ISSN 0912-7402

No.50 February 2007

NEWSLETTER
International Lake Environment Committee=Promoting Sustainable Lake Management=This Newsletter is also available in Japanese.

Promoting Interaction among Young People and Children
for Better Lake Environment in the Future
Yukiko Kada
Governor of Shiga Prefecture (Former ILEC Director)

I would like to express my sincere respect andtherefore familiar with activities of ILEC.

gratitude to the interested parties and supporters

While I was a member of ILEC, I participatedof the International Lake Environment

in the World Lake Conference twice: the 9th

Committee (ILEC) foundation for their devoted

Conference in 2001 (“homecoming” conference

efforts toward conservation and wise use ofheld in Shiga) and the 11th Conference in 2005

lakes around the world.

(Nairobi), and gave a presentation on humanSince I was a university student, I have

behavior relating to toilets, and hygiene issues,

conducted environmental field work at Lake

based on a field research project conducted at

Biwa in Shiga Prefecture. After completing

Lake Malawi. I also organized a program tograduate school, I joined the Lake Biwa

promote interaction among young people andbelieve it is of great significance to take a step

Research Institute and was involved in various

children who live in hard conditions in rural

toward solving problems specific to lakes in thisprojects as a research worker, such as

areas that depend overwhelmingly on resourcesarea. I strongly hope to attend the conferencesociological research on the relationshipfrom lakes. I believe that it is extremely

and introduce various activities and measures

between the lake and people, survey of water

important to involve young people and children

undertaken in Shiga Prefecture. I wish to bringuse in the Lake Biwa basin, collection of basic

in conservation activities and discussion on thethe message from Lake Biwa to South Asia, andinformation about river basins in Shiga

future of the earth.

then to the rest of the world.

Prefecture and creation of a database. These

I understand that the 12th World LakeAs governor of Shiga Prefecture, I am

various activities and undertakings prepared theConference will be held in Jaipur, India, under

determined to communicate to the world theway for the World Lake Conference, leading to

the joint auspices of ILEC and the Ministry ofefforts and commitment to protecting Lake Biwa

the establishment of ILEC.

Environment and Forests of the government ofby the residents of Shiga Prefecture, thereby

The 1st World Lake Conference in 1984 also

India. In India, recent dramatic economic growthstrengthening the presence of Shiga andacted as a catalyst toward the establishment ofhas brought about rapid deterioration in the lake

contributing to protecting the environment of

the Lake Biwa Museum, where I used to work.

environment. I therefore strongly hope that thelakes all over the world. We will exert every

For these circumstances, I feel deeply attachedcoming conference will help raise public

effort to protect the future of the lake

to ILEC.

awareness,environment, in close cooperation with the ILEC.

For five and a half years from 2001 to 2006,

facilitating

environmental

conservation to take root in India.

before I became the governor of Shiga

The 12th conference will be the first everPrefecture, I served as a director of ILEC. I am

World Lake Conference held in South Asia. I

IN
THIS
ISSUE

I strongly hope that ILEC will continue playing
an active role in resolving environmental
problems of lakes around the world.

■ Promoting Interaction among Young People and Children for Better Lake Environment in the Future■ The new members of directors, auditors, councilors and advisers■ Promoting Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM)■ World Lake Vision Action Report preparation under way■ General Meeting of the ILEC Scientific Committee in Stockholm■ ILEC Side Event at World Water Week in Stockholm■ The Environment Education Class for Children■ JICA - Environment Education Course■ Mapping Lake Basins■ Integrated Management of Amur/Heilong River Basin Project■ Building a World Lake Database and Knowledge Base
■ ILEC Received Lake Chapala Award

1

The new members of directors,auditors, councilors and advisers
The 11th FIY (January 2007 ― December 2008)
ILEC Foundation Articles of Association stipulates that directors and auditors shall be elected at the council, andcouncilors shall be elected at the board of directors. Furthermore, advisers are nominated by the board of directors. The
55th Councilors’ Meeting was held on December 12th 2006 and The 67th Board of Directors’ Meeting was held on
December 20th 2006. The new members were elected and nominated at the each Meeting as follows: (Random order)

Directors
Remaining Hironori HAMANAKA

Professor, Faculty of Environmental Information, Keio University

Remaining Masaaki NAITOU

Director, Lake Biwa Research InstituteRemaining Hiroya KOTANIFormer Director of Shiga Prefecture

