Enforce

It is well known that pollution impacts ecosystems and our health. Although there are both European and Dutch regulations to protect us and our environment from pollution, supervision and enforcement of those laws is not 
always easy. Ensuring compliance with environmental legislation requires a strong network of stakeholders, from citizens and researchers to governments and environmental organisations.

Across Europe, there are residents taking matters into their own hands, by measuring their living environment with sensors. In the European project Enforce, Waag Futurelab is working with European partners to connect environmental data that citizens collect to the data authorities need for enforcement purposes. Waag is leading one of the eight case studies in which Enforce is exploring what it takes to harness citizen science for environmental enforcement. 

Within Enforce, various tools and protocols are being developed, such as an assessment whether the data is ready for use (Data Readiness Level). Enforce is also exploring the use of geospatial intelligence and AI to improve data quality. Geospatial intelligence collects and integrates data about the environment from various technologies, such as satellites citizen science sensors and monitoring stations. In addition, Enforce ensures reliable data exchange between different parties.