What is LEAP? The Local Environmental Action Programme (LEAP) is a participatory process for a regional or local community that leads to concrete environmental investments. LEAP involves setting environmental priorities and selecting the most appropriate actions for addressing priority environmental issues in the community. LEAP provides a forum for bringing together a diverse group of individuals - sometimes referred to as a "Stakeholder Group" - with different interests, values, and perspectives. These individuals work together over a 12-24 month period - in partnership with the regional or local government - to agree on common priorities and actions for addressing environmental problems in the community. These priorities and actions are compiled in an Environmental Action Plan that serves as a blueprint for future environmental investments in the community. Recommendations from the environmental Action Plan are then incorporated into the decisions of the Regional or Municipal Council and other implementing bodies. The first LEAPs were implemented in Bulgaria and Hungary in the early 90's, and have been implemented to some degree in most Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The LEAP Practitioners Network (see the contacts as a PDF file) and LEAP Support Teams' activities are coordinated by the Regional Environmental Center (REC). The LEAP Practitioners Network consists of experts with previous experience in developing LEAPs. They meet annually and discuss methodological issues as well as priority issues related to the implementation of LEAPs in CEE. The LEAP Support Teams are recruited from among the members of the LEAP Practitioners Network. Their aim is to support the widespread dissemination of the LEAP methodology in CEE. A typical LEAP Support Team would consist of two or three experts with previous LEAP experience. The main task of a Support Team is to provide advice on the LEAP process. The recent initiatives of LEAP Support Teams include support to two Regional Environmental Action Programmes in Romania and LEAP training in Kosovo. The REC LEAP activities are mainly supported by the  the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Agency for International Development and other donors, including the Open Society Institute (Soros Foundation), the Dutch Embassies in South East Europe and national funding institutions. The contributions for the implementation of demonstration projects and training are provided also by regional and local authorities.   LEAP benefits Your community will benefit from a LEAP, because the programme: Emphasises consensus approach among diverse sectors. LEAPs are led by a multi-stakeholder group composed of a broad cross-section of community members, including representatives from NGOs, businesses, the municipality, regional/national government, academia, labor and religious institutions. LEAPs emphasize team building and making decisions using consensus, wherever possible. Thus, LEAPs help build communication, partnerships and common solutions among diverse sectors of the community. Results in environmental actions with broad public support. LEAPs are based upon a broad effort to educate the public and solicit public input on the most serious problems and best solutions. Subsequently, LEAPs result in community participation in implementing actions. Targets limited resources on most serious problems and biggest opportunities.  LEAPs involve assessing and ranking environmental problems based on the human and ecological risk they pose, as well as public views and the municipality's ability to control or influence a particular problem. Furthermmore, LEAPs involve developing an action plan that identifies the most appropriate actions for addressing the top environmental problems in a transparent and objective manner. Thus, LEAPs help communities to focus on those problems and solutions that achieve the biggest environmental improvement for the investment. Removes myths existing in communities. Beliefs about certain environmental issues and polluters contributing to the poor quality of the environment exist in many communities. By involving various stakeholders in the process and establishing dialogue, the fact that many "traditional" polluters in a community are not often an actual threat - as they have improved their environmental performance - becomes commonly understandable. It encourages industries and businesses to carry social responsibility and to take improve their image in the community. Furthermore, real dangers to the environment identified within a LEAP process appear as a surprise to many of the inhabitants. Helps implement national policy at the local level. LEAPs provide a framework for helping communities incorporate the requirements of national environmental laws and regulations. The development of LEAPs is an obligatory requirement of the legislation in some  CEE countries. Supports implementation of the European Union requirements. The EU Accession process will have a significant impact on local authorities because they are the main authorities responsible for implementing environmental legislation. Thus, cities need to ensure that their air and water quality meets EU requirements, waste management is carried out properly, and wastewater treatment plants are in compliance. The LEAP could be used as a tool for planning future investments to achieve the compliance with those requirements. It will also help to schedule the investments over a long period of time to ensure financial resources for their implementation.   LEAP phases Phase 1: Getting Started Gaining the support of the local government. Forming a stakeholder group that promotes the community's active participation and guides the community through the LEAP process. Developing a community vision of what members would like their community to look like in the future. Phase 2: Assessing Environmental Issues and Setting Priorities Profiling current environmental conditions in the community through participatory assessments that rely primarily on lay people to collect data, and/or expert assessments that employ more formalized methodologies. Setting environmental priorities based on the information gathered in the assessment stage. Phase 3: Developing an Environmental Action Plan Establishing environmental goals, targets and indicators. Reviewing existing environmental practices. Identifying actions to help achieve the goals and targets. Choosing evaluation criteria for selecting the actions. Drafting an Environmental Action Plan. Submitting the draft to the public for comment and for adoption by the municipality. Phase 4: Implementing Actions Taking the full "ownership" for implementing recommendations by the municipalities. Identifying local, regional and national governments, private sector and NGOs with potential responsibilities for project implementation. Establishing an appropriate organizational structure to ensure effective implementation. Preparing an Implementation Plan to integrate action strategies into a comprehensive programme. Preparing a Project Financing Plan to secure adequate funding. Phase 5: Monitoring and Evaluating Results Preparing a monitoring and evaluation programme to review the environmental targets and developed indicators. Establishing a record of achievements of the implementing bodies. Conducting an evaluation to compare actual results to identified targets. Sharing the evaluation results with community members. Reporting community members' responses to the implementing bodies.    Examples of achievements in implementing LEAPs  Troyan Municipality in Bulgaria repaired 70 leaks in the underground pipe network and replaced almost one kilometer of pipe resulting in water savings of approximately 10%. Elk Municipality in Poland reclaimed the Elk Lake by the elimination of nutrient discharges to the lake and phosphorus release from the lake sediments.   How to get more information? For more information please contact Ms. Jennifer McGuinn

Contents of this page: What is LEAP? LEAP benefits LEAP phases Examples of implementing LEAP More information