control technologies change, corruption changes with them.\n\nA border built for opportunity – legal and illegal\n\nBorder spaces concentrate discretionary power in the hands of customs officers, border guards, inspectors and regulators, while bringing together also traders, transport companies, migrants, smugglers, criminal groups and political actors.\n\nKapitan Andreevo is a particularly instructive case due to its strategic location, with thousands of trucks, travellers and goods passing through the border checkpoint daily.\n\nBefore Bulgaria’s EU accession, corruption at the checkpoint was already deeply embedded. The 1990s brought economic crisis, shortages of consumer goods, weak state capacity and rapidly expanding informal markets. Smuggling became a profitable survival strategy.\n\nBorder officials could be bribed to overlook undeclared goods, counterfeit products and tax evasion. Duty-free shops in the \"no man's land\" between Bulgaria and Türkiye became hubs for smuggling cigarettes, alcohol and petroleum products.\n\nCorruption operated at multiple levels:\n\n*   everyday exchanges between traders, drivers and officials, often based on long-standing personal relationships, at the lower level\n*   connections between politicians, senior civil servants, business elites and organised crime at the higher level.\n\nSmuggling routes required political protection. Profits flowed upward through patronage systems.\n\nEU accession changed the rules of the game\n\nBulgaria’s EU accession radically transformed the legal and institutional environment. The country had to align its customs regulations, VAT rules, excise tax systems, phytosanitary standards and border procedures with EU standards – a gradual process requiring significant investment. The reforms affected almost every aspect of border governance.\n\nCustoms procedures became increasingly digitalised. New systems such as the VAT Information Exchange System (VIES) and the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS) improved cross-border monitoring.\n\nPhytosanitary and veterinary inspections became stricter. Migration controls tightened through alignment with Schengen rules and access to systems like the Schengen Information System (SIS) and international databases of stolen documents and vehicles.\n\nMeanwhile, new border control technologies – X-ray machines, scanners, thermal cameras and risk-analysis tools – expanded the state’s capacity to detect illicit activity.\n\nFrom a policy perspective, this appeared to be a modernisation success story. But criminal systems rarely remain static when the environment changes.\n\nCorruption did not decline – it adapted\n\nThe most striking finding is that stronger controls often increase the strategic value of corruption.\n\nAfter EU accession, crossing the border illegally became more difficult, risky and expensive. Corruption became necessary not only to speed up procedures but to bypass sophisticated control and regulatory systems.\n\nIn other words, modernisation transformed the function of corruption: Criminal actors began targeting specialised procedures, such as food safety inspections, VAT systems, automated license plate recognition, laboratory testing and digital customs controls.\n\nVAT fraud and the manipulation of digital systems\n\nVAT fraud illustrates this adaptation clearly. Within the EU, exports are often subject to a VAT rate of 0 (zero) percent, which means companies can reclaim any VAT they have already paid domestically. Criminal actors exploited this through \"carousel fraud\" schemes involving fictitious transactions chains.\n\nAt Kapitan Andreevo border checkpoint, for example, corruption allegedly enabled traders to manipulate customs procedures. One method involved corrupt officials manually entering fake truck registrations into customs systems to simulate border crossings, enabling fraudulent VAT refunds for exports that never occurred.\n\nEven more revealing was the manipulation of automated license plate recognition: corrupt actors reportedly disabled automated recognition and manually entered altered plates using Cyrillic characters resembling Latin letters, allowing smugglers to bypass alerts and inspections.\n\nThis illustrates a pattern seen in many modern corruption systems: digitalisation does not automatically eliminate corruption. Instead, corruption turns towards the technological systems themselves.\n\nFood safety, privatisation and rent-seeking\n\nEU food safety and phytosanitary regulations created new bottlenecks and forms of discretionary authority. The research describes two recurring manipulation strategies:\n\n*   selective sampling during inspections, where officials took samples only from \"clean\" sections of shipments; and\n*   falsification of laboratory tests to certify unsafe products as compliant.\n\nThese risks increased after some border functions were outsourced to private companies. At Kapitan Andreevo, food testing, parking operations and vehicle disinfection were privatised. This reform, intended to increase efficiency, allegedly created new opportunities for rent extraction.\n\nThe controversy surrounding Eurolab 2011, which reportedly obtained monopolistic control over food safety testing under questionable legal arrangements became emblematic of these tensions.\n\nThe broader implication: privatisation of public functions does not necessarily reduce corruption risks. It can shift them into hybrid public-private arrangements where accountability is weaker and oversight is more fragmented.\n\nThe rise of “routinised” corruption\n\nThe study highlights the increased organisation of corruption itself. Today, no single official can independently guarantee a smuggling route. Procedures involve multiple agencies, overlapping inspections and layered oversight.\n\nAs a result, corruption evolved towards collective coordination. Customs officers, border guards, supervisors, intermediaries and sometimes political actors participate in networks where bribes are pooled and redistributed.\n\nThese schemes resemble coordinated organisational systems with revenue-sharing mechanisms, internal hierarchies and protection structures rather than isolated rogue actors.\n\nThis reflects an important conceptual change: border corruption can function as an embedded institutional ecosystem sustained through cooperation, mutual dependence and political protection.\n\nDrug trafficking: when corruption becomes too risky\n\nInterestingly, corruption is not always the preferred strategy. In drug trafficking, for example, the risks are dramatically higher. Border officials caught facilitating drug trafficking could face severe criminal penalties, including organised crime charges and lengthy prison sentences.\n\nAs a result, traffickers increasingly invest in sophisticated concealment methods. One example is the \"twin trucks\" strategy: several nearly identical trucks carrying similar cargo cross the border simultaneously during heavy traffic, with only one of them containing drugs. Since inspection capacity is limited, the probability is high that the \"clean\" trucks are checked while the drug shipment passes undetected.