A group led by a Lancaster University academic has helped to secure an unusual legal victory against wildlife crime.

The Criminal Court of Ancona, in Italy, has issued a first-instance decision against two defendants the court has found guilty of trading more than 1,000 protected, and threatened, cacti poached from the Atacama Desert in Chile.

The plants, some of which are more than 100-years-old, were destined for exotic plant collectors around the world.

In addition to the criminal case, a civil case was filed by L’Associazione per la Biodiversità e la sua Conservazione (ABC), a conservation group that joined the proceedings as a civil party alongside the criminal proceedings.

The verdict orders the defendants remedy the harm they caused to ABC who will receive €20,000 in compensation for harm to its conservation mission, which will be invested into action, research and public education to help conserve cacti.

The civil case was supported by Conservation-Litigation.org. Led by Dr Jacob Phelps, an environmental social scientist in the Lancaster Environment Centre, the Conservation-Litigation.org is a network of scientists and lawyers who are pioneering ways to use law to protect nature.

Dr Phelps’ research at Lancaster University explores the institutional, policy and legal responses to leading environmental challenges. He is especially interested in the role that liability litigation can play in supporting conservation and justice. He became involved in the cactus case when he read about it in The New York Times, recognising that it would be relevant to the work of Conservation-Litigaion.org.

Their network focuses on using legal research and conservation science to support cases that hold offenders of environmental harm liable for remedying the harms they caused. This means that, rather than focus only on punishing offenders, they are also looking for ways to help restore nature.

Dr Phelps said: “The award is notable not only in scale, but also because ABC’s claim specifically states how the funds will be used: more than mere monetary compensation, the awarded amounts will be directly invested into cactus conservation.

“Justice for nature is increasingly important. This verdict shows that existing laws can hold offenders responsible for helping remedy the harms they caused. It puts the focus on conservation, rather than just punishment. This is a transformative response to the biodiversity crisis that will inspire similar legal actions globally to tackle challenges ranging from illegal deforestation to wildlife trade and mining,” he added.

Dr Phelps is organising a webinar discussing why the case matters for conservation globally on Wednesday, March 19.