Remaining Mr. Takahisa SASAKI

Former Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Remaining Hideaki ODA

Adviser, NPO Japan Water Forum

Remaining Saburo MATSUI

Professor, Environmentally-Friendly Industries for Sustainable Development, Graduate School of Global Environment, Kyoto University

Remaining Masahisa NAKAMURA

Professor, Research Center for Sustainability and Environment, Shiga University

Remaining Munetsugu KAWASHIMA Professor, Faculty of Education, Shiga University
Remaining Kazuo MATSUSHITA

Professor, Graduate School of Global Environmental Studies, Kyoto University

New

Kunio KOHATA

Chief, Water and Soil Environmental Division, National Institute for Environmental Studies

New

Izumi SHIBATA

Professor, Department of Ecosystem Studies, School of Environmental Studies, University of Shiga Prefecture

New

Hitomi TSUJI

Director, Akanoi-Biwako Environmental Citizens’ InitiativeNew

Mitinari NAKAMURA

Director, Lake Biwa and Environmental Policy Office, Shiga Prefecture

Koichi TAKADA

President of Shiga Bank

Ryousuke YAMAMOTO

Director General, Treasury Bureau, Shiga Prefecture

Auditors
Remaining
New

Councilors
Remaining Kagechika MATANOFormer Ambassador to the Kingdom of Sweden

Remaining Eitaro WADA

Program Director of Ecosystem Change Research Program, Frontier Research Center for Global Change

Remaining Motoyuki SUZUKI

Professor, University of the Air

Remaining Kenji MORI

Vice-Chairman, The Shiga Economic and Industrial Association

Remaining Kiyoshi YAMADA

Professor, Department of Environmental Systems Engineering, College of Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University

Remaining Kotaro TAKEMURA

President of the Board of Directors, Foundation for Riverfront Improvement and Restoration

Remaining Masako HORIKOSHI

Professor, Faculty of Education, Shiga University

Remaining Reiko NAKAMURA

Secretary General, Ramsar Center Japan

Remaining Hiroshi TSUNO

Professor, Urban and Environment Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University

Remaining Fumihiko JIKUProfessor, Department of Environmental Solution Technology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Ryukoku University

Remaining Per BAKKEN

Director, United Nations Environment Programme, International Environmental Technology Centre

Remaining Kiyoshi ITO

Director General, Department of Lake Biwa and the Environment, Shiga PrefectureNew

Masao NII

Director, National Institute for Environmental Studies

Advisers

2

Remaining Ziro KONDOU

Professor Emeritus at Tokyo University

Remaining Kei YAMAZAKI

Former Director General of ILEC

Remaining Tatsuo KIRA

Former Vice-Director General of ILEC

Remaining Mitio HASHIMOTO

Former Vice-Director General of ILEC

Promoting Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM)
promote “good governance” andT osustainable
use of lakes and their basinspriority environmental initiative, we are

significance and usefulness of the ILBM

promoting collaboration with the nationalframework. We also plan to create a handbook

around the world, ILEC has vigorously

government and international aid agencies.

that explains ILBM, including background of theconcept and related matters, in an easy-to-

advocated “Integrated Lake Basin Management(ILBM).” To propagate and promote the ILBM

Establishment of the ILBM Promotion

understand manner. We are now seeking theframework throughout the world and apply it inCouncil

support of the Ministry of the Environment.

actual lake basin management, the ILEC has
been pursuing the following activities.

To discuss and develop measures andstrategies to make ILBM the pillar of Japan’s

Ex-post evaluation of a yen-loan-international environmental cooperation, thefinanced project<Propagating and promoting ILBM>

ILBM Promotion Council was established in

We and the Japan Bank for International

After introducing ILBM at the 11th World Lake

June 2006, with Mr. Kazuhiko Takemoto

Cooperation (JBIC) have agreed to conduct ex-

Conference held in Nairobi, Kenya, we have

(Director General of the Environmental

post evaluation of the Bhopal Lake Conservation

taken every opportunity to promote the ILBMManagement Bureau, Ministry of theand Management Project (a yen-loan-financed

framework, including at the 4th World Water

Environment) as chairman. Members of the

project undertaken by the JBIC), from theForum (Mexico City, March 2006) and World

committee include representatives from theperspective of ILBM. In November 2006, a field

Water Week (Stockholm, August 2006).

Ministry of the Environment, Japan International

investigation was launched, led by Prof.

