KnE Social Sciences

Published date: Oct 29 2025

Journal Title: KnE Social Sciences

Issue title: The 8th Legal International Conference and Studies (LICS 2025): Integrating Climate Change and Biodiversity into National & International Legislation—Harmonizing Knowledge

Pages: 168 - 181

DOI: 10.18502/kss.v10i26.19995

Ida Musofianaida.musofiana@unissula.ac.idFaculty of Law, Universitas Islam Sultan Agung (UNISSULA), Semarang

The illegal exploitation of biodiversity including poaching, illicit wildlife trafficking, and unauthorized trade in endangered flora and fauna has emerged as a critical transnational environmental crime with far reaching implications for ecological integrity, public health, and global security. Despite its increasing scale and sophistication, legal responses within many jurisdictions, particularly in the Global South and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, remain fragmented, reactive, and weakly enforced. This article critically examines the penal dimensions of biodiversity crime through a doctrinal legal approach combined with a comparative analysis of national environmental criminal statutes across selected ASEAN countries. It aims to evaluate the adequacy of existing penal provisions in addressing biodiversity loss as a transboundary crime and to identify normative and institutional gaps in regional legal cooperation. The findings reveal that most ASEAN legal systems still treat biodiversity-related offenses as administrative violations or minor crimes, lacking the legal gravity and procedural mechanisms necessary for effective deterrence and cross-border prosecution. The research proposes the harmonization of penal frameworks among ASEAN states, the elevation of biodiversity crimes to serious offenses within national criminal codes, and the incorporation of restorative justice principles to support both environmental recovery and affected communities. Additionally, this study advocates for the recognition of biodiversity crimes as part of transnational organized crime under international criminal law frameworks. The novelty of this study lies in its integrative penal law approach, linking biodiversity conservation with cross-border criminal accountability, while proposing a regional penal harmonization model informed by sustainability, restorative justice, and international cooperation. This framework offers a path forward for strengthening biodiversity protection through criminal law in the context of global environmental governance.

Keywords: biodiversity, crime, environmental, governance, trafficking

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