It has been estimated that local and international crime syndicates worldwide earn US$ 22-31 billion annually from hazardous waste dumping, smuggling proscribed hazardous materials, and exploiting and trafficking in protected natural resources [International Crime Threat Assessment, U.S. White House Report (Dec. 2000)]. 
Illegal international trade in commodities such as Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS), toxic chemicals, g[hazardous wastes], and wildlife species can seriously undermine the effectiveness of MEAs, harm the environment and human health, and support organized crime.
In its efforts to improve the implementation of MEAs and enhance collaboration, synergies, and linkages among Conventions on issues of common interest (such as illegal trade), UNEP and its partners launched the Green Customs Initiative in June 2003.
The partners in the project include UNEP, Interpol (the international criminal police organization), the World Customs Organization (WCO), and the Secretariats of MEAs with trade provisions: the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals in International Trade, and the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is also participating in this project. The Governments of Norway, Finland, and the Czech Republic have supported this initiative.
The Green Customs Initiative recognises that building the capacity of customs officers, who are at the frontline of every State’s efforts to combat illegal trade, is vital to the effective implementation of many MEAs. Training is a key component of capacity building, but can be time-consuming and expensive. The Green Customs Initiative seeks to take advantage of economies of scale and offers introductory training to customs officers on several MEAs at the same time. The Green Customs Initiative also aims to improve coordinated intelligence gathering, information exchange, and guidance (such as codes of best practice) among the stakeholders involved. In a first phase of the project, six sub-regional and regional workshops were held between May 2005 and February 2006. Based on comment received from participants, a draft Training Guide for customs officers will be finalized in 2006.
The Green Customs approach has many benefits. It helps States to adopt a coordinated capacity building of national customs officers, encourage more efficient use of national human and financial resources, deter environmental crime, and improve national compliance under five MEAs. For MEA Secretariats, this approach encourages sharing of training infrastructure and experience developed by the Secretariats, and facilitates improved, effective, and sustained compliance with the MEAs. Finally, from an environmental perspective, the Green Customs approach helps to “green” the Customs Services, decrease environmental crime, and ultimately promotes a better and cleaner environment.
For more information, see http://www.greencustoms.org