\n\nThis shows that corruption and criminality do not always go hand in hand. Sometimes, stronger anti-corruption measures push criminals towards deception and concealment rather than bribery.\n\nThe bigger lesson: criminal systems are adaptive\n\nThe case study of the Kapitan Andreevo border crossing is not just about Bulgaria. Policymakers often assume that more technology, controls and regulation will automatically reduce corruption and illicit trade.\n\nBut criminal systems and corruption adapt. Informal networks reorganise around the vulnerabilities created by reforms. Every regulatory innovation creates new incentives, bottlenecks and opportunities for exploitation.\n\nThis does not mean reforms are useless. Many EU measures have clearly strengthened border management. However, reforms must be designed with an understanding of adaptive behaviour. Otherwise, states risk producing unintended consequences: stronger incentives for bribery, use of alternative trafficking routes, technological manipulation, new forms of collusion or opaque privatisation structures.\n\nI and my co-authors argue for a more integrated approach that combines anti-corruption and anti-crime strategies. We also emphasise the importance of anticipatory governance and foresight-oriented policymaking that try to predict how illicit actors will respond to institutional changes before reforms are implemented.\n\nThis may be the most important lesson from Kapitan Andreevo. Borders are not static lines defended by static institutions against static threats. They are evolving ecosystems where states, markets, technologies and criminal actors constantly adapt to one another.\n\nLearn more\n\n*   Access the full article, “[The Evolution of Corruption and Crimes at Kapitan Andreevo Border Checkpoint: The Impact of EU Accession](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fevolution-corruption-and-crimes-kapitan-andreevo-border-checkpoint-impact-eu-accession)”.\n*   Read our [Quick Guide 38 to border corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fqg38) for a short introduction.\n*   Read our Working Paper 58, “Corruption as a facilitator of drug trafficking in the port of Rotterdam” for a related analysis.","how-stronger-borders-can-create-smarter-corruption-lessons-from-one-of-europe039s-most-strategic-border-crossings-2972","How stronger borders can create smarter corruption: lessons from one of Europe's most strategic border crossings","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F693afaed-084c-4590-aafd-c2d51b28adf7?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[121,122],7814,7815,[14,15],[19],[126,128,132],{"tags_id":127},{"id":67,"name":68},{"tags_id":129},{"id":130,"name":131},982,"Anti-corruption",{"tags_id":133},{"id":103,"name":104},2972,[14,15],[19],[99],[],[],"b0662e2a-864d-4888-a1b7-4342b7570b30","2026-06-04T21:14:56.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fhow-stronger-borders-can-create-smarter-corruption-lessons-from-one-of-europe039s-most-strategic-border-crossings-2972",{"id":145,"body":146,"status":6,"type":52,"date":147,"slug":148,"title":149,"image":150,"countries":151,"topic":153,"activity":154,"tags":156,"nid":159,"topics":160,"activities":161,"authors":162,"images":163,"websites":23,"area":23,"programme":23,"language":24,"translations":164,"translation_of":23,"user_created":31,"date_created":165,"user_updated":31,"date_updated":166,"content":167,"link":168},10606,"A high-level meeting in La Paz, Bolivia brought together senior government officials and international partners to address a key driver of environmental crime: corruption. The event was one of the first public activities under the Basel Institute on Governance’s new UK-funded programme, _“Building a global network to prevent biodiversity-related corruption.”_\n\nParticipating authorities signed a joint declaration to strengthen integrity and prevent “green corruption” in the management of natural resources. \n\nThis is an important step. Strong political will is essential to tackle corruption risks that undermine conservation. The declaration shows a clear commitment by government partners to take action.\n\nThe event in March 2026 was jointly organised by the Basel Institute’s [Green Corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fgreen-corruption) team in Latin America, Bolivia’s Vice Ministry of Transparency, Legal Certainty and Human Rights, and the Forest and Land Authority (ABT).\n\nSessions combined international perspectives – including from Peru’s Secretariat for Public Integrity and Basel Institute experts – with practical group work. Participants analysed real corruption risks affecting environmental governance and explored concrete prevention measures. \n\nThe event built on previous programmes in Bolivia and the region, particularly in the forestry sector, where partners have already made important progress in strengthening integrity systems.\n\n### A major driver of biodiversity loss? Corruption\n\nCorruption is a major enabler of environmental crime and illegal wildlife trade. It weakens law enforcement, undermines regulations and reduces the impact of conservation efforts. \n\nYet most responses still focus on enforcement alone. Preventing corruption risks in the first place remains largely overlooked.\n\n### Prevention, not just enforcement\n\nThis is what the Basel Institute’s new programme aims to change. Running until the end of 2028, the programme supports government partners in Bolivia, Indonesia, Madagascar and Malawi. It is funded by the [Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund](https:\u002F\u002Fiwt.challengefund.org.uk\u002F) of the UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs.\n\nInstead of focusing only on catching crimes, it focuses on stopping them from happening. \n\nA particular focus is on strengthening everyday administrative systems. This is where corruption most often undermines conservation outcomes. The programme will help partner agencies to identify where corruption occurs in processes such as licensing, inspections and resource management.\n\nOur teams will then help partners to design and implement practical measures to reduce those risks. It is in this patient, detailed work with frontline officials that the real impact actually happens.\n\n### A safe space for governments to learn from each other\n\nA key innovation is the creation of a Wildlife Corruption Prevention Support Network.\n\nThis network brings together government practitioners from different countries to openly discuss challenges, share experiences and test ideas. This kind of frank, practical exchange is rare, but essential.\n\nIt allows partners to learn directly from each other, avoid repeating mistakes and move faster.\n\n### Scaling what works globally\n\nThe programme will also develop a global database of tested anti-corruption measures. This will capture practical tools, lessons learned and real-world examples.\n\nTogether, the network and the database will help countries scale what works, rather than starting from scratch.