Interpol's Ecomessage: A Standard Reporting Form for Environmental Crimes

Interpol's Ecomessage system was created to facilitate the monitoring and analysis of environmental crime. This email seeks to encourage you to continue, or begin, submitting Ecomessages. The Ecomessage database has certainly grown over the years, but it needs to be continuously infused with new data about recent environmental crimes.

An Ecomessage should be prepared every time you become aware of environmental crime of international consequence, for example:

• a foreign ship discharging oil in your territorial waters;
• hazardous wastes being imported from or exported to another country; or
• endangered species being smuggled across your borders.

When the Ecomessage is prepared, forward it to your local office of Interpol – a "National Central Bureau (NCB)" normally located at national police headquarters – and ask that they transmit it via their secure communications system to the Interpol General Secretariat in Lyon. NCBs are the only authority that can send an Ecomessage to the Interpol Secretariat.

Visit INECE's new Web page on Environmental Crime for more information about Ecomessage, including the standard reporting form (available in English, Spanish, French, and Arabic), sample Ecomessages, instructions, and background information.

Contact Mr. Peter Younger, Interpol Wildlife Crime Intelligence Officer, at +33-4-72-44-7694 or Mark Measer, Interpol Pollution Crime Intelligence Officer, at +33-4-72-44-7189 with questions regarding Ecomessage.