Frontline Champions: Women in Environmental Enforcement

On the occasion of International Women’s Day 2026, UNEP Law Division’s OzonAction and the Montevideo Environmental Law Programme has launched a global campaign honoring the women safeguarding the integrity of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, its Kigali Amendment, and the broader environmental compliance and enforcement landscape.

Global commitments under multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) are translated into concrete national measures. In the case of the Montreal Protocol and its Kigali Amendment, this means establishing legislation, including licensing and permitting systems, allocating quotas, defining import and export controls, monitoring implementation and addressing non-compliance to ensure effective enforcement.

Across MEAs, enforcement starts at the border, where officers prevent the illegal movement of controlled or hazardous substances or trade in protected species. This frontline work requires a combination of regulatory understanding, technical expertise, and real-time decision-making to protect national compliance and global environmental integrity. In the Montreal Protocol and Kigali Amendment context, customs officers use regulatory knowledge, identification skills, and specialized tools to spot irregular shipments of ozone depleting substances (ODS) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC).

➜ Customs Officers validate licenses, check documentation against national quotas, assess shipment risks, and use refrigerant identifiers to detect undeclared or mislabeled substances before they cross borders. The vigilance of these women helps prevent illegal trade and ensures that licensing and quota systems are upheld.

See some of these officers have been highlight in the link below. Including our own Lilita Narine-Chattergoon from Trinidad and Tobago.

Frontline Champions: Women in Environmental Enforcement | Ozonaction