REC Bosne i Hercegovine

Component 1: Development of LEAPs

Activities in LEAP development in B&H municipalities

Five municipalities, which will be supported for development of LEAPs in B&H, will be selected according to previously defined criteria agreed with Sida, taking into account the size and other characteristics of municipalities.

All municipalities will sign Contract on cooperation with the REC B&H. Rights and obligations of municipalities and REC B&H in process of LEAP development and implementation will be defined by this contract.

The mayors of selected municipalities will be asked to appoint one person (municipal coordinator) who will be in charge for development and implementation of LEAP.

REC B&H will work closely with the local contacts and key stakeholders to identify the stakeholders who shall participate and be consulted during the development of the LEAP. These will include representatives of: local governments, business and industries, utility companies, educational and health institutions, NGOs, media and other specific community interests.

Partner organization to the municipality in process of LEAP development will be non-governmental organization. Selected NGO and municipality will sign the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation on LEAP development. NGOs will be invited to submit the project proposals. The Call for grants will be announced in the local newspapers and radio/TV stations. NGOs will be responsible for development of LEAPs in their municipalities.

With the purpose to present the project to different stakeholders, promotional meetings will be held in the municipalities.

Establishment of Consultative Body. Consultative Body will consist of representatives of municipality, business sector, health and educational institutions, local communities, NGOs and media. The members will be nominated by mayor of the municipality. Board will have consultative role in process of LEAP development.

Establishment of Working Group. Working Group will consist of experts for certain thematic areas (water, air, waste, etc.). The members will be nominated by mayor of the municipality. Working group will have task to assess the state of environment, identify environmental problems and priorities and develop an action plan for defined priorities.

Local LEAP coordinator. The REC B&H will engage a local coordinator who will closely cooperate with municipal coordinator in process of LEAP development and implementation.

Two-day workshops will be organized in each municipality. Representatives of local stakeholders from each municipality will attend the workshop. The following issues will be discussed on this workshop: how to create a community vision, how to involve public in process of LEAP development, how to assess the state of environment, how to identify environmental problems and set up the list of priorities and how to develop an action plan for defined priorities.

Public campaign. Public campaigns about the goals and objectives of LEAP will be realized in each of the municipalities by NGO. The goal of the campaigns will be to present to the citizens the objectives of LEAP, the need for its development and the expectations about citizens' input, as well as to attract the citizens to take massive involvement in the process of development of LEAP. The campaigns will consist of printed materials, radio and TV shows.

Public survey. In order to assess the public opinion about environmental problems, a public survey in the area of municipality will be conducted by NGO. The results of from the survey will be used for preparation of the list of environmental problems.

Each community will create a community vision. Community vision should be agreed by all stakeholders involved in LEAP development.
A Community Vision:

Provides a common framework and an agreed upon direction for the work;
Promotes bold, creative, and imaginative thinking that can lead to fundamental change;
Provides continuity and consistency as people come and go from the LEAP planning process, and;
Offers an excellent opportunity for engaging people in the community.

Activity 7. Assessing issues, identifying problems and setting priorities

NGO in cooperation with working group will identify and assess environmental, social and economic situation, and define the list of environmental problems.
The next step will be ranking of environmental problems using the Comparative Risk Assessment methodology, which is based on risks on human health, ecosystems and the overall quality of people's life in the municipalities.
Also, during the preparation of the list of environmental priorities, other criteria such as public opinion, the level of authority or control that municipality has over the problem, legal or regulatory requirements, regional or national plans (NEAP) will be taken into consideration.

Development of action plan is the most important phase in process of LEAP development. The action plan includes activities that should be realized in order to solve environmental priorities.
Defining of activities for solving of environmental priorities will be done by the NGO and Working group. The final list of defined activities for solving the environmental problems will be presented to the public.

The draft LEAP document will consist of the Community Vision, the issue assessments with the list of environmental problems and priorities, and action plan for defined environmental priorities. The draft LEAP document will be presented to the public. After the public comments have been incorporated, the final LEAP document will be submitted to the municipal council for formal adoption. Adoption of the LEAP will be a precondition to receive financial support for implementation of selected priority project.

Two-day workshops on LEAP implementation will be realized in each municipality. Representatives of local stakeholders will attend the workshops. The preparation of implementation plan and possibilities for financing of environmental investment projects will be discussed.
The exact topics and style of the training will be determined during the preparation of the LEAP, in order to best fit the exact needs of the beneficiaries and to take into consideration political, legal, institutional and financial developments within the countries and internationally. The training will encompass practical work, with the aim of developing a realistic implementation plan for each LEAP.

After the LEAP is adopted, each municipality will select and implement priority project from the LEAP. Each municipality will receive the financial support in amount of 50.000 EUR for implementation of priority project. In order to receive the financial support, each municipality will be obliged to contribute at least 50 % of this amount. The realization of priority project will be monitoring by the REC project team.

Contact person:
Andrea Bevanda-Hrvo
Tel/fax: 033 209 130
E-mail: abevanda@rec.org.ba