\n\nBy strengthening systems and connecting practitioners, the programme aims to reduce corruption risks at their source. In the long term, this will help protect biodiversity, curb illegal wildlife trade and support more sustainable and equitable use of natural resources.","2026-03-30","authorities-step-up-action-on-green-corruption-in-bolivia-as-new-global-programme-launches-2950","Authorities step up action on “green corruption” in Bolivia as new global programme launches","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fd223ad45-f203-45ff-8f5f-3afe47d88307?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[152],7807,[13],[155,63],"Events",[157],{"tags_id":158},{"id":71,"name":72},2950,[13],[155,63],[],[],[],"2026-04-15T22:45:17.000Z","2026-04-15T22:45:18.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fauthorities-step-up-action-on-green-corruption-in-bolivia-as-new-global-programme-launches-2950",{"id":170,"body":171,"status":6,"type":52,"date":172,"slug":173,"title":174,"image":175,"countries":176,"topic":177,"activity":178,"tags":180,"nid":181,"topics":182,"activities":183,"authors":184,"images":185,"websites":23,"area":23,"programme":23,"language":24,"translations":186,"translation_of":23,"user_created":31,"date_created":187,"user_updated":23,"date_updated":23,"content":188,"link":189},10594,"On 23 November 2025, 222 professionals from Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia successfully completed the second edition of the virtual course “Corruption risk management in the timber value chain”. The initiative, led by the Basel Institute on Governance’s [Green Corruption Programme](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fgreen-corruption), aims to strengthen integrity in the forestry sector and reduce the incidence of environmental crime.\n\n### Eight weeks of applied learning\n\nHeld between 26 September and 23 November, the course combined video lectures, readings, assessments, practical exercises and live sessions. This highly interactive methodology enabled participants to apply the concepts to real institutional contexts, fostering deep, action-oriented learning.\n\nOrganised into three modules and six learning units, the programme offered a comprehensive understanding of how to identify, formulate and manage corruption risks with an environmental perspective, from the forest to the final consumer.\n\nOne participant highlighted this shift in perspective:\n\n> “The greatest learning (…) was understanding that corruption risk is not an isolated issue, but a connecting thread that runs throughout the entire value chain from the forest to the final consumer. Rather than simply identifying corrupt acts, what matters is mapping the pressure points at each stage where corruption facilitates, in this case, illegal logging, document fraud or money laundering. This shifts the approach from passive monitoring to active and preventive management.” José Luis Vásquez Vegas, Coordinator, Directorate of Environmental Quality and Eco-Efficiency – Ministry of Environment of Peru\n\n### Real cases, real solutions\n\nA key milestone of the course was the practical workshop in which more than 40 groups developed corruption risk management plans based on real processes from their own institutions. This exercise encouraged critical analysis and innovation, strengthening skills that can be directly applied in daily work.\n\nThe diversity of the cohort – public officials, environmental specialists, researchers, students and representatives of indigenous communities – enriched the exchange of experiences and reinforced a shared regional message: addressing corruption in the forestry sector requires multisectoral collaboration and sustained commitment.\n\nAnother participant from Bolivia emphasised the value of a structured approach:\n\n> “The greatest learning from the course was understanding the importance of identifying, analysing and formulating corruption risks in a structured way, as well as determining their scope. I also found the course methodology very interesting – I liked it a lot – because it was clear and dynamic. It is important to highlight that the fight against corruption is a daily task; it is a commitment and a collective effort that we must all undertake together.” Nadir Camacho Llanos, Professional Auditor, Vice-Ministry of Institutional Transparency and the Fight Against Corruption, Bolivia\n\nAnd from Ecuador:\n\n> “It was very gratifying to receive guidelines, tips and methodologies that help us identify the corruption risks present in the activities we carry out as the National Environmental Authority.” Pablo Toledo Castelo, Specialist in Forest Administration and Control I, Ministry of Environment and Energy of Ecuador\n\n### A region exposed to corruption risks in the forestry sector\n\nCorruption in the timber trade is a significant economic and environmental threat, and countries with extensive forest resources tend to be particularly vulnerable.\n\nThis is the case in Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru, where our Green Corruption Programme works closely with forestry authorities and environmental agencies to assess and mitigate corruption risks, strengthen internal controls and apply approaches that help “follow the money” behind environmental crimes.\n\nThe virtual course was designed to expand these efforts by fostering peer learning and experience sharing among professionals from the three countries.\n\nThe energy and dedication of the 222 graduates reflect a growing commitment to strengthening forest governance with transparency, sustainability and responsibility.\n\nThe course was developed by the Latin America–based Green Corruption team of the Basel Institute on Governance and funded by the Americas Security Programme of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s Integrated Security Fund (ISF).\n\n### More information\n\n*   Spanish news article:\n*   Course testimonials video:\n*   Course recap video:","2025-12-15","regional-success-over-200-professionals-complete-course-on-corruption-in-the-timber-value-chain-2903","Regional success: Over 200 professionals complete course on corruption in the timber value chain","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F5d603ea2-5471-4536-bf35-79f7918a3de3?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[13],[179],"Courses",[],2903,[13],[179],[],[],[],"2025-12-16T17:01:51.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fregional-success-over-200-professionals-complete-course-on-corruption-in-the-timber-value-chain-2903",{"id":191,"body":192,"status":6,"type":52,"date":172,"slug":193,"title":194,"image":195,"countries":196,"topic":197,"activity":198,"tags":199,"nid":200,"topics":201,"activities":202,"authors":203,"images":204,"websites":23,"area":23,"programme":23,"language":24,"translations":205,"translation_of":23,"user_created":31,"date_created":206,"user_updated":23,"date_updated":23,"content":207,"link":208},10595,"El 23 de noviembre de 2025, 222 profesionales de Perú, Ecuador y Bolivia finalizaron con éxito la segunda edición del Curso–Taller virtual \"Gestión de riesgos de corrupción en la cadena de valor de la madera\", una iniciativa del [Programa Corrupción Verde](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fgreen-corruption) del Basel Institute on Governance que busca fortalecer la integridad en el sector forestal y reducir la incidencia de delitos ambientales.