ISSN 0912-7402

No.71 : March 2024

“Youth Power” in Action @WLC19

The “Balaton Declaration” at the 19th World Lake Conference (WLC19) incorporated a recommendation to“Mobilize the enthusiasm, energy, and visions of the Youth in facilitating sustainable lake management at alllevels, including planning, decision-making, implementation, evaluation and celebration.” Youth involvement
in lake conservation is increasingly important. In this context, we asked six youth members dispatched to
WLC19 as the Fostering Next Generation Leaders Project from ILEC to share their impressions after participating.
― Participation in a Technical Session ―“Enjoying Tracing Ecotourism”

A case study of eco-tourism with the assistance of “Local Curators”; The establishment of systems
aimed at revitalizing the local economy through ecotourism, strengthening the connection between
the lake ecosystem and the community, and contributing to environmental conservation.

try, and Governmen

Academia, Indust

Akari Taira

Seian University of
Art and Design

Sustainable with

Rao Sasaki

Seian University of
Art and Design

We found it deeply moving to be able to promote tours conducted in the Moriyama area, a small region, to the world.
Feedback from “Local Curators” included remarks like, “It was great to reaﬃrm the unique charms of our region andorganize tours based on them.” Participants expressed feelings mentioning, “It feels like we're visiting the backyardof the residents.” To sustain this initiative in the future, we aim to foster collaboration between academia, industry,and government. We plan to turn it into a project or business at the university level, and collaborate with the
Shiga-Shiga, a nonproﬁt organization, which is based in the Moriyama area, to provide guidance for the Moriyama
Neighborhood Association and students. This collaboration oﬀers mutual learning opportunities and aims to plansustainable tours. To achieve this, we are working on exhibitions and expanding awareness.

Region.
From planning and execution of tours to presentation at WLC19, I felt the true challenge lies not in merely
pursuing superﬁcial sustainability, but in creating tourism that truly sustains with the region. Moreover, throughnumerous discussions with local residents, the depth of understanding toward the region signiﬁcantly
increased. Each visit allowed me to discover the joy of exploring the region’s small charms and culture, making
it a very rewarding experience.

1

― Participation in a Technical Session, and Youth Session ―“Be a Researcher Tour in BIWAKO”

A case study of eco- tours for elementary school students conducted by the International Volunteer
Student Association (IVUSA), with the goal of achieving the Mother Lake Goals (MLGs), which are speciﬁc
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Lake Biwa. This initiative is aimed at fulﬁlling one of thegoals, which focuses on incorporating both local residents and the basin into educational experiences.

“Youth Power in Action: Youth-driven Innovations for Sustainable Lake Management”

Youth shared initiatives and activities for environmental conservation in various lakes worldwide anddiscussed “how youth activities can be sustainable” and “what is needed to broaden the circle of youth
engaged in lake environmental conservation”.

lors

10 Countries 10 Co

Saeko Ito

I was proud to have the opportunity to present our activities on an international stage in the technical session.
Among the many technical and scientiﬁc presentations, receiving nods and smiles during our presentation was
gratifying, as it showed appreciation regardless of position or age. In the youth session, participating as a leader
in an international event for the ﬁrst time, I felt the diﬃculty of creating something meaningful. Priorities variedby country, and what existed in Japan didn’t always exist abroad, and vice versa. Meeting face-to-face andhearing each other's voices in person added depth to our interactions. Moreover, hearing the opinions ofexperts who participated in the session, regardless of age, was stimulating. I aspire to continue engaging ininternational environmental activities after graduating from university.

Kyoto University ofForeign StudiesrLanguage Barrie

Arika Tanabe
Kyoto University ofForeign Studies

In the technical session, during the contest last year, our project was in the ideation stage. However, over the year
leading up to WLC19, we actually held tours and were able to disseminate enhanced content globally,
incorporating feedback from children. We intend to pass on this tour to future generations of IVUSA, ensuring it
doesn’t end as a one-time event. In the youth session, creating the session, incorporating the views of foreign
participants, proved to be very challenging. Therefore, the sense of achievement on the day of the session was
profound. Understanding the sentiments toward lakes and environmental issues from individuals abroad
deepened my knowledge and broadened my perspective. Moreover, encountering language barriers emphasized
the importance of English as a vital tool in communication, enhancing motivation for language learning.

― Participation in Youth Session ―ractionParticipants’ Inte

Marina Hata
Ritsumeikan
University

This was my second participation in the World Lake Conference. While WLC18 was hosted virtually, I took onplanning and moderating roles in the Shiga Prefecture's special session. WLC19 was held in Hungary on-site
and it gratiﬁed me to have opportunities to exchange ideas with researchers and youth from various countries.
Repeatedly having meetings involving ﬁve countries with signiﬁcant time diﬀerences resulted in sessions
viewed by many, boosting my conﬁdence in my studies in international relations and activities in Shiga
Prefecture. I am grateful to everyone involved and hope to help contribute to future youth sessions.

