Enhancing ecological protection through cross‐border police cooperation: The role of joint simulation exercises

Abstract Environmental crime is increasingly recognised as a transnational phenomenon requiring coordinated enforcement responses capable of addressing its cross‐border ecological, social and economic impacts. In this context, the strengthening of cross‐border police cooperation and specialised training has become particularly relevant within the EU, especially following the adoption of Directive (EU) 2024/1203 on the protection of the environment through criminal law. Against this background, this article examines the potential of joint cross‐border simulation exercises as a capacity‐building strategy for strengthening environmental criminal enforcement within the EU. Drawing on qualitative empirical research conducted within the TRANSNATURE project, the article analyses the Livex‐Lobo 2024 simulation exercise carried out by the Spanish Servicio de Protección de la Naturaleza (SEPRONA) and the Portuguese Serviço de Proteção da Natureza e do Ambiente (SEPNA) in the ‘Meseta Ibérica’ Transboundary Biosphere Reserve. The exercise involved joint operational scenarios addressing wildlife crime, pollution, forest fires and illegal trafficking in a cross‐border setting. From a policy‐oriented perspective, the article suggests an analytical framework based on three dimensions (collaboration, capacity‐building and transferability) for assessing joint cross‐border simulation exercises. Applying this framework to the case study, the article argues that the relevance of joint cross‐border simulation exercises lies not only in operational training but also in their broader potential to strengthen cooperation and enforcement capacities in the field of transnational environmental crime. In this sense, such practices should be understood as more than isolated training activities. When embedded within sustained cooperation frameworks, they may constitute valuable policy tools for supporting more effective cross‐border environmental criminal enforcement and, ultimately, enhancing ecological protection.