Environmental Investigation Agency
Encyclopedia
The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is an NGO founded in 1984 by Dave Currey
, Jennifer Lonsdale and Allan Thornton, three environmental activists in the United Kingdom
. Its stated goal is to investigate and expose crime
s against wildlife
and the environment
. Full-time EIA investigators work undercover
gathering film, photos and information from around the world.
The evidence they collect is presented to the media, government and policy makers in order to inform and persuade that action must be taken in order to protect the planet's most precious species
, habitat
s and vital ecosystem
s.
EIA also campaigns to prevent environmental crime
. Currently EIA is working to:
EIA's Forest
Team recently carried out a scoping project in South East Asia, where the wooden garden furniture industry is booming. Undercover EIA investigators, posing as timber traders and furniture buyers, documented evidence of illegal timber feeding furniture factories on a large scale.
EIA published its evidence in April 2008 with the aim of raising awareness of cross-border timber smuggling among both consumers and the international community. Similar work in Indonesia
has successfully reduced the amount of illegal timber leaving the country and led to international action to protect endangered species
.
In November 2007, Indonesian NGOs launched a set of films, made with Papuan
villagers, to tell the stories of how their communities had been adversely affected by destructive logging
and oil palm
plantations. By training the local NGOs in research, filming and editing skills, EIA and their Indonesian partner Telapak, were able to empower those most vulnerable to the threats of deforestation
- the forest-reliant communities themselves - and enable them to have their voice heard internationally.
Asian Big Cats
EIA is presently working with a coalition of organisations to ensure China
maintains its internal ban on tiger
trading. 2007's meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in the Netherlands
resulted in a strong resolution stating that "tigers should not be bred for the trade in their parts and derivatives".
The ban was introduced in 1993, but EIA claims powerful business lobbies connected to tiger 'farms' are currently pressing the Chinese Authorities to allow the sale of skins and body parts from captive-bred tigers – with potentially devastating consequences for the remaining wild populations.
EIA states that it will continue to investigate, document and expose
illegal trade in tiger parts and their derivatives, and the criminals who profit from their slaughter. They also call upon India
and China
to adopt intelligence-led enforcement methods and work with the International Tiger Coalition to urge the Chinese authorities to phase out tiger 'farms' and destroy the stockpiles of tiger parts.
Cetaceans
EIA continues to work through the International Whaling Commission
(IWC
) to ensure that the ban on commercial whaling remains in place despite the pressure from Japan
and Norway
to over-turn it. The ban is one of the most successful conservation measures of all times and has given great whales time to recover from the decimation of the past.
Japan legally kills minke and great whales for 'scientific research', however EIA has reported that Japan also kills up to 20,000 small whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) each year in its coastal waters. EIA's work is focused on reducing the demand for cetacean products on sale in Japan. They have exposed the threats to those consuming cetacean products from the pollutants found in the meat and blubber
. As a result they claim that over 2,500 supermarket stores no longer sell these products, and enormous pressure is being placed on corporations with links to this trade to end their involvement.
Elephants
EIA carried out its first pioneering undercover investigations into the ivory trade
in 1987. Investigators travelled through parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia uncovering the true nature of a business that had reduced the population of African elephants from 1.3 million to only 600,000 in ten years. The ivory ban (1990) would not have been in place without EIA. Two founding directors - Dave Currey
and Allan Thornton were awarded the Albert Schweitzer Medal for their work by the Animal Welfare Institute
.
Since then investigators have continued to uncover the unpalatable truth about some aspects of this trade. Military involvement in South Africa, Zimbabwe and ivory used as currency to buy arms in conflict areas.
EIA continues to add a real ground-truthing to the debates that surround elephants and the ivory trade. Recent reports have focused on China's new role in providing an insatiable demand in ivory since it was officially allowed to buy ivory stockpiles in 2008 by CITES; a decision EIA vehemently opposed.
Global Environment
EIA was presented with two prestigious awards at the 20th anniversary meeting of the Montreal Protocol
acknowledging the work done to expose and close down an illicit international trade in CFCs and other chemicals that damage the ozone layer
. Having received the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award in 2006, EIA was presented the EPA's 'Best-of-the-Best' Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award, selected from more than 500 projects between 1990 and 2007. EIA received the award for "Leadership and Heroism in Preventing Illegal Trade."
