SOUTH CAUCASUS ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING ISSUES DISCUSSED IN TBILISI

PanARMENIAN.Net
07.12.2009 19:29 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ REC Caucasus Regional Conference – "LEAPs is SEA
proof! Seven Years of Experience in Local Environmental Planning
in the South Caucasus" was organized by REC Caucasus on December 4,
2009 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The event aimed to summarize all LEAPs projects implemented by REC
Caucasus since 2003, assess the result achieved and outline the areas
of future interventions for strengthening local environmental planning
in the South Caucasus.

More than 50 representatives of stakeholders from Armenia, Azerbaijan,
Georgia participated in the Conference.

Launched in 2003, the South Caucasus Local Environmental Action Program
(LEAP) was designed to demonstrate participatory approaches to solving
environmental problems at the local level while building the long-term
institutional capacity to conduct LEAPs and other community-based
programs throughout the region in the years to come.

The South Caucasus LEAP created opportunities for citizens, NGOs to
engage in priority setting alongside municipal officials and business
leaders and take constructive action using creative, low-cost, and
cost-effective approaches to solve priority community environmental
problems.

The Regional Environmental Centre for the Caucasus (REC Caucasus)
helped to strengthen local governments, non-governmental organizations
(NGOs), and businesses to effectively manage local environmental
problems. Through this capacity-building effort, REC Caucasus raised
environmental awareness, promoted public participation in environmental
decision-making, and stimulated citizen involvement in directly
solving local environmental issues. REC Caucasus tapped into local
expertise to the greatest degree possible and engaged experts from
outside the region to provide technical assistance to local experts
and communities.

Financial Support The LEAPs projects were implemented with the
financial support from the Netherlands Ministry of Housing, Spatial
Planning and the Environment (VROM), the United State Environmental
Protection Agency (USEPA), Ministry of Environmental Affairs,
Land Use Planning, Agriculture and Forestry of the Principality of
Liechtenstein.