The Environmental Network for Optimizing Regulatory Compliance on Illegal Traffic (ENFORCE) was established by the eleventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Basel Convention (BC-11/8).

The mission of the Environmental Network for Optimizing Regulatory Compliance on Illegal Traffic (ENFORCE) is through a network of relevant experts, to promote parties’ compliance with the provisions of the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal pertaining to preventing and combating illegal traffic in hazardous wastes and other wastes through the better implementation and enforcement of national law. The Network aims to bring together existing resources and enhancing and improving cooperation and coordination between relevant entities with a specific mandate to deliver capacity-building activities and tools on preventing and combating illegal traffic.

The mission will be achieved by:

• Promoting dialogue between its partners to develop a vision for preventing and combating illegal traffic that is in line with the objectives and requirements of the Basel Convention;
• Improving understanding of the issues, the role of the various stakeholders, their challenges and needs, and how best to address them;
• Promoting cooperation between partners and a coordinated approach to capacity building activities, for instance through joint activities, in order to avoid duplication or gaps in the activities, to ensure a broader geographical distribution of such activities, and to prevent competition over resources;
• Increasing the visibility of and support for efforts aimed at preventing and combating illegal traffic.

The revised terms of reference of ENFORCE (as amended by the decision of BC-15/17 on the Committee Administering the Mechanism for Promoting Implementation and Compliance) can be found here.

At the ENFORCE meetings, its members and observers contribute input into a roadmap of activities.

Roadmap of activities for 2023-2025 (updated status as of 24 December 2024)

Activities implemented prior to 2023 are included in the repository of activities.

Database of activities - a searchable compilation of all activities included in the current roadmap and the repository of activities.

At the third meeting of ENFORCE, it was proposed to develop a library of training tools developed by the members of ENFORCE as well as under the framework of the Basel Convention, such as the interactive Manual for Customs officers on hazardous Chemicals and Waste under the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm conventions. The tentative list of resources (January 2025) is available here.