In 2007 the Parties to the Montreal Protocol
agreed to a faster phase out of HCFC's (a common chemical refrigerant
), not only because these chemicals damage the ozone layer
, but because of their potent global warming
potential. EIA is continuing this work by advising parties to the Kyoto Protocol
and the Montreal Protocol
to ensure the transition away from HCFC's is towards climate friendly natural refrigerant solutions and not hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs, the highly potent global warming, man-made chemicals that industry currently favours. EIA is extending their work to improve public awareness of the global warming impact of HFCs through their "Chilling Facts" campaign which analyses and ranks UK supermarkets efforts to move beyond HFCs and install natural refrigerant commercial refrigeration systems using carbon dioxide or hydrocarbons or ammonia.
For over a decade the Environmental Investigation Agency has been at the forefront of efforts to curb illegal trade in ozone-depleting chemicals. Having achieved considerable success, EIA now seeks to apply its experience to other categories of controlled chemicals, which are harmful to the environment, principally hazardous waste
and pesticides. This project will conduct scoping research into the illicit trade in controlled chemicals and, using this information, prepare for a series of investigations. This work proposes to raise awareness and understanding of the issues at a governmental and institutional level, with an eventual aim to achieve improved enforcement of international conventions regulating trade in harmful chemicals and foster cross-border cooperation.
Episodes
BEARS (01/06/1995)
WHALES (25/05/1995)
PARROTS (18/05/1995)
WALRUS (11/05/1995)
RHINOS (04/05/1995)
TURTLES (30/03/1995)
MONKEYS (23/02/1995)
The series won the Media Natura award for best film, the Brigitte Bardot International Genesis Award (Los Angeles), and the Gold Plaque at the Chicago Documentary Film Festival.
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2007
- BBC Wildlife Magazine
- BBC Wildlife Magazine
- Sting
- Sir Peter Scott
Dave Currey (environmentalist)
Dave Currey is an environmentalist, writer and photographer. A minister's son, he was born in Sussex in the UK and brought up in London. He gained a BA in Photographic Arts in 1976 following a passion in communicating visually...
, Jennifer Lonsdale and Allan Thornton, three environmental activists in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Its stated goal is to investigate and expose crime
Crime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
s against wildlife
Wildlife
Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
and the environment
Environment (biophysical)
The biophysical environment is the combined modeling of the physical environment and the biological life forms within the environment, and includes all variables, parameters as well as conditions and modes inside the Earth's biosphere. The biophysical environment can be divided into two categories:...
. Full-time EIA investigators work undercover
Undercover
Being undercover is disguising one's own identity or using an assumed identity for the purposes of gaining the trust of an individual or organization to learn secret information or to gain the trust of targeted individuals in order to gain information or evidence...
gathering film, photos and information from around the world.
The evidence they collect is presented to the media, government and policy makers in order to inform and persuade that action must be taken in order to protect the planet's most precious species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
, habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s and vital ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
s.
EIA also campaigns to prevent environmental crime
Environmental crime
Environmental crime can be broadly defined as illegal acts, which directly harmthe environment. International bodies such as the G8, Interpol, EU, UN Environment Programme and the UN Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute have recognised the following environmental crimes:* Illegal...
. Currently EIA is working to:
- Prevent the illegal trade of ozoneOzoneOzone , or trioxygen, is a triatomic molecule, consisting of three oxygen atoms. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope...
depleting substances, - Reduce and phase out the use of certain climate changeClimate changeClimate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
gases and various other harmful chemicals (HFCs/F-gases etc.). - Stop the destruction of rainforestsDeforestationDeforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
by illegal loggingIllegal loggingIllegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the...
. - Shut down the market for illegally traded ivoryIvory tradeThe ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, Asian and African elephants....
. - Maintain the ban on commercial whale huntingWhalingWhaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
. - Halt to the illegal trade in Asian big cats for skins, bones and items such as tiger bone wine.
Campaigns
ForestsEIA's Forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
Team recently carried out a scoping project in South East Asia, where the wooden garden furniture industry is booming. Undercover EIA investigators, posing as timber traders and furniture buyers, documented evidence of illegal timber feeding furniture factories on a large scale.
