Workshop on Corruption and Environmental Degradation – Advisor: Sara Tjossem
This team worked with Transparency International, a non-governmental organization based in Berlin that works on measures to curb corruption in international transactions. The students investigated the environmental costs of corruption, globally and by sector, gathered case studies to explain how corruption occurs, and provided recommendations. Researching a diverse, worldwide sampling of corruption hotspots, the group identified three sectors where corruption is most likely to occur: infrastructure, renewable resources, and non-renewable resources. According to the group’s findings, the environmental costs of this corruption include pollution and ecosystem disruption, displacement of people and species extinction, and inhibition of economic development.
The team identified 12 trends, including findings that poverty, corruption and environmental degradation are related, that countries dependent on natural resources are prone to environmental corruption, and that western consumers may provide incentives for corruption. The group recommended prioritizing preventative over reactive advocacy, adopting conservation stakeholder models, and educating the public about the costs of environmental corruption.
see workshop presentation [flashpaper]