Toward Australia

Sharing youth activities and opinions holds signiﬁcant value, and I was extremely happy to be involved in it. Asa director, I carefully planned the structure and objectives of the session multiple times, ensuring that thepresentation appealed visually, and being conscious of tone and facial expressions to engage the audience
actively. Environmental issues, including lakes, often highlight the lack of intergenerational equity. However,what I felt upon concluding the conference was the importance of youth actively raising their voices and taking
action to bring about change. It is our new mission to involve our next generation and youth from additional
Mana Kubozono
countries, and pass it on to the next World Lake Conference in Australia, 2025.
Ritsumeikan
University2

Report from a Former JICA
Training Participant
Prava Pandey (Nepal)

National Lake Conservation Development Committee

Integrated Lake Basin Management Approach:
An Effective Tool for the Sustainable Conservation ofLakes and Wetlands in Nepal

Wetlands are important in terms of their ecological,
economic, cultural, and recreational values. These
ecosystems produce a wide range of goods and services aswell as income-generating activities for people all over theworld. It provides two broad values: first is ecological values(wildlife habitats, maintenance of the environment,
ecological balance, etc.), and second is economic values(such as a productive ecosystem, water supply, etc.).
The Himalayan landscape of Nepal has tremendous
topographic diversities followed by diversities of lakes andwetlands ways down from the Himalayan high altitude tolowland Terai. Lakes/wetlands provide water for irrigation,
maintain biodiversity, enhance the livelihoods of people
through eco-tourism, provide a basis for cultural andspiritual development, and so on. There are different
studies and reports that Nepal is a bearer of more than 6,000 rivers,
3,252 glaciers, 2,323 glacial lakes, and several tectonic*¹ and oxbow*²-lakes. Among them, the National Lake Conservation
Development Committee has enlisted 5,358 lakes in Nepal.
Lakes of Nepal are Himalayan in nature. They are the water towerof Asia, home to many Ramsar sites, transboundary in nature,
biodiversity hotspots, and high religio-cultural values. Wetlands areimportant habitats for the biodiversity of flora and fauna varying
from permanent fast-flowing rivers to seasonal streams, from highaltitude glacial lakes to lowland ox-bow lakes, from ghouls toswamps and marshy land, from river flood plains to paddy fields
and from man-made reservoirs to village ponds.

Tilicho Lake, Manag, Nepal

Kupinde Daha, Salyan, Nepal

The Himalayan nature of these lakes and wetlands is undervarious threats. The proximate causes of lake problems can arise
from both the direct exploitation of lake resources as well as fromhuman activities taking place within and outside of the lake basins,
but the nature and extent of threats vary according to thegeographical location and magnitude of anthropogenic pressure.
Meanwhile, there is a need to raise awareness among the generalpublic for the conservation and restoration of lakes to create
opportunities for promoting lake tourism and climate-resilient
green livelihood. That can be possible only by finding out the root
cause of problems and the possible solutions that contributetowards mitigating efforts of those problems, as the lake andwetland researcher and conservationist ILBM is anappropriate management tool to address issues ofthese lakes and wetlands that indeed helps by
improving governance structure and ultimately help
in the sustainable conservation. With the support ofILEC, an Integrated Lake Basin Management
approach was implemented with the goal ofsustainable conservation of lake resources forbiodiversity, tourism, and livelihoods ofcommunities in various Lake Basin Areas with thevision of Lake Prosperity, Wisdom, and Peace fromclimate resilient lake basin governance in Nepal. The
six ILBM governance pillars have been considered
the major conservation efforts in the conservation of
Nepal’s lakes and wetlands. It has been found that
ILBM requires adequate time to deliver results withholistic, participatory conservation efforts for theconservation of forests and water resources.

*¹ Tectonic Lake - A lake formed as a result of tectonic activity.
*² Ox-bow Lake - Formed by the significant meandering of a river, where a section of the river becomes isolated due to changes in its course, resulting in a lakeor marsh. Resembles the shape of a bull's horn.

3

IL

C
E

s FY2023

Scientiﬁc Committee
General Meeting
Nov 10, 2023

ILEC has developed International Cooperation activities focusing on the 19th World Lake Conference(WLC19). WLC19 was held for the first time since adopting the resolution on Sustainable Lake Management(SLM) at the 5th United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA5.2). It was a good opportunity to disseminate theimportance of SLM in lake environmental conservation to the world. We also conducted a training programprovided to lake stakeholders in various countries as a Human Resource Development project, whichis essential for promoting SLM.
ILEC will promote SLM globally, with the Scientific Committee at its core and in cooperation with theUnited Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), national government agencies, and others.