EIA published its evidence in April 2008 with the aim of raising awareness of cross-border timber smuggling among both consumers and the international community. Similar work in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
has successfully reduced the amount of illegal timber leaving the country and led to international action to protect endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
.
In November 2007, Indonesian NGOs launched a set of films, made with Papuan
Papua (Indonesian province)
Papua comprises most of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands. Its capital is Jayapura. It's the largest and easternmost province of Indonesia. The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea...
villagers, to tell the stories of how their communities had been adversely affected by destructive logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
and oil palm
Oil palm
The oil palms comprise two species of the Arecaceae, or palm family. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African Oil Palm Elaeis guineensis is native to West Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia, while the American Oil Palm Elaeis oleifera is native to...
plantations. By training the local NGOs in research, filming and editing skills, EIA and their Indonesian partner Telapak, were able to empower those most vulnerable to the threats of deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
- the forest-reliant communities themselves - and enable them to have their voice heard internationally.
Asian Big Cats
EIA is presently working with a coalition of organisations to ensure China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
maintains its internal ban on tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
trading. 2007's meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
resulted in a strong resolution stating that "tigers should not be bred for the trade in their parts and derivatives".
The ban was introduced in 1993, but EIA claims powerful business lobbies connected to tiger 'farms' are currently pressing the Chinese Authorities to allow the sale of skins and body parts from captive-bred tigers – with potentially devastating consequences for the remaining wild populations.
EIA states that it will continue to investigate, document and expose
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
illegal trade in tiger parts and their derivatives, and the criminals who profit from their slaughter. They also call upon India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
to adopt intelligence-led enforcement methods and work with the International Tiger Coalition to urge the Chinese authorities to phase out tiger 'farms' and destroy the stockpiles of tiger parts.
Cetaceans
EIA continues to work through the International Whaling Commission
International Whaling Commission
The International Whaling Commission is an international body set up by the terms of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling , which was signed in Washington, D.C...
(IWC
IWC
IWC may refer to:*International WaterCentre, provides education and training, applied research and expert services in integrated water resource management*International Wrestling Cartel, a professional Wrestling company...
) to ensure that the ban on commercial whaling remains in place despite the pressure from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
to over-turn it. The ban is one of the most successful conservation measures of all times and has given great whales time to recover from the decimation of the past.
Japan legally kills minke and great whales for 'scientific research', however EIA has reported that Japan also kills up to 20,000 small whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) each year in its coastal waters. EIA's work is focused on reducing the demand for cetacean products on sale in Japan. They have exposed the threats to those consuming cetacean products from the pollutants found in the meat and blubber
Blubber
Blubber is a thick layer of vascularized adipose tissue found under the skin of all cetaceans, pinnipeds and sirenians.-Description:Lipid-rich, collagen fiber–laced blubber comprises the hypodermis and covers the whole body, except for parts of the appendages, strongly attached to the musculature...
. As a result they claim that over 2,500 supermarket stores no longer sell these products, and enormous pressure is being placed on corporations with links to this trade to end their involvement.
Elephants
EIA carried out its first pioneering undercover investigations into the ivory trade
Ivory trade
The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, Asian and African elephants....
in 1987. Investigators travelled through parts of Africa, the Middle East and Asia uncovering the true nature of a business that had reduced the population of African elephants from 1.3 million to only 600,000 in ten years. The ivory ban (1990) would not have been in place without EIA. Two founding directors - Dave Currey
Dave Currey (environmentalist)
Dave Currey is an environmentalist, writer and photographer. A minister's son, he was born in Sussex in the UK and brought up in London. He gained a BA in Photographic Arts in 1976 following a passion in communicating visually...
and Allan Thornton were awarded the Albert Schweitzer Medal for their work by the Animal Welfare Institute
Animal Welfare Institute
The Animal Welfare Institute is a non-profit charitable organization founded in 1951 with the goal of reducing pain and fear inflicted on animals by humans...
.
Since then investigators have continued to uncover the unpalatable truth about some aspects of this trade. Military involvement in South Africa, Zimbabwe and ivory used as currency to buy arms in conflict areas.
