About ENFORCE

Enforce at a glance

The ENFORCE project aims to enhance environmental compliance by integrating citizen science with innovative technologies. This initiative seeks to bridge the gap between local environmental data and the requirements set forth by regulatory authorities, fostering collaboration among grassroots organizations, researchers, and local governments. Through a tailored, interdisciplinary approach, ENFORCE is committed to empowering communities to play an active role in environmental governance and enforcement. 

Background

Environmental compliance constitutes a dynamic field that covers a wide range of laws, regulations, and standards aimed at protecting natural resources and reducing pollution’s impact on health and ecosystems. While crucial for addressing human impacts on the environment and climate, effective environmental compliance faces challenges due to differentiated local implementation contexts. ENFORCE is addressing this by developing a sustainable framework that improves environmental compliance through citizen involvement and innovation. 

ENFORCE Objectives

The ENFORCE project aims to:

  • Empower communities by involving grassroots organizations, local and regional authorities, and researchers in environmental monitoring efforts, ensuring a collaborative approach to compliance. 
  • Develop creative toolkits and protocols that align citizen-collected data with official standards, enhancing its admissibility in court and applicability in environmental compliance cases. 
  • Introduce the Data Readiness Level (DRL) framework to assess the maturity of environmental data for use as evidence in regulatory actions. 
  • Utilize geo-spatial intelligence and AI-enhanced tools to strengthen data quality and reliability, enabling informed decision-making for environmental governance. 
  • Support the European Union’s sustainability actions and align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in promoting sustainable cities and communities through improved environmental compliance and governance. 

ENFORCE Results

ENFORCE will produce:

  • Eight case studies across Europe, tailored to address the unique environmental challenges of locations such as Valle Galeria (Italy), Brasov (Romania), Crete (Greece), Barcelona Urban Beaches (Spain), Puglia Region (Italy), East Devon Catchment (UK), Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Flanders Region (Belgium). 
  • A robust interdisciplinary framework that integrates citizen-collected data with official standards, improving compliance and enforcement processes. 
  • Tools and methodologies for assessing the maturity of environmental data, ensuring its quality and relevance for regulatory purposes. 
  • A pan-European collaboration and innovation hub to mainstream the use of citizen science for environmental compliance assurance: the ENFORCE Plaza.  

Consortium