Latvian Cities for MEA

After the pioneering Estonian and Lithuanian cities (Tallinn, Pärnu, Panevëzys, Klaipëda, Marijampole, Ignalina and Trakai), now also some Latvian cities have expressed their interest to implement Municipal Environmental Auditing according to the UBC MEA Model.

The representatives of cities of Liepâja and Jelgava actively took the matter up during the recent UBC Local Agenda 21 Working Group Meeting in Bützow, Germany, 13-14 October. Recently also the Latvian city of Jekabpils has expressed its interest towards conducting MEA.

These new MEAs in Latvia are preliminarily planned to be started during 2001. The cities involved and the UBC Commission on Environment are currently investigating funding possibilities. One important success factor in MEAs is also involvement of partner cities which can offer external experts for evaluation. All cities interested in such a role are most warmly welcomed to contact the UBC Commission on Environment.

The intention with MEA is to offer a feasible tool for city management and environmental experts to analyse the current state of local environment and the environmental performance of the city, as well as evaluate the environmental management. MEA reports define the strengths and weaknesses of the city with regard to the above mentioned issues, and propose improvements.

Running of MEA for the first time usually takes up to 12-18 months. The MEAs run so far have received financial support from the Nordic Minister Council, and in case of Tallinn from EU Life Program and World Bank. Further information on MEA can be obtained from the UBC Commission on Environment Secretariat.