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Green Criminology Before ‘Green Criminology’: Amnesia and Absences

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Abstract

Although the first published use of the term ‘green criminology’ seems to have been made by Lynch (Green criminology. Aldershot, Hampshire, 1990/2006), elements of the analysis and critique represented by the term were established well before this date. There is much criminological engagement with, and analysis of, environmental crime and harm that occurred prior to 1990 that deserves acknowledgement. In this article, we try to illuminate some of the antecedents of green criminology. Proceeding in this way allows us to learn from ‘absences’, i.e. knowledge that existed but has been forgotten. We conclude by referring to green criminology not as an exclusionary label or barrier but as a symbol that guides and inspires the direction of research.

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Notes

  1. For references and further examples, see, e.g., South (1998: 214–215; 2014) as well as various papers—and their bibliographies—reprinted in South and Beirne (2006) and White (2009).

  2. We are enormously grateful to Professor Gregory Salle, of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), University of Lille, for pointing us in the direction of the essay by J-D Andre and the reference to the 17th French Conference of Criminology which took place in 1977 on the subject of “ecological crime” [“délinquance écologique”].

  3. And in some cases still not accepted, see Mucchielli (2014).

  4. It might be pointed out that ability to speak more than one language would help but this takes us into yet another set of issues related to north/south relations, media dominance, foreign policy assumptions, neo-colonialism, and short-sighted educational systems.

  5. Academics writing as a non-English native may find themselves having to publish in two languages—their own and in (possibly more poorly expressed) English. This is a form of academic injustice with implications for the exchange of knowledge.

  6. Note, however, the 2016 special issue of Revue Criminologie on ‘Criminalité environnementale’ 49,2.

  7. A copy of the Proceedings can be found at: http://data.decalog.net/enap1/liens/fonds/FONDS_PINATEL_09.PDF (retrieved 14th August 2016).

  8. In personal communications, Lolita Aniyar and Emperatriz Arreaza, mentioned a broad range of literature produced on the topic by these and other authors like Carlos Sulbarán. Apart from these works, however, we were not able to locate these documents.

  9. For an indicative discussion on this issue, see the synthesis of the Research Project “European Union Action to Fight Environmental Crime” (EFFACE), page 11. Available at http://efface.eu/sites/default/files/publications/EFFACE_synthesis-report_final_online.pdf.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminology and Sociology of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Oslo, P.O. 6707 St. Olavs Plass, 0130, Oslo, Norway

    David Rodríguez Goyes

  2. Antonio Nariño University, Calle 58 A No. 37-94, Bogotá, 111321, Colombia

    David Rodríguez Goyes

  3. Department of Sociology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK

    Nigel South

  4. School of Justice, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia

    Nigel South

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  1. David Rodríguez Goyes
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Correspondence to David Rodríguez Goyes.

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In memory of Lolita Aniyar de Castro (1937–2015).

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Goyes, D.R., South, N. Green Criminology Before ‘Green Criminology’: Amnesia and Absences. Crit Crim 25, 165–181 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10612-017-9357-8

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