Awareness and preparedness for emergencies at local level ‐ UNEP’s APELL programme

The ten‐step APELL process, as set out in the APELL Handbook, is described, together with the roles of the APELL partners and ways of starting APELL. An account of UNEP’s APELL programme is given. The progress of APELL throughout the world is discussed and a view is offered about how the pro‐gramme can be further implemented and made more effective.