EARTH SUMMIT+5 Special Session of the General Assembly to Review and Appraise the Implementation of Agenda 21 New York, 23-27 June 1997 SUCCESS STORIES FROM BULGARIA

	Troyan Environmental Action Project (Troyan EAP) This and other Local Agenda 21 succes story are provided by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI).
	Location	Troyan, Bulgaria.
	Responsible organization	The project was managed by the US Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) which promotes environmental protection through participatory decision-making at the community level in Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia through technical assistance and demonstration projects. The Troyan EAP Committees comprised volunteers from citizen groups, farmers, teachers, students, municipal officials, and representatives from regional government agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the private sector.
	Description	Troyan is located in the northern foothills of the Balkan Mountains at the edge of a biosphere reserve and natural park. Environmental problems have compromised Troyan's natural beauty and economic prosperity. The 21-month demonstration project aimed to improve the environmental management capacity of both the Government and NGOs at the national and community levels. In particular, the project aimed to transfer environmental management expertise to municipalities and develop a model for environmental planning and management using a comparative risk assessment process and participatory decision-making methods. The ISC conducted 6 training sessions with Troyan communities. The specific tasks of the Troyan EAP were to evaluate risks to public health, ecology and quality of life (social and economic factors) associated with the community's environmental problems, to rank these problems based on their relative risks, and to develop and implement an action plan to address the most severe problems. Project participants were assisted in gathering reliable and relevant data, in improving the quality of environmental analysis, and in adopting cost-effective solutions. The project consisted of four phases: 1) project organization and initial training; 2) identification and comparison of environmental risk; 3) identification and selection of strategies; 4) strategy implementation.
	Issues addressed	Promoting human health conditions; human settlements; decision making; water resources management; waste management; air pollution; strengthening the role of major groups; technology transfer; capacity building; information for decision-making.
	Objectives	Develop local environmental management expertise by introducing a planning model which incorporates environmental risk assessment and participatory decision-making methods.
	Results achieved	The EAP Committees produced several publications and distributed them to all Bulgarian municipalities: conducted a national workshop to share the Troyan experience; and encouraged other municipalities to initiate similar projects. New municipal laws and regulations improved information flow. A National environmental assistance programme is now emerging with strong support from the Ministry of Environment. Three Ministries signed a Memorandum of Understanding pledging to work together to assist municipalities to address environmental problems and consequently established an inter-ministry environmental task force.
	Lessons learned	In the risk analysis share, there were many problems in determining what information was available and from which sources; obtaining and accessing information; and data accuracy/validity. The ISC recommends that communities undertaking similar projects conduct a preliminary survey of information providers. It is critical that key national and regional governmental agencies, which can provide environmental assistance to municipalities, are identified and their cooperation solicited. The municipality would have benefited from assistance with fiscal management, environmental legal authority and responsibilities, auditing and monitoring, using management tools, project design and implementation, environmental enforcement, project financing, work plan development, public participation and technical issues. Training should also be provided for representatives from national government agencies, NGOs and the private sector in roles and functions, strategic planning, work plan and budget development, financial management, public involvement, monitoring and evaluating programme implementation. Project evaluation forms should be integrated in training activities.
	Financing	The US EAP, in cooperation with US Agency for International Development, provided funding to the ISC to carry out the Troyan EAP (US$ 335,000) and to implement an action plan (US$ 60,000). The ISC provided a grant to the Municipality of Troyan of up to US$ 35,000 to implement the recommended strategies and covered the cost of the publication of the project documents. The Municipality is responsible for providing a 10% contribution for implementation.
	Contact	Mr. Paul Markovitz, Project Director, Community Planning and Implementation Programme, ISC; 56 College St. Montpelier, Vermont USA, 05602-3115; Tel. + 802-229-2900; fax: +802-229-2919; E-mail: isc@together.org Sasho Ignatovski, secretary to the Municipal Council, Vuzrazhdane Square, 5600 Troyan, Bulgaria; Tel.; +359-670-22629; fax: +359-670-23215