The 11^th Living Lakes Conference was held on 29 October to 02 November in Nanchang, China.  With its theme Sustainable Lake Management: Balancing Agriculture and Lake Protection,  the sharing of experiences between members of the network was focused on how to balance lake protection, economic development and agricultural use of the watershed in lakes and wetland regions worldwide.

            The Philippine delegation was composed of Mr. Casimiro Ynarez and Ms. Lennie Borja of Laguna Lake Development Authority, Ms. Amy Lecciones of the Society for the Conservation of Philippine Wetlands, Ms. Jika Mendoza-Dalupan and Mr. Shan Chua of Unilever Philippines, and our partners - Federation of River Councils in Laguna de Bay Region (Ms. Lina Tanjuatco) and Philippine Daily Inquirer (Mr. Jerry Esplanada).

         Twenty-nine students from various high schools of San Pablo City participated in the EcoCamp conducted by CLEAR in partnership with the Friends of the Seven Lakes Foundation and the city government of San Pablo City. 

          The EcoCamp - San Pablo was held at Star Lake Resort in San Pablo City on 25 - 27 October 2006.

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      A workshop on Community Lake Monitoring was held on 19 September 2006 at the College of Human Ecoclogy, University of the Philippines - Los Ba�os.  The conduct of the workshop was initiated by Youth Circle, the youth partner organization of CLEAR in Los Ba�os.  The group conducted their first water sampling in the lake on 14 October 2006 under the supervision of YC adviser, Ms. Jennifer Marie Sunga of University of the Philippines - Los Ba�os.

      This was a follow-through activity of the CLEAR Youth Network which aimed at harnessing the potential of lakeshore communities in monitoring the water quality of Laguna de Bay, and at the same time help increase awareness of the community of the importance of the lake in their daily lives.

      During the CLEAR Youth Network Congress on 03 June 2006, one of the common lake conservation activities agreed upon by the participants to be undertaken by each group at their respective community was the monitoring of water quality of Laguna de Bay.  This aimed to increase the awareness of the community of the importance of the lake in their daily lives.  This activity will be under the CLEAR Community Lake Monitoring Network (CLMN), a cooperative program combining the technical resources of CLEAR and the volunteer efforts of the communities lakewide to collect water quality data on their side of the lake using secchi disc.

      The first group to start the activity was the Kilos Kabataan Para sa Lawa graduates in Muntinlupa City.  They started their 8-week sampling on 05 August 2006.  Undertaken under the supervision of Ms. Yvonne Alba, the adviser/moderator of Young Science Enthusiasts, 35 student members of YSE took part in the first water sampling for the CLMN.  YSE is a student organization in Pedro E. Diaz High School of Muntinlupa City. 

      The activity was supported by the the Lake Management Office of the local government of Muntinlupa City.

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      As agreed during the CLEAR Youth Network Forum held last October 2005, the youth participants met again at the CLEAR Youth Network Congress on 03 June 2006 at the University of Rizal System campus in Tanay, Rizal to further strengthen the partnership and plan common activities towards lake conservation.   This also coincides with the celebration of the UN World Environment Day and Philippine Environment Month.

      The one-day youth gathering include activities that foster camaraderie among the youth as well as encourage them to appreciate and apply lake conservation concepts.  This was part of the continuing effort to capacitate the graduates of the CLEAR Eco-Camp / Kilos Kabataan Para sa Lawa from Tanay, Los Ba�os, Muntinlupa and Lumban by continuing to be stewards and leaders for the environment through this youth network.

      The event was held in cooperation with the Tanay Environment Foundation, the University of Rizal System, CBK Power Company, Ltd. and the Local Government of Tanay.

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      Wetlands Caravan, a series of local fora focused on local issues, had made its first stop at Laguna de Bay on 23 May 2006.  Stakeholders from the cluster municipalities of Cavinti, Lucban, Lumban, Magdalena and Pagsanjan gathered at the Camarin NPC Guests House in Cavinti, Laguna to exchange information and discuss emerging issues relevant to the conservation of Laguna de Bay.  It focused on Ecotourism in the area as an opportunity for sustainable livelihood.

      The event was held in cooperation with the Municipality of Lumban and the CBK Power Company, Ltd., with support from the Environmental Studies Institute.

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