At the 4th World Water Forum, the Japanese

Cooperation Agency, and Japan Bank for

Masahisa Nakamura, a member the Scientificgovernment announced its new ODA policy

International Cooperation. Vigorous discussions

Committee (Director of ILEC; Professor at Shiga

initiative on water and sanitation, “Water andare under way and it is expected that certain

University). This is the first opportunity to apply

Sanitation Broad Partnership Initiative

conclusions will be drawn by the end of fiscal

the ILBM framework to an actual lake. We(WASABI),” in which ILBM was introduced as an2006.

expect that evaluation activities will produce
useful results, contributing to the 12th World

example of Japanese initiatives. This represents
a major advance in our efforts to promote ILBM.

Creation of a summary pamphlet of

Lake Conference to be held in 2007 in India.

the ILBM report and a handbook<Promoting collaboration with theJapanese government and others>

enables policy makers in various countries to

To ensure that ILBM is positioned as a high-gain a quick understanding of the principles,

We plan to develop a summary pamphlet that

World Lake Vision Action Report preparation under way
Lake Vision Action Report is toWorld
support the implementation of theConference held in Narobi, Kenya in October-committee members and our partner

November in 2005.

organizations, including “Living Lakes”. So far
we have received 28 reports from 19 countries,

sustainable lake management by disseminatingeach of which is full of useful experiences andfollow up the World lake Vision presented insetting up the World lake Vision Action
A fterReport Committee in March 2006 at the

March 2003 at the WWF3 in Japan. The projectWWF4 in Mexico, ILEC called for the case study

reviewed by ILEC Secretariat and Prof. Walter

was endorsed at the 11th World Lake

report from around the world with the help ofRast, Chairman of the Report Committee. ILEC

around-the-world lake management cases toinformation. Currently all the reports are being

held a Working Group Meeting from 30th
November - 2nd December, 2006 by inviting
Committee Members representing five regions(Asia/Pacific, Africa, Europe, North America,
Latin/South America) to wrap up these casestudy reports, drawing lessons based on themand coming up with recommendations to further
promote the World Lake Vision and its Seven
Principles for the sustainable lake management.
The Report will be printed by the end of
February, 2007 and distributed at the 12th World
Lake Conference to be held in India in OctoberWorking Group Meeting in ILEC

November, 2007.
3

General Meeting of the ILEC Scientific Committee in Stockholm
The ILEC Scientific Committee (SciCom)were restructuring the SciCom and Bureau

next term was decided. The new SciCom

General Meeting was held on 20th and 25th

members, and rethinking how to streamline thestructure will be presented in the next issue ofAugust 2006 on the occasion of World Water

editorial board’s editing process of Journal

this newsletter.

Week in Stockholm. The main agenda items“Lakes & Reservoirs : Research andManagement”.

members of editorial board are all current andRegarding the restructuring

ex-ILEC SciCom members. The General

the SciCom, the ILEC

Meeting dealt with the issue of editing processsecretariat

been

and problems with it. The SciCom members whocollecting members’ plan

attended the general meeting discussed thewhether or not to stay as acurrent status of editorial board and possible

SciCom member and theircorrective strategies. In order to raise the levelrecommendations for newof importance and influence of the Journal inmembers since January

academic society, ILEC wants to overcome

2006. As a result of it andthese issues and will have more close talks andthe General Meeting in

negotiation with SciCom and the publisher.

had

As for the Journal and its editorial board, theStockholm, the candidates
SciCom General Meeting (Stockholm)for SciCom members for the

ILEC Side Event at World Water Week in Stockholm- Toward the 12th World Lake Conferences On 24th August 2006 during World Water

World Lake Conference

Week in Stockholm (21st - 26th August),

and the way forward

ILEC held a side event meeting titled “Nextwere reported by the

Steps in World Lake Conferences and

ILEC Secretariat. And

Integrated Lake Basin Management”. The

there were presentations

side event was conducted under the following

by the ILEC Scientificobjectives: to know the current status andCommittee (SciCom)situation of lake basin managements, tomembers - “World Lake

discuss and collect opinions on how the

Vision (WLV) and Lakeobstacles can be overcome and how theBasingoals can be achieved by utilizing outcomes

Initiative (LBMI): What isand lessons learnt from our past activities,

Next?” by Prof. Walter

and to have mutual recognition that the 12th

Rast and “The Improving

World Lake Conference to be held in Jaipur,

Ecological Situation inIndia will be a vital opportunity for discussion

the Northern Aral Sea” by Prof. Nick Aladin.

for the 12th World Lake Conference in Jaipur,

on the points given above among theDr. Thomas Ballatore, ILEC Researcher,

India. Before closing, there was an

stakeholder of lake basin management atreported on mapping lake basins as a follow-

announcement on International Conference

global level.