◆ UN 2023 Water Conference

Mar. 22-24, 2023

This Conference was held for the first time in 46 years at the UN
Headquarters in New York. ILEC delegates presented the Lake Biwa
Cases that could contribute to SLM, and the ILEC’s “Water Action
Agenda” at a side event organized by the Indonesian government and
UNEP. The establishment of “World Lake Day” has been included in theconference summary to address urgent water challenges such as
climate change, or deteriorating water quality and aquatic ecosystems.

◆ Workshop leading to WLC
Experts and researchers who related to Lake Biwa and Yodo River Basins,gathered and discussed under the theme “Toward Achieving SLM: How
Lake Biwa and Yodo River Basins Can Contribute?” This output waspresented at the undermentioned colloquium as “The SLM Implication of
the Lake Biwa-Yodo River Basin Management”.

Sep. 29, 2023

◆ WLC 19 / International Colloquium

Nov. 7-9, 2023

4

ILEC and Lake Balaton Development Council co-hosted the 19th World
Lake Conference (WLC19) “Beyond Lakes: Linking Science, Culture andGovernance for their Sustainable Use” in Balatonfüred, Hungary. This
marked the second time in 35 years that the conference was held on the
shores of Lake Balaton, following the third conference in Keszthely. A totalof 354 participants from 30 countries attended. On November 6, aninternational colloquium titled “Promoting Sustainable Lake Management(SLM): Challenges, Achievements, and Lessons Learned” was organized
as a side event in cooperation with UNEP. The colloquium attracted 134
participants from over 16 countries.

◆ JICA Grassroots
Technical Cooperation Project

Jul. 24-25, 2023

Aiming to improve the water environment in the coastal waters of Halong Bay and Cat
Ba Island, the training was conducted to learn about the “Lake Biwa Model” in which
industry, government, academia, and the public work together to conserve the water
environment and promote economic development. Additionally, Shiga’s eco-tourism
promotion initiatives were introduced to inspire actions towards environmental
preservation. Six participants including officials from administrative agencies of Hai
Phong City and Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, took part in the training.

◆ PESSVA Introduction Project in Malaysia FY2023
In the second year, the PESSVA (Participatory Ecosystem Services Shared Value
Assessment) project has targeted at Bukit Merah Lake located in the northwest of
Malaysia. A value assessment questionnaire of the lake was conducted residents,
fishermen, local government officials, and others in the basin area. By discussing
the survey results with various stakeholders, the project aimed to motivate andencourage the participation of diverse parties, including watershed residents, inlake management. Furthermore, with the goal of voluntary expansion in othercountries with similar initiatives, the National Water Research Institute of Malaysia(NAHRIM), our collaborator of this project, presented the project at WLC19.

◆ FY2023 JICA-KCCP Training Program“Integrated Lake, River and Coastal Basin Management for Sustainable Use andConservation of Water Resources”
The training was conducted to learn about the concept of ILBM
through the experience of watershed management in the Lake
Biwa-Yodo River Basin. Eleven government officials and researchers
from 11 countries (Albania, Central African Republic, Chad, Cuba, El
Salvador, India, Nicaragua, Nigeria, South Sudan, Bangladesh, andMexico) and one staff member from JICA Nicaragua officeparticipated.
Remote (Nov. 20 - Dec. 8, 2023)
On-site (Jan. 10 - Feb. 14, 2024)◆ Commissioned Project“Technical Cooperation for Improving
Lake Water Quality in Indonesia”

Jan. 16-17, 2024

Based on the field survey of Lake Rawapenin conducted in FY2022, ILEC held a workshop
commissioned by the Ministry of Environment to introduce solutions to issues such as soil
runoff, household/agricultural/livestock wastewater treatment, alongside showcasing goodpractices from Japan. Approximately 50 participants from the Ministry of Environment andForestry of Indonesia, the Province of Central Java, etc., attended the workshop.

5

Letter from Scientiﬁc Committee (Japan)

99% Chat and 1% Discussion
Yoshihisa SHIMIZU

Professor Emeritus, Kyoto University

On January 1, 2024, at 4:06 pm, the Noto Peninsula Earthquake occurredwith a magnitude of 7.6 and a maximum seismic intensity of 7, with theepicenter in the Noto region of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. In thenortheastern part of the Noto Peninsula, a swarm of earthquakes with amagnitude of 5 or higher has been occurring since December 2020. Thistime, the earthquake was much larger than these. Damage occurred in eight
prefectures (Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Nagano, Gifu, Osaka, andHyogo). As of January 29; 1,523 people were injured including 236 deaths,
and 19,286 residential buildings were damaged (122 completely destroyed,
1,900 partially destroyed, 6 flooded above the floor, 19 flooded below thefloor, and 17,239 partially damaged). Lifeline services such as water, sewage,
and electricity continue to remain largely unrestored.
Seismic
intensity

７
６＋
６－
５＋
５－
４
３
２
１

beforeEpicenter

Epicenter of the Noto Peninsula Earthquakeand seismic intensity in various locations

after

Mitsuke Island in Suzu City, known as a scenic spot on the Noto Peninsula and also
called “Gunkanjima (Warship Island)” because of its shape that looks like a warshipheading towards it, collapsed due to the eﬀects of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake.
The scenery I had been used to seeing since I was a child had become diﬀerent.