\n\n### Ocho semanas de aprendizaje aplicado\n\nRealizado entre el 26 de septiembre y el 23 de noviembre, el curso combinó videoclases, lecturas, evaluaciones, ejercicios prácticos y sesiones en vivo. Esta metodología altamente interactiva permitió que los participantes aplicaran los conceptos en contextos reales, generando un aprendizaje profundo y orientado a la acción.\n\nOrganizado en tres módulos y seis unidades de aprendizaje, el programa ofreció una comprensión integral de cómo identificar, formular y gestionar riesgos de corrupción con perspectiva ambiental, desde el bosque hasta el consumidor final.\n\nUno de los testimonios destaca este cambio de mirada:\n\n> \"el mayor aprendizaje del curso (…) fue comprender que el riesgo de la corrupción no es solo un problema aislado, sino un hilo conductor que puede comprender toda la cadena de valor desde el bosque hasta el consumidor final. Más que identificar actos de corrupción, lo crucial es mapear los puntos de presión en cada eslabón donde la corrupción facilita, en este caso, la tala ilegal, el fraude de los documentos o el lavado del dinero. Esto cambia el enfoque de una vigilancia pasiva a una gestión activa y preventiva.\" José Luis Vásquez Vegas, Coordinador de la Dirección de Calidad Ambiental y Ecoeficiencia, Ministerio del Ambiente de Perú\n\n### Casos reales, soluciones reales\n\nUn hito clave del curso fue el taller práctico en el que más de 40 grupos desarrollaron planes de gestión de riesgos basados en procesos reales de sus propias instituciones. Este ejercicio fomentó el análisis crítico y la innovación, fortaleciendo capacidades directamente aplicables al trabajo diario.\n\nLa diversidad del grupo, que reunió a funcionarios públicos, especialistas ambientales, investigadores, estudiantes y representantes de pueblos indígenas, enriqueció el intercambio de experiencias y reforzó una visión regional compartida: la lucha contra la corrupción forestal requiere colaboración multisectorial y compromiso sostenido.\n\nDesde Bolivia, otro participante enfatizó el impacto del enfoque estructurado:\n\n> \"El mayor aprendizaje del curso fue la importancia de identificar, comprender y formular los riesgos de corrupción de manera estructurada, así como su ámbito de aplicación. Por otra parte, respecto de la metodología del curso, me pareció muy interesante, me gustó mucho, ya que fue muy clara y dinámica. Es importante resaltar que la lucha contra la corrupción es un trabajo que se debe realizar día tras día, es un compromiso, es una colaboración que debemos realizarlo entre todos.\" Nadir Camacho Llanos, Profesional auditor del Viceministerio de Transparencia Institucional y Lucha Contra la Corrupción de Bolivia\n\nY desde Ecuador:\n\n> \"Es muy gratificante para mí haber recibido pautas, tips y metodologías con las cuales podamos identificar los riesgos de corrupción que se presentan en las actividades que desarrollamos como Autoridad Ambiental Nacional.\" Pablo Toledo Castelo, Especialista en Administración y Control Forestal 1 de la Dirección de Bosques del Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía de Ecuador\n\n### Una región expuesta a los riesgos de corrupción forestal\n\nLa corrupción en el comercio de la madera es una amenaza económica y ambiental significativa, y los países con gran riqueza forestal suelen estar especialmente expuestos.\n\nEste es el caso de Bolivia, Ecuador y Perú, donde nuestro Programa Corrupción Verde trabaja junto a autoridades forestales y agencias ambientales para evaluar y mitigar riesgos de corrupción, fortalecer controles internos y aplicar enfoques que permiten “seguir el dinero” detrás de los delitos ambientales.\n\nEl curso virtual se diseñó para ampliar estos esfuerzos, promoviendo el aprendizaje entre pares y el intercambio de experiencias entre profesionales de los tres países.\n\nLa energía y dedicación de los 222 graduados reflejan un compromiso creciente por fortalecer la gestión forestal con transparencia, sostenibilidad y responsabilidad.\n\nEl curso fue desarrollado por el equipo del Programa Corrupción Verde del Basel Institute on Governance en América Latina y financiado por el Programa de Seguridad de las Américas del Fondo de Seguridad Integrada (ISF) del FCDO del Reino Unido.","exito-regional-mas-de-200-profesionales-completan-curso-sobre-corrupcion-en-la-cadena-de-la-madera-2902","Éxito regional: más de 200 profesionales completan curso sobre corrupción en la cadena de la madera","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F6c729718-61a5-4f9f-90f9-cbd615a7f1fd?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[13],[179],[],2902,[13],[179],[],[],[],"2025-12-16T17:01:52.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fexito-regional-mas-de-200-profesionales-completan-curso-sobre-corrupcion-en-la-cadena-de-la-madera-2902",{"id":210,"body":211,"status":6,"type":9,"date":212,"slug":213,"title":214,"image":215,"countries":216,"topic":217,"activity":218,"tags":220,"nid":235,"topics":236,"activities":237,"authors":238,"images":241,"websites":23,"area":23,"programme":23,"language":24,"translations":242,"translation_of":23,"user_created":31,"date_created":243,"user_updated":31,"date_updated":244,"content":245,"link":246},10604,"> The diversity of activities to prevent and combat corruption that harms the environment is laudable. But it is far from the scale needed to tackle today's corruption and environmental challenges.\n\nAdopted in 2019, UNCAC Resolution 8\u002F12 – _Preventing and combating corruption as it relates to crimes that have an impact on the environment_ – urges States Parties to the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to prevent, investigate and prosecute corruption offences where they may be linked to crimes that have an impact on the environment.\n\nIn 2023, the Basel Institute on Governance published its Working Paper 50, _Seedlings of hope_, providing a panorama of emerging and promising initiatives across the world since the adoption of Resolution 8\u002F12.\n\nThe new Working Paper _Saplings of hope_, prepared for the [11th Conference of the States Parties (CoSP)](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.unodc.org\u002Fcorruption\u002Fen\u002Fcosp\u002Fconference\u002Fsession11.html) in Doha, Qatar in December 2025, highlights what progress has been achieved since then.\n\nThe report was made possible by the generous support of the Principality of Liechtenstein.\n\nBelow are the main takeaways, but we urge you to read the full [Working Paper](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fwp-61) for concrete examples from Bolivia, Canada, Indonesia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Namibia, Ukraine and other countries.\n\n### Corruption prevention measures\n\nStates have implemented a host of initiatives to strengthen integrity systems.