EIA continues to add a real ground-truthing to the debates that surround elephants and the ivory trade. Recent reports have focused on China's new role in providing an insatiable demand in ivory since it was officially allowed to buy ivory stockpiles in 2008 by CITES; a decision EIA vehemently opposed.
Global Environment
EIA was presented with two prestigious awards at the 20th anniversary meeting of the Montreal Protocol
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion...
acknowledging the work done to expose and close down an illicit international trade in CFCs and other chemicals that damage the ozone layer
Ozone layer
The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone . This layer absorbs 97–99% of the Sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to the life forms on Earth...
. Having received the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award in 2006, EIA was presented the EPA's 'Best-of-the-Best' Stratospheric Ozone Protection Award, selected from more than 500 projects between 1990 and 2007. EIA received the award for "Leadership and Heroism in Preventing Illegal Trade."
In 2007 the Parties to the Montreal Protocol
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion...
agreed to a faster phase out of HCFC's (a common chemical refrigerant
Refrigerant
A refrigerant is a substance used in a heat cycle usually including, for enhanced efficiency, a reversible phase change from a liquid to a gas. Traditionally, fluorocarbons, especially chlorofluorocarbons, were used as refrigerants, but they are being phased out because of their ozone depletion...
), not only because these chemicals damage the ozone layer
Ozone layer
The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone . This layer absorbs 97–99% of the Sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to the life forms on Earth...
, but because of their potent global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
potential. EIA is continuing this work by advising parties to the Kyoto Protocol
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
and the Montreal Protocol
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances believed to be responsible for ozone depletion...
to ensure the transition away from HCFC's is towards climate friendly natural refrigerant solutions and not hydrofluorocarbons or HFCs, the highly potent global warming, man-made chemicals that industry currently favours. EIA is extending their work to improve public awareness of the global warming impact of HFCs through their "Chilling Facts" campaign which analyses and ranks UK supermarkets efforts to move beyond HFCs and install natural refrigerant commercial refrigeration systems using carbon dioxide or hydrocarbons or ammonia.
For over a decade the Environmental Investigation Agency has been at the forefront of efforts to curb illegal trade in ozone-depleting chemicals. Having achieved considerable success, EIA now seeks to apply its experience to other categories of controlled chemicals, which are harmful to the environment, principally hazardous waste
Hazardous waste
A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
and pesticides. This project will conduct scoping research into the illicit trade in controlled chemicals and, using this information, prepare for a series of investigations. This work proposes to raise awareness and understanding of the issues at a governmental and institutional level, with an eventual aim to achieve improved enforcement of international conventions regulating trade in harmful chemicals and foster cross-border cooperation.
Animal Detectives TV Series
In 1995, Independent Television Network (ITV) broadcast a TV series called The Animal Detectives in the UK. The series commissioned by Carlton Television was produced by Goldhawk together with Ecodetectives, a company owned by directors of EIA. The series, based on EIA's undercover investigation work into the trade in endagered species, showed footage from EIA's undercover filming. The series had seven episodes, each covering a different group of animals-Episodes
BEARS (01/06/1995)
WHALES (25/05/1995)
PARROTS (18/05/1995)
WALRUS (11/05/1995)
RHINOS (04/05/1995)
TURTLES (30/03/1995)
MONKEYS (23/02/1995)
The series won the Media Natura award for best film, the Brigitte Bardot International Genesis Award (Los Angeles), and the Gold Plaque at the Chicago Documentary Film Festival.
Quotes
- "EIA's track record of investigative work, scientific documentation, and representation at international conventions has earned EIA a reputation for highly effective and successful campaigning. EIA continues to share these skills with local groups and government officials to help empower them in the fight against environmental crime."
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 2007
- "EIA is a highly-respected, hard-hitting, dirt-digging organisation".
- BBC Wildlife Magazine
- "The reason for their success is not just the information gathered, it is the way they use it as a political lobbying tool. One of Britain's most effective conservation groups."
- BBC Wildlife Magazine
- "I am proud to support EIA. Thanks to their brave and pioneering methods of undercover work to expose crimes against wildlife and the environment, they have made a great difference to the world in which we all live"
- Sting
- "EIA performs an extremely important role in investigating various abuses of the natural world. I believe it deserves support from anyone concerned about the future of the living world."
- Sir Peter Scott