Management

ILEC Side Event （Stockholm）

up of GEF-LBMI and utilizing GIS

on Toxic Cyanobacteria to be held in Brazil inFirstly, there was opening remark by Mr.

(Geographical Information System); and Ms.

August 2007 by Prof. Sandra Azevedo, who

Hironori Hamanaka, Director General of

Santos-Borja from LLDA (Lake Lagunais also a SciCom member elect.

ILEC, followed by a message from Mr. Raja,

Development Authority), another SciCom

The side event produced a variety of ideas

Minister of Environment and Forests,

member elect, has been working talked about

and suggestions on tangible steps and way

Government of India, which declares to hosttheir project applying carbon trading in theforward. The ILEC secretariat will try to makethe 12th World Lake Conference in Jaipur,

connection of CDN (Clean Development

the most of these proposed ideas andIndia, in 2007. Dr. Mohan Kodarkar, who is

Mechanism). During the discussion after thesuggestions for preparation of thethe ILEC Scientific Committee member electsequence of presentations, there were a

Conference in India.

for the next term, read the message on his

number of questions and suggestions on

befalf. Following this, outcomes from the 11th

these presentations and session structures

Regarding the information of the 12th World Lake Conferences, please refer to the Conference Website at (http://www.taal2007.org/).

4

The Environment Education Class for Children
The Environment Education Class fortheir natural functions

Children, which is held during the summer

because they are notvacation, is funded by the Heiwado

cared for well now.

Foundation, Hikone-City, Shiga Prefecture. It

Additionally,

they

started 4 years ago, and this fiscal year’s

experienced logging

class was held for 3 days from August 7th tooperation and made

9th.

the

“Key

Ring

The participant must be in the 4th to 6th

Hooks”, woodworks

grade of an elementary school in Shiga

using the trees that

Prefecture. There were a total of 23

they cut.

participants of 12 students from Kusatsu-City,

On the second day,10 students from Otsu-City and 1 student

in cooperation withfrom Higashioumi-City this year.

Akanoi-Biwako

Same as last year, the program for the 3

Observation in Meta River

Environmental

days was made for the purpose of building

Citizens’ Initiative, they observed the nature

the fishes in the net, and learned from local

the ability to think of the environment. The

of Meta River flowing through the residential

fishermen about the original fishes in Lakeprogram mainly focused on the Lake Biwa

area of Moriyama-City. They knew many

Biwa and foreign fishes. After that they ate

Basin through the experience of field study increatures are living in the river, and learned

deep-fried Black Bass. In the afternoon, with

upstream and midstream of Lake Biwa.

the importance of environmental conservation

Professor Kawashima of Shiga University,of river, which is in the city.

they did experiments for detection of

On the first day, in cooperation with Koka
Shiga Prefectural Branch Office, the students

In the morning of the final day, they

phosphorus using everyday materials. Then,

went to “Takama Waterfront Park” andobserved “Eri”, “Eri” is a major traditional

they studied world lakes and problems ofstudied about the forest, which has an

fishing method in Lake Biwa, for catching

Lake Biwa. Finally they heard the elementary

important role of cultivating water resources.

foreign fishes that was setting in theschool students’s activity report of “Oba-On this occasion, they were taught about the“Tsudae”, an attached lake of Lake Biwa

Qgoro”, an environment conservation groupproblem that many forests can not perform

located near ILEC. The students observedin Kusatsu-City.

JICA - Environment Education Course
ILEC implemented JICA-Environment

one each from Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire,

Environment Education Course provides

Education Course commissioned by the

Egypt, Iran, Malaysia, Tunisia, Venezuela,

participants with know-how on Environment

Japan International Cooperation Agency

and two from China.

Education focusing on fresh water

We need to solve the serious environmental

environment through lectures, field visits, andproblems on the developing countries in thepractice. At the end of the course, each

The period of this fiscal years course waslong term such as forest destruction, watertrainee makes an action plan to implement infrom 4th September to 19th October, 2006.

pollution and waste treatment as well as thehis or her own country.