\n\nMost commonly, this included the revision and adoption of internal control policies, more dedicated risk management efforts, including through the establishment of corruption prevention committees, and a range of capacity building efforts to strengthen environmental agencies’ ability to mitigate their own corruption risks, such as workshops on ethics codes and other integrity measures.\n\nWhistleblower protection programmes were increasingly designed, implemented and promoted. Corruption risk assessments were conducted in sectors such as wildlife management, forestry and fisheries.\n\nPromising corruption prevention interventions include:\n\n*   Conducting regular corruption perception and experience surveys among staff. This can help assess both progress and the effectiveness of corruption prevention measures. It can also create baselines against which to measure progress. Not enough interventions and reform efforts start with such a baseline, which means they then struggle to assess progress.\n*   Involving high-level management and leadership at each stage of the corruption prevention approach. This can help develop ownership and accountability. Explaining how integrity efforts support the strategic and political priorities of the leadership is crucial to achieve this. It requires adapting technocratic approaches to be relevant to the institutional leadership.\n*   Stipulating a mandatory budget for corruption prevention across ministries, agencies and departments. This can help ensure that minimal investments in integrity and anti-corruption activities are effectively prioritised and implemented. Sanctions for not respecting the mandatory budget should be imposed.\n*   Launching awareness-raising campaigns to promote knowledge of anti-corruption measures. This is an important first step to their effective implementation.\n*   Developing whistleblowing mechanisms. They can help increase reporting and detection of corruption. To achieve their potential, whistleblower mechanisms require a strong system, reliable protections and an institutional culture that welcomes such feedback.\n*   Peer-to-peer learning for government representatives from different countries and institutions to exchange on corruption prevention actions. This can be relevant, as anti-corruption officials often struggle with similar institutional challenges. Peer exchanges can help people and institutions to learn from each other’s successes and challenges and jointly identify effective mitigation measures.\n\n### Enforcement actions\n\nSeveral countries have investigated and prosecuted corruption cases linked to crimes that have an impact on the environment. Financial investigations and money laundering legislation are more frequently used to tackle these crimes.\n\nThe systematic seizure and confiscation of assets is still just beginning, as is the creation of multi-agency and interdisciplinary task forces, nationally and internationally. However, enforcement actions on corruption as it relates to crimes that have an impact on the environment are still limited.\n\nPromising enforcement interventions include:\n\n*   Assessing the economic, social and environmental losses from cases of corruption linked to crimes that have an impact on the environment – and using these to calculate associated penalties and fines – can help compensate and restore some of the harm done. Combining calculations of losses due to corruption with those of losses due to the environmental crimes can result in stiffer sentences and penalties.\n*   Seizing and confiscating proceeds and instrumentalities of crime (bank accounts, real estate, vehicles, machineries, etc.) through the diverse legal instruments available in jurisdictions can help ensure that crime does not pay. It also removes the resources needed to continue activities that harm the environment, thereby halting ongoing destruction.\n*   Exploring legal avenues outside the anti-corruption field can help strengthen enforcement. These include legislation on money laundering and tax offences as well as the social re-use of seized and confiscation assets, sanctions and visa bans.\n\n### Essential role of civil society and the media\n\nAlongside States, civil society organisations and the media have played an essential role in increasing our understanding of the relationship between corruption and crimes that have an impact on the environment.\n\nTheir efforts span investigative reporting, publishing evidence-based research, capacity building, creating networks to bridge the gap between anti-corruption and environmental practitioners, as well as initiating strategic litigation cases. Their involvement is all the more commendable given that they are facing an increasingly repressive environment.\n\n### The way forward\n\nAs the Working Paper highlights, various activities are taking place to tackle corruption linked to crimes that have an impact on the environment. The paper picks out those that show significant promise.\n\nThe diversity of engagements is laudable, but it is far from the scale needed to make a systemic difference to both societal corruption and environmental challenges. States Parties need to adapt and scale up initiatives that are effective or look promising, by, among other things:\n\n*   Ensuring more robust staffing and prioritisation of corruption prevention systems in government and state-owned enterprises tasked with conserving, managing or trading natural resources.\n*   Developing specialised knowledge and expertise of governmental institutions and agencies to better address corruption that impacts the environment.\n*   Incorporating anti-corruption measures into environmental and natural resource policies and strengthening environmental governance structures to include anti-corruption internal controls and mechanisms.\n*   Dedicating greater resources for specialised law enforcement to pursue complex financial flows linked to corruption and crimes that have an impact on the environment.\n*   Increasing inter-agency collaboration and conducting joint operations on corruption that has an impact on the environment.\n*   Making use of legal frameworks and testing new legal avenues to hold individuals and legal persons accountable, including through asset recovery and remedies to repair the damage.\n*   Engaging in platforms for representatives from governments, civil society and other stakeholder groups to exchange experiences and know-how in tackling corruption that has an impact on the environment.\n*   Sharing knowledge, case law, success stories, etc.\n*   Ensuring that this issue is integrated in all relevant United Nations processes such as the ones related to climate and biodiversity.\n*   Protecting and defending civil society space, press freedom and human rights defenders working on the environment and corruption-related issues.\n\nAs these initiatives have now been conducted for six years, there is a sufficient body to scrutinise their effectiveness and efficiency. It is therefore essential to rigorously assess these measures, especially in an environment of increasingly scarce financial resources.\n\n### Addressing corruption that has an impact on the environment\n\nThe Working Paper also makes a case for moving from the concept of “corruption as it relates to crimes that have an impact on the environment” to “corruption that has an impact on the environment”.