Prepared by the REC, a CEE Sub-Programme Secretariat of the EAP Task Force This issue highlights REC side events in Kiev 2003: - Local Environmental Action Plans - Partnership for Successful Education - The Kiev Sea Protocol - Governance Principles A number of side events will take place during the Fifth Ministerial Environment for Europe Conference in Kiev, May 21—23. The REC has initiated four complementary side events that will take place in the International Exhibition Centre during the conference. The side events/panel discussions, organised by the REC, are presented below: Local Environmental Action Plans The purpose of the panel session, Local environmental action plans in Central and Eastern Europe: How can we continue to improve the LEAP model to serve as a useful tool for communities?, is to share experience and results of implementing local environmental action plans (LEAPs) throughout CEE and EECCA countries; to present cases where LEAPs can be used as an effective tool for implementing national programmes, EU requirements and other international commitments (i.e. the Aarhus Convention) and to explore possibilities for cooperation and networking between CEE and EECCA countries related to LEAPs. During the panel session on the LEAP model, there will be a presentation of the development and evolution of its methodology over the past ten years. LEAP practitioners and representatives of LEAP communities will reflect on their experiences and the benefits of undertaking such programmes. The primary focus will be on ways to improve the LEAP model as a useful tool for local communities.   LEAP methodology originates directly from the principles set in the Environmental Action Programme for Central and Eastern Europe (Lucerne, 1993). LEAP elaboration has been strongly advocated by the EAP Task Force in CEE and EECCA regions and supported by the many national ministries and international donors (especially USAID and USEPA) involved in the Environment for Europe process. Key LEAP elements (sustainable planning, urban management, partnerships between government institutions, economic actors and civil society) will be frequently referred to during the Kiev Assessment Report (Day 1 session). LEAPs may also be on the agenda of the Future of Environment for Europe Process — a discussion on possible elements of the ministerial declaration (Day 2 session). Time: 13:00-15:00, May 21, Location: Meeting Room 10, International Exhibition Centre Partnership as aPrecondition for Successful Education on Sustainable Development The REC-organised panel session on Partnership as a Precondition for Successful Education on Sustainable Development will present a wide spectrum of debate and good partnership practices between officials, businesses, NGOs and educators as a crucial precondition for efficient implementation of environmental activities on sustainable development, and in the context of the Pan-European Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development. This side event is intended to support the Pan-European Strategy on Environmental Education for Sustainable Development. Partnerships between the key players (European organisations; governmental ,environmental and educational institutions; NGOs; educators; environmentalists; and business organisations) will be demonstrated as models for achieving high efficiency in the process of developing educational materials, training educators, and raising awareness among students and their families, as well as the general public through organising formal, informal and vocational education and life-long learning. Co-chairs and speakers for the side event are Victoria Elias, chair, European ECO-Forum; Alexander Juras, deputy executive director, REC; Lena Sommestad, minister for environment, Sweden; Carl Lindberg, deputy state secretary, Ministry of Education and Science, Sweden; Krzysztof Kafel, counsellor to the minister, Ministry of Education and Sport, Poland; Stefan Crets, manager, Corporate Social Responsibility, Toyota Motor Europe, and others. The side event is supported by Toyota Europe. Time: 13:00-15:00, May 21 Location: Conference Hall 4, International Exhibition Centre, Kiev Towards rapid implementation of the Kiev Sea Protocol: Lessons from CEE Countries During the Kiev conference, the REC will have a workshop for moving Towards Rapid Implementation of the Kiev SEA Protocol: Lessons from CEE Countries to strengthen the support for implementing the SEA Protocol by sharing experience on SEA capacity building in the CEE region. Participants will discuss proposed national SEA capacity-building strategies and review possibilities for cooperation and networking during implementation of the SEA Protocol. The workshop follows up on previous REC activities organised within negotiations on the SEA Protocol. The workshop will be held in partnership with United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Secretariat to the Espoo Convention, the United Nations Development Programme/RBEC and the United Nations Environment Programme Economic and Trade Branch. Time: 13:00-15:00, May 22 Location: Meeting Room 12, International Exhibition Centre, Kiev Corporate Responsibility: Governance Principles on Foreign Direct Investment in Hazardous Activities This REC panel session is linked to the cyanide spill from the Aurul Gold Works into the Tisza River in Baia Mare, Romania, in February 2000. In response to this and later similar accidents, the REC launched the revised Governance Principles on Foreign Direct Investment in Hazardous Activities at a Plenary Session of the Global Forum at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg. High on the summit agenda were principles directly related to the topics of corporate governance and accountability. With this panel session, the REC aims to foster international dialogue on the issues of corporate governance and accountability, especially with regard to foreign direct investment in hazardous activities. It will round out the agenda of the Kiev conference through the inclusion of issues that have been highlighted on the global level at the WSSD in Johannesburg, and by ensuring the involvement of high-level business representatives. Time: 13:00-15:00, May 23 Location: Meeting Room 6, International Exhibition Centre, Kiev The Newsletter of the EAP Task Force Secretariat for the CEE Sub-Programme is funded by the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and the Environment of the Netherlands Prepared by: Oreola Ivanova, Head of Environmental Policy Department of the REC, EAP Task Force Secretariat for CEE sub-programme, OIvanova@rec.org and Ausra Jurkeviciute, Project Manager of the Environmental Policy Department, Ausra@rec.org

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