The 10th Living Lakes Conference explored the role that communities play as
responsible stewards of lake ecosystems in densely populated areas. The conference
theme was addressed in relation to lakes and wetlands, in particular from the Living
Lakes network, with the objective of developing strategies, tools and focused guidance
in sound lake stewardship that are based on shared experiences and best practice.
Every community has a role to play in the
overall stewardship of the
lake. In the Laguna de Bay region, this is underscored by the involvement of the local
government units (LGUs), the River Basin Councils, the Non-
Government Organizations, the academe, the women
and youth, and most importantly, the business sector in the
planning and implementation of lake stewardship projects.
In
densely populated lake regions stewardship is directed towards
achieving a balance between economic use and ecological concerns.
Many of the world’s lake regions, especially in developing
countries, experienced rapid degradation due to multiple
conflicting resource uses. Lake regions are usually the nexus of
economic activities and thus are oftentimes sites of uncontrolled
in-migration resulting to areas of high population density.
Lake areas
with high population density face many challenges in terms
of maintaining or improving lake water quality, averting
overexploitation of resources, controlling pollution and
developing reasonable land and water use plans.
The invited experts and members of the Living Lakes Network
elucidated and discussed the topics of concern using case studies.
The conference called on
communities, institutions and organizations, which are engaged in
the conservation of lakes and development of lake regions, to
direct their collective effort towards responsible lake
stewardship. |