\n\nFocusing solely on corruption linked to crimes that have an impact on the environment overlooks situations where corruption causes environmental harm without an associated criminal offence. It does not take into consideration pressing issues such as corruption linked to climate finance, renewable energy and the exploitation of critical minerals.\n\nAdopting a holistic approach is crucial to address all forms of corruption that affect the environment, and thus to protect the environment and people.\n\n### Learn more\n\n*   Read the full Working Paper 61: [_Saplings of hope: Addressing corruption that has an impact on the environment in line with UNCAC Resolution 8\u002F12 and beyond_](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fwp-61)\n*   View the recordings of the \"[Environment Day](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fcosp11env-day)\" at the 11th CoSP.\n*   Learn more about our [Green Corruption programme](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fgreen-corruption)","2025-12-11","from-seedlings-to-saplings-of-hope-updated-report-on-promising-efforts-to-address-environmental-corruption-2926","From seedlings to saplings of hope: updated report on promising efforts to address environmental corruption","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F186e3dc8-1f6d-4d45-ad33-596b4a3a7bb0?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[13],[219,19],"Reports",[221,223,225,227,231],{"tags_id":222},{"id":71,"name":72},{"tags_id":224},{"id":99,"name":100},{"tags_id":226},{"id":103,"name":104},{"tags_id":228},{"id":229,"name":230},1375,"Civil society",{"tags_id":232},{"id":233,"name":234},804,"Natural resources",2926,[13],[219,19],[239,240],1369,1370,[],[],"2026-02-27T15:07:21.000Z","2026-02-27T15:07:22.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Ffrom-seedlings-to-saplings-of-hope-updated-report-on-promising-efforts-to-address-environmental-corruption-2926",{"id":248,"body":249,"status":6,"type":52,"date":250,"slug":251,"title":252,"image":253,"countries":254,"topic":255,"activity":256,"tags":257,"nid":258,"topics":259,"activities":260,"authors":261,"images":262,"websites":23,"area":23,"programme":23,"language":24,"translations":263,"translation_of":23,"user_created":31,"date_created":264,"user_updated":23,"date_updated":23,"content":265,"link":266},10585,"_The mining sector is a backbone of many national economies. Yet recent trends including the surge in gold prices and the global competition for minerals essential to the energy transition are making the sector more vulnerable than ever to corruption. In response, a new working group aims to confront these challenges through collective action._\n\n### A rising challenge: corruption across the minerals value chain\n\nMineral corruption refers to the abuse of power for private gain at any stage of the minerals value chain. It takes many forms, from irregular licensing and data manipulation to undue influence over environmental processes, conflicts of interest, and opaque corporate structures used for tax evasion or to legalise illegally extracted minerals.\n\nThese practices directly undermine good governance, fuel inequality, facilitate environmental harm and divert revenues that should support national development.\n\n### Why experts are sounding the alarm\n\nThe call for action comes from the [Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum](https:\u002F\u002Fenvironmental-corruption.org\u002F), a platform launched by WWF, the Basel Institute on Governance, Transparency International and TRAFFIC. The Forum was created to bring conservationists and anti-corruption practitioners together to address corruption as a fundamental driver of environmental degradation, biodiversity loss and climate change.\n\nAgainst this backdrop, the organisations coordinating the new Working Group – including the Basel Institute on Governance, Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) and the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) – highlight that a coordinated professional response is urgently needed. The consequences for ecosystems, governance systems and societies are accelerating.\n\n### The soaring price of gold\n\nRecord gold prices have driven a sharp rise in illegal mining worldwide. The result has been increasing deforestation, widespread mercury contamination and the expansion of criminal networks linked to extraction and trade.\n\nTransnational organised crime groups, as well as state and non-state armed actors, are using precious metals and stones supply chains for money laundering, terrorist financing and sanctions evasion.\n\n### The global race for critical minerals\n\nGold is not the only concern. Demand for critical minerals such as nickel, copper, cobalt and rare earth elements is rising rapidly. These minerals are vital for the energy transition, the defence sector and high-tech industries.\n\nAs the competition to secure these resources intensifies, so do environmental, social and governance risks. Without stronger integrity measures, the expansion of the minerals sector risks repeating and amplifying the systemic failures of past resource booms.\n\n### A collective response: the new Minerals Corruption Working Group\n\nTo help address these challenges, the Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum has launched the new [Minerals Corruption Working Group](https:\u002F\u002Fenvironmental-corruption.org\u002Fworking-groups\u002Fminerals-corruption). Its aim is to bring together mining-sector professionals, governance experts and anti-corruption practitioners to exchange experiences, discuss emerging trends and explore collaborative solutions.\n\nThe Working Group will provide a space for peer learning, case discussion and cross-border collaboration.\n\n### First session on 9 December\n\nThe first session will take place online on 9 December, with simultaneous interpretation in English, French and Spanish. Participants will work in breakout groups to define:\n\n*   priority topics for 2026;\n*   relevant professional experience;\n*   expectations and needs the Working Group could address.\n\nParticipation is free and open to any interested professional.\n\n### Next steps\n\n*   Interested in joining the first session of the new Working Group? [Sign up for the launch event on 9 December](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fnode\u002F2876) and take part in this growing community of professionals at the forefront of tackling corruption in the minerals sector.\n*   Looking for another working group? The Countering Environmental Corruption Practitioners Forum also hosts groups on [land corruption](https:\u002F\u002Fenvironmental-corruption.org\u002Fworking-groups\u002Fland-corruption), [follow-the-money](https:\u002F\u002Fenvironmental-corruption.org\u002Fworking-groups\u002Ffollow-the-money), [open data](https:\u002F\u002Fenvironmental-corruption.org\u002Fworking-groups\u002Fopen-data) and [climate finance](https:\u002F\u002Fenvironmental-corruption.org\u002Fworking-groups\u002Fclimate-finance).","2025-11-25","new-working-group-to-tackle-corruption-risks-in-the-minerals-sector-2878","New working group to tackle corruption risks in the minerals sector","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F1057d9b6-bc53-4949-8c9b-021fb6797a36?