Nine trainees from 8 countries participated,

global environmental problems. To that end,On the course, various lecturers are invited

Environment Education

mainly from the Faculty of Education of Shigafor children, who are theUniversity, the Faculty of Economics of Shiga

next generation, is very

University, the Faculty of Environmental

important.

the

Science of The University of Shiga Prefecture

persons engaged inand so forth. The participants take part ineducating the leaders ofmany practical activities that they canEnvironment Education

experience by themselves which helps themare quite limited both into think about Environment Education, forquality and quantity.

example visiting Lake Biwa Museum,

Therefore, it is very

fieldwork in to Tokyo, visiting to elementary

important to support theschool and junior high school attached totraining

Shiga University.

(JICA) from 2000 to 2006. The course had
been conducted 7 times.

But

of

these

leaders.
Workshop by Assoc.Prof. Ichikawa, Shiga University

Based on this, JICA 5Mapping Lake Basins
Thomas Ballatore (Researcher, ILEC)
Most of you are probably familiar with the recently-completed Lake Basin Management Initiative (LBMI) project.
This article is the story about how we made maps here at ILEC for that project as well as some of our follow-up
activities.

Where are the basin maps???

expected. At first, we asked the authors

we were able to produce uniform,

to try again, but we learned that many ofacceptable basin maps for the 28 projectlakes in time.

Lakes are intimately connected withthem had indeed wanted to include atheir drainage basins: that’s no surprise.

basin map but just didn’t have one. We

They are not going to win any

It has been long-known to limnologists

searched the literature and the internet,

cartographic prizes, but they served theirand it is now becoming more-and-more

and although we were often able to findpurpose, which was to show not only

accepted among water resource

useful pieces to the puzzle, consistency

lakes but their basins, major rivers,

managers. The importance of the basin

among maps, as well as copyrights andcities, and international and domestic

permeated most of the discussions inreliability, were constraints.

jurisdictions in a consistent fashion.

the LBMI project, and rightly so.

We then contacted organizations that

Therefore, it was a surprise to me---had experience making maps and asked

and a problem for ILEC in general---thatthem to prepare a sample map (for Lakeless than half of the early drafts of the 28

Biwa). It was at this point I realized that

While the whole point of our mapping

LBMI lake briefs contained useable

sophisticated software, databases andexercise was to obviously make maps,

basin maps (the final briefs with maps

techniques simply cannot match detailed

the greatest lessons came through the

can be found at http://www.ilec.or.jp/eg/

knowledge and familiarity with a given

process---not only the process of

lbmi/index.htm). Some of the briefs,

lake basin. Each lake basin has its

creating something (which was bothlike the Lake Champlain one, included

exceptions; automated mapping without

scary and invigorating), but the process

professional quality basin maps; others

local input just doesn’t work.

of getting to know each lake and its

had simpler, more schematic-type maps,
which were also okay because they
allowed the reader to visualize what was

Process versus productbasin intimately.

If you want it done right...
...then do it in-house!

being talked about in the brief.

To me, lakes are like people: each
one is different. Some are big, others
small; some beautiful, others not; someBut unfortunately, many of the draft

It was desperation that spurred us on.

deep, many shallow! Getting to know abriefs had no maps whatsoever, or even

The project deadline was approaching;lake is like meeting a new friend. And toworse (in my view), just a map of the

we still needed maps. Half-jokingly, I

make a lake basin map, well, that’s likelake---out there, floating, lost in space,suggested to Tanigawa-san (graphic

making a portrait of a friend. Observing,an entity divorced from its basin, devoid

designer at ILEC) that we try our own

inspecting, chatting while you draw. Youof context. That is not the story that we

hand at cartography. We had some oldfind out things you never knew. It’s awanted to tell. We needed to find a

topographic maps used by pilots (ONC

process that draws one closer to theremedy.

and TPC charts) available and one day I

object, and it is the most rewarding

just taped one (for Lake Dianchi basin)

experience I personally had from theonto the window, added some blank

LBMI project.

