Background

Corruption is a major enabler of natural resource theft. It often happens through the irregular allocation of licenses and permits, by officials accepting bribe payments to turn a blind eye on abuses and bypassing environmental safeguards, and by weakening regulatory frameworks in favour of the well connected. Officials accepting bribes allow illegal logging, mining, and fishing in protected areas, often allowing resources to leave countries without generating valuable revenue.

Environmental crime is among the most profitable illegal activities, generating around USD 110 to 281 billion every year. According to Interpol, proceeds are growing over 5% a year – three times faster than the world’s GDP. The numbers are staggering when considering the potential for revenue and revenue loss. The World Bank estimates that countries could increase fiscal revenues by up to 1.7% of GDP in potential tax and royalty income.

The United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) is a versatile instrument, providing a legal framework to combat corruption that enables the theft of natural resources. It is not an environmental treaty itself, but its provisions serve as powerful tools to address the corruption that drives illegal mining, deforestation or illegal fisheries, among other examples. 

International Anti-Corruption Day is an annual observance held on December 9th to raise awareness of corruption and promote efforts to combat it. The day serves as a reminder of the need to fight corruption and the crucial role of the Convention in fostering integrity and accountability globally.  On this Anti-Corruption Day 2025, we would like to open a conversation on how corruption enables the theft of natural resources leading to loss of revenue and illicit financial flows. We will explore three important areas: fisheries, forestry, and gold mining, and we will focus on the interaction between corruption, money laundering, and domestic resource mobilization.

An event organized by the World Bank’s Anticorruption for Development Global Program and supported by the Governance & Institutions Umbrella Program.