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[],[13],[155],[],2878,[13],[155],[],[],[],"2025-11-27T17:01:45.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fnew-working-group-to-tackle-corruption-risks-in-the-minerals-sector-2878",{"id":268,"body":269,"status":6,"type":52,"date":270,"slug":271,"title":272,"image":273,"countries":274,"topic":277,"activity":279,"tags":280,"nid":281,"topics":282,"activities":283,"authors":284,"images":285,"websites":23,"area":23,"programme":23,"language":24,"translations":286,"translation_of":23,"user_created":31,"date_created":287,"user_updated":288,"date_updated":289,"content":290,"link":291},10574,"We are delighted to announce a new grant that will enable the Basel Institute on Governance to continue and expand its support to Ukraine on integrity and accountability.\n\nThrough the Government of Norway's [Nansen Support Programme for Ukraine](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.norad.no\u002Fen\u002Fthematic-areas\u002Fhumanitarian-assistance-and-comprehensive-response-and-the-nansen-programme-for-ukraine\u002Fthe-nansen-support-programme-for-ukraine\u002Fthe-nansen-support-programme-for-ukraine\u002Fhow-norad-fights-corruption-in-ukraine\u002F), the Basel Institute will work from 2025 to 2028 to promote transparency and accountability in three strategically vital sectors:\n\n*   Natural resources: Tackling corruption risks in forestry and the critical minerals sector, building on our long-standing work to combat [corruption in Ukraine’s forestry industry](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fpublications\u002Fdeepdive1-ukraine) and the expertise of our wider [Green Corruption programme](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fgreen-corruption).\n*   Energy: Supporting transparency and accountability in energy-related enterprises. In the first year, this will begin with our collaboration with the Gas Transmission System Operator of Ukraine (Gas TSO), a vital state-owned enterprise with which we recently [signed a Memorandum of Understanding](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.facebook.com\u002Fgas.tso.ua\u002Fphotos\u002F%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%BE%D1%80-%D0%B3%D1%82%D1%81-%D1%83%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%97%D0%BD%D0%B8-%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B7%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%B0%D0%B2-%D1%81%D0%BF%D1%96%D0%B2%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%86%D1%8E-%D0%B7-%D0%B1%D0%B0%D0%B7%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D1%8C%D0%BA%D0%B8%D0%BC-%D1%96%D0%BD%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%82%D1%83%D1%82%D0%BE%D0%BC-%D1%83%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8F-%D0%BE%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%80\u002F1414177947376981\u002F) to establish a comprehensive anti-corruption compliance system.\n*   Defence industries: Strengthening compliance and integrity systems in defence manufacturers as they produce vital materiel for Ukraine’s defence and integrate with Europe’s broader security architecture. This builds on our ongoing partnership with [Ukraine Defense Industries](https:\u002F\u002Fukroboronprom.com.ua\u002Fen\u002Fupravlinnya-ta-komplajens\u002Fat-uop-i-bazelskii-institut-upravlinnya-proveli-persu-zustric-v-ramkax-spivpraci-shhodo-posilennya-vnutrisnix-komplajens-spromoznosteiopk) (UkrOboronProm or UOP).\n\n### Strengthening integrity where it matters most\n\nThis programme is significant because natural resources, energy and defence are at the heart of Ukraine’s resilience and recovery. They are essential for the country’s security, economic stability and EU integration – yet also among the most vulnerable to corruption.\n\nWeak governance in these sectors risks undermining resilience, slowing reconstruction and eroding donor confidence.\n\nThe Government of Norway [recognises](https:\u002F\u002Fwww.norad.no\u002Fen\u002Fthematic-areas\u002Fhumanitarian-assistance-and-comprehensive-response-and-the-nansen-programme-for-ukraine\u002Fthe-nansen-support-programme-for-ukraine\u002Fthe-nansen-support-programme-for-ukraine\u002Fhow-norad-fights-corruption-in-ukraine\u002F) that “combating corruption and building strong institutions are central” to achieving the goals of its comprehensive Nansen Support Programme, which aims to “help secure a safe, free and independent Ukraine, strengthen vital state functions and reduce human suffering”. Like the Basel Institute, our partners in Norway acknowledge Ukraine’s progress in tackling corruption and the strong commitment of Ukrainian civil society and the public to building robust anti-corruption institutions.\n\n### Sustaining Ukraine’s path to resilience\n\nJorun Nossum, Director of Norad’s Department for the Nansen Support Programme, said:\n\n> We are very pleased to be able to continue our partnership with Basel Institute on Governance in working to prevent corruption in sectors central to Ukraine’s resistance and reforms.\n\nJuhani Grossmann, who leads the Basel Institute’s work in Ukraine and the opening of our new office in Kyiv, commented:\n\n> The support of Norway allows us to boost our integrity-building partnerships in Ukraine for the long term at a time when reliability is especially crucial. The three priority areas have been carefully selected to reflect both Ukraine's immediate needs and the desire for a sustainable recovery.\n> \n> Our natural resource partnerships will seek to ensure Ukraine’s people derive the maximum benefit from its environment and natural resources. Our energy partnerships will help build trustworthy energy partners as Ukraine integrates into European energy markets. Our defence partnerships are designed to enable Ukraine’s manufacturers to reap the full benefits for Ukraine’s security from their technical prowess.\n> \n> Enhanced and more compliant corporate structures will unlock Ukraine’s full potential to contribute to Europe’s emerging security infrastructure.\n\n### A decade of partnership with Ukraine\n\nAs featured in the [Basel Institute’s Annual Report 2024](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Far2024), we have been engaged in Ukraine for over a decade, supporting both corruption prevention and enforcement.\n\nOn the prevention side, our work since 2013 has included Collective Action and compliance initiatives in government permitting and corporate governance. We have also advised on the establishment of the Business Ombudsman, provided guidance to the Ukrainian Road Authority and supported independent commissions tasked with recruiting leaders of Ukraine’s anti-corruption institutions.\n\nFollowing the full-scale invasion in 2022, we significantly expanded our anti-corruption support, recognising it as both a contribution to Ukraine’s long-term European integration and to its short-term wartime resilience.