ENFORCE Presented at the Environmental Crimes 2026 Workshop at ESA ESRIN
The growing scale of environmental crime calls for stronger evidence and more effective tools to support those working on the frontlines of environmental protection. Against this backdrop, the Environmental Crimes 2026 workshop, held from 29 September to 1 October at the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ESRIN facility in Frascati, Italy, brought together key stakeholders to explore how Earth Observation (EO) can strengthen environmental compliance assurance and enforcement.
Organised jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA), the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the workshop gathered representatives from law enforcement authorities, prosecution services, inspection bodies, research organisations, NGOs and international agencies.
Discussions focused on the opportunities and challenges of integrating Earth Observation into environmental enforcement, at a particularly relevant time for European environmental policy, following the entry into force of the revised EU Environmental Crime Directive and the ongoing process of its transposition into national legislation.
Presenting ENFORCE’s approach to stronger environmental evidence
During the workshop, Leon Wiesner, representing the ENFORCE project, contributed with both an oral presentation and a poster, introducing the project’s approach to combining multiple sources of environmental evidence.
At the core of ENFORCE is the understanding that no single data source can provide a complete picture of potential environmental violations. The project therefore brings together information from Earth Observation, citizen science, in situ sensors and AI-powered analytics, aiming to generate more comprehensive and reliable evidence to support environmental compliance monitoring and enforcement.
By integrating these complementary sources, ENFORCE seeks to help enforcement authorities identify potential environmental violations, assess available evidence and make better-informed decisions.
Connecting research, innovation and enforcement practice
The workshop also offered an opportunity to highlight the contribution of ENFORCE’s members and the value of their involvement in the project. Engaging directly with end users, including professionals working in environmental enforcement, helps ensure that the project’s tools and approaches respond to real operational needs.
These exchanges are essential for strengthening collaboration between research, technology developers and enforcement practitioners, while also creating opportunities for project members to explore potential applications and future cooperation.
Through its participation, ENFORCE reaffirmed its commitment to advancing the use of integrated environmental evidence and supporting more effective responses to environmental crime.