I was spending New Year’ s Day as usual at my home in Kyoto when theearthquake occurred. When I felt a sudden earthquake and turned on the TV, I
saw that a major tsunami warning had already been issued for the Noto
Peninsula. I grew up in the Noto Peninsula, which was the area affected by the
recent disaster. My home was in Noto Town, and I attended high school at Iida
High School in Suzu City in the Noto Peninsula. I have no family or relatives
living on the Noto Peninsula now, but I called my sister who lives in Kanazawa
near the Noto Peninsula. She “felt the worst shaking of her life,” my sister said,
but fortunately she appeared to be unharmed. I tried to contact some of mychildhood friends in my hometown, Noto Town, by cell phone, but I couldn’t
get through. It was on January 9th that I finally received a call from them. My
friends survived, but are still living in various evacuation centers. During thisseason, the temperature on the Noto Peninsula continues to drop below
freezing, making it the lowest temperature of the year. I can’ t do anything
because I’ m far away, but I just hope that they take good care of themselves.

6

It has been over 40 years since I
left the Noto Peninsula after
graduating from high school, andwe have barely had a chance tomeet or talk. Lately, whenever theearthquake swarm has occurred, I have continued to call them and say, “It’ sokay.” Each conversation was short. But this time, due to the extent of thedamage, we were able to have a longer conversation than usual. We spoke toeach other, starting out in standard Japanese and then speaking in local
accents that I thought I had forgotten. Most of the conversations were about
the time of the earthquake, the evacuation that followed, the current
evacuation shelter, family, and friends, etc. I realized that we were able tohave serious conversations that we don't usually have because we had spent
our childhood playing together and sharing the same place and time.
I was not born on the Noto Peninsula. My father was appointed as aforeman for the construction of a railroad, so we decided to live there. As aresult, when I was in the lower grades of elementary school, I was notallowed to participate in the summer festival, one of the biggest local events
there. I was an outsider. I remember that my friends who I always hung out
with became aloof during that period. However, after living in the local area
for several years, they gradually started to let me in, and by the time of juniorhigh school, we were joining together with the adults to liven up the summer
festivals. I do not remember seriously discussing the summer festival with
my friends. I think that I somehow gained acceptance through everyday lifeand small talks. I remember that one day before a summer festival, I was
suddenly told, “You can come in, too.” My short response, “Yes,” which was
only a very short serious conversation between us. Now, I feel that thefriendship we have developed over many years has been unconsciously
recognized.
Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM), which has been promoted by
the International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC), aims to achievesustainable lake management and healthy lakes through the cooperation of
stakeholders from many fields, targeting lakes in various environments
around the world. Our goal is to promote the conservation of this ecosystemand to cherish the connections between people and nature. Serious
discussions about lake basin management are of course essential in order for
people from many fields to manage watersheds, transcending administrative
boundaries, cultures, customs, religions, etc. However, it is difficult toachieve mutual understanding through serious conversations alone. Not
only ILBM but also various occasions, friendship and love are necessary tosupport serious discussions and conversations. Unless we have spent time
together through normal conversations and small talks, no amount of serious
conversation or words will touch the other person’ s heart. More and more
small talks are needed.
Finally, I would like to express my deepest sympathies to everyone
affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, and my heartfelt condolences tothose who lost their lives and their families. We also pray for the earliest
possible recovery and reconstruction, and for the people in the disaster toreturn to peaceful days. We hope that the beautiful sea and mountains of theNoto Peninsula and the warm hearts of the people will return to normal assoon as possible. To that end, I’ m planning to go and have a lot of chatswith them.

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                                               
           

Thank You for Your Support!

FY2023●ILEC received sponsorships from the following organizations (in no particular order)●ILEC received donations from the following organizations (in no particular order)

ILEC Supporters (Sponsors and Donors) Welcome!
We will showcase the logos of your organizations that have generously supported us on our website andnewsletters. For additional information, please visit our website.
▶ https://www.ilec.or.jp/en/support

INTERNATIONAL LAKE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE FOUNDATION (ILEC)

1091 Oroshimo-cho, Kusatsu-city Shiga 525-0001, JAPAN
Tel:+81-77-568-4567 / Fax:+81-77-568-4568 /Website: www.ilec.or.jp/en/ Facebook: www.facebook.com/ilec.english*The latest issue, WLC19 special issue, and back issues of this newsletter are also available on our website above.

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