\n\nWith significant funding from Switzerland and contributions from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and NEFCO, we have helped Ukrainian authorities and state-owned enterprises ensure the integrity of the wartime economy and reconstruction efforts. Priority areas have included restoration, transport and natural resources.","2025-10-20","strengthening-integrity-in-ukraines-natural-resources-energy-and-defence-sectors-with-norways-support-2857","Strengthening integrity in Ukraine’s natural resources, energy and defence sectors with Norway’s support","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002Fc22c8770-c1ad-4fd3-8af1-7174cdbe6b0b?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[275,276],7797,7798,[13,278],"Private Sector",[63],[],2857,[13,278],[63],[],[],[],"2025-10-20T16:01:43.000Z","dfef11db-1bc6-47e9-a61d-93443995484b","2026-05-08T21:11:16.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fstrengthening-integrity-in-ukraines-natural-resources-energy-and-defence-sectors-with-norways-support-2857",{"id":293,"body":294,"status":6,"type":9,"date":295,"slug":296,"title":297,"image":298,"countries":299,"topic":301,"activity":302,"tags":303,"nid":320,"topics":321,"activities":322,"authors":323,"images":325,"websites":23,"area":23,"programme":23,"language":24,"translations":326,"translation_of":23,"user_created":31,"date_created":327,"user_updated":288,"date_updated":328,"content":329,"link":330},10569,"_This article is part of a series on careers in fighting financial crime and opportunities to learn and study with the Basel Institute. Our colleague Joseph Mihajason Rakotondramanana shares his professional journey, from the private sector and his early steps as an analyst in Madagascar to his current role as a Specialist in Financial Investigation with the Basel Institute’s Green Corruption Programme._\n\n> The link between financial crime and environmental harm is too often ignored. All the more reason to act.\n\nWhen I look at my colleagues at the Basel Institute, I see people from different backgrounds, each on their individual professional path. But they all share a commitment to confronting illicit finance. Personally, I find this mission profoundly rewarding, and I'm convinced that capacity building plays a key role in forging a career with direction and impact.\n\n### From private sector to supporting law enforcement\n\nSwitching from my work in a start-up company to my first job as an analyst at the Financial Intelligence Unit of Madagascar was not easy. It took two attempts and a lot of patience. Back then, the term \"money laundering\" was still unfamiliar to many. My initial motivation was simple: I wanted to learn and grow through hands-on experience.\n\nOver the past 10 years, I have developed a strong investigative mindset and a deep desire to contribute to justice in concrete ways. That commitment led me to my current position as part of the Green Corruption team at the Basel Institute on Governance where I now use my skills to support a cause I care deeply about: to protect ecosystems that are under threat.\n\nAs a financial investigation advisor, I focus on building strong partnerships with law enforcement agencies and training local partners in financial investigation techniques related to environmental crime. This capacity building approach empowers them to subsequently support analysts, investigators, prosecutors and judges in real cases. The ultimate goal is to enhance the likelihood of securing convictions and potentially recovering illicit assets.\n\n### A shared mission with real impact\n\nFighting financial crime linked to wildlife trafficking and other environmental crimes is at the heart of my professional mission. Protecting our environment is a shared responsibility, one that calls for joint action and long-term dedication.\n\nWorking with a team that shares the same values strengthens my sense of purpose and reminds me of the power of working together. When we move forward as one, driven by a common goal, we do so with strength, confidence and clarity.\n\nThere is no greater reward than receiving a heartfelt thank-you from a partner agency who applied our guidance successfully and as a result managed to make progress in a case. It’s in those moments that you truly feel the impact your work is having, not only professionally, but also personally.\n\n### Learning as a lifelong strategy\n\nLife is a constant learning experience. Like any solid structure, the quality of our foundations determines what we can build. Education is important but it’s just the beginning. I have learned that continuously strengthening these foundations is key to long-term growth and resilience.\n\nThat is also why, after my Bachelor’s in Finance and Business Development and my Master’s in Economics and Management, I’m currently pursuing a PhD in Economics and Policy of Natural Resources at the University of Antananarivo.\n\nProfessional training has also played an important role in my journey. International courses have helped me reach new goals and build valuable networks. I’ve invested significant time in online training, especially through platforms like [Basel LEARN](https:\u002F\u002Flearn.baselgovernance.org\u002F), the Basel Institute’s online learning hub. With courses on topics such as international cooperation and open-source intelligence, I was able to strengthen my skills and stay up to date in this dynamic field.\n\nTo young professionals: learn from others and also by yourselves. Take every opportunity to grow, especially through study programmes like our [Basel STUDY](https:\u002F\u002Fbaselgovernance.org\u002Fstudy) postgraduate opportunities with the University of Basel. Do not hesitate to join the fight against corruption and financial crime. We need your passion, your perspective and your skills. You are part of the solution.","2025-07-14","a-career-targeting-the-finances-behind-environmental-crime-how-i-got-there-2828","A career targeting the finances behind environmental crime – how I got there","https:\u002F\u002Fjam.baselgovernance.org\u002Fapi\u002Fassets\u002F1fe2bfd8-f6ff-4612-8005-5894ed4a3542?width=1000&height=650&format=webp&quality=80",[300],7793,[13],[19],[304,306,310,312,316],{"tags_id":305},{"id":130,"name":131},{"tags_id":307},{"id":308,"name":309},867,"Financial crime",{"tags_id":311},{"id":71,"name":72},{"tags_id":313},{"id":314,"name":315},1372,"Training",{"tags_id":317},{"id":318,"name":319},1300,"Education",2828,[13],[19],[324],1351,[],[],"2025-08-21T23:48:02.000Z","2026-05-08T21:11:15.000Z",[],"\u002Fresources\u002Fnews\u002Fa-career-targeting-the-finances-behind-environmental-crime-how-i-got-there-2828",{"left":332,"top":332,"width":333,"height":333,"rotate":332,"vFlip":334,"hFlip":334,"body":335},0,20,false,"\u003Cpath fill=\"currentColor\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M17 10a.75.75 0 0 1-.75.75H5.612l4.158 3.96a.75.75 0 1 1-1.04 1.08l-5.5-5.25a.75.75 0 0 1 0-1.08l5.5-5.25a.75.75 0 1 1 1.04 1.08L5.612 9.25H16.25A.75.75 0 0 1 17 10\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\u002F>",1780676521364]