LEAP is a regional initiative that fosters local community stewardship over the vast and varied heritage resources of Asia and the Pacific. The LEAP programme aims to encourage local community action for heritage conservation, within existing legal frameworks and under the supervision of conservation professionals. LEAP project activities assist people living within or near heritage sites to take a leading role in site management and preventive conservation, as well as site interpretation for visitors, thus providing local communities the opportunity to benefit both economically and socially from conservation of their community's heritage.