The search begins

sheets of paper, and started tracing
Perhaps I was naïve, but I expectedridge lines. Manipulation in Adobe

that for any lake in the world---especially

Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as

for the large type of lakes in our

addition of information on rivers, cities,

survey---that a basin map existed. All we

etc. from other sources, followed.

had to do was find it.
This proved much harder than
6

Learning to love GIS
Lake basin mapping ended up
becoming so fun and so intellectually

We went through a ridiculous number

stimulating that it has been pretty muchof drafts in the beginning but, in the end,

the only thing I have been doing sincethe end of the LBMI project. The

The real value of a lake basin map

rather enabled it. I have seen a lot of

relatively relaxed post-project period has

becomes apparent when you start topeople who get stuck making things

been a good time to learn how to use

overlay information, like population,

because they can, not because theygeographic information system (GIS)

precipitation, languages, and so on.

need to.

software like ArcGIS.

Without a precise way of controlling and

Because it is such a standard method,

manipulating this spatial information, we

most people were surprised that we didwould not be able to say anything with

not use GIS when making the LBMI

precision. The same thing applies to

An important thing for each and every

maps. We chose “primitive” methods likestandard cartographic issues likelake basin map is to have input fromtracing by hand and Adobe Illustrator for

projections and scales. Without a formal

local experts. For our test maps, this is

two simple reasons: the learning curve

system like GIS, we cannot manage

exactly what we have been doing. We

for GIS (at least for ArcGIS) was toothese.

will continue and expand this process.

A request

been

If you’d like to see some examples ofour purposes at the time. We werechallenging. The software is frankly

the sort of maps we are now producing,designing maps that were to be looked

maddening. It’s like a wild horse. At first,

please visit http://www.ilec.or.jp/maps.htm

at. The information they gave wasyou have no idea how to even get on.

Also, let us know if you would us likesufficient.

steep and also we didn’t really need it for

Learning

ArcGIS

has

Once on, you are thrown off: again andto work on a map for a basin that

But what we need now are maps thatagain, until you finally get comfortableinterests you. We’d be happy to produce

are tools for analysis: maps that are notand start to see its potential. It can trot, ita draft and then work with you onjust looked at, but maps that are

can run. One day, you learn how todetails.

explored and analyzed. My overall goal,

make it jump; the next, you find out it

map@ilec.or.jp I’m always interested inbesides producing more and morecan even swim...

making new friends, both human andaccurate and visually-pleasing basin

But to our advantage, we have known

maps, is to add analytical rigor to thewhat we want, and in that sense, thepolicy issues ILEC is addressing.

software has not driven the process,

You

can

reach

us

at

lentic!

Integrated Management of Amur/Heilong River Basin ProjectILEC is participating in the Integrated Management ofactivities to propose the full scale project. The 1st Steering

Amur/Heilong River Basin Project, a GEF project being

Committee was organized in Beijing on 8th - 9th May, 2006

implemented by UNEP Beijing office. The project, currently

to kick-off the project. ILEC will join as an adviser to theat its PDF-B stage, aims to produce the two reports (i)project, more specifically, based on our accumulated

Transboundary Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) for theknowledge and experience, to contribute to the preparation

Amur/Heilong Basin and its associated costal areas, and (ii)of the SAP report on Lake Xingkai/Khanka, which is one ofStrategic Action Programme (SAP) for the Lake

28 lakes studied in a GEF-medium size Project “Lake Basin

Xingkai/Khanka Basin and preparation of pilot bi-national

Management Initiative” executed by ILEC.

Participants of the 1st Steering Committee (Beijing)7Building a World Lake Database and Knowledge BaseThe ILEC is working on building a World Lake Database* Features of the World Lake Database and Knowledge BaseÇFor example, when you want to know about the system

and Knowledge Base.
It has been pointed out that the use value of the presentof lake environment conservation

World Lake Database has decreased due to two problems:

If you search on the keyword ‘system’, you will get athat the data contained in the present database are old, andlist of descriptions about ‘system’ that appear inthat geographical and physicochemical data on lakes exist

documents and papers. You will also get information on

unrelated to other information. To solve these problems, weconservation systems (legal, economic, customary, etc.)

are building a new information system that interconnects

for each lake. By checking the environmental data of thewith a “Knowledge Base” and that is in line with thelake such as water quality, you can assess, to someframework of Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM).

extent, the effects of each system.

Since two fiscal years ago, we have been working inThis system features a function to provide a wide range ofcooperation with the Research Institute for Humanity andinformation regarding lake basin management, from various

Nature. We have finished developing a search engine andperspectives. Being able to provide information from various

this fiscal year we are developing a data search system.

perspectives means that the same information can be“translated” into terms in various different fields. It istherefore expected that this system facilitates discussion
among people in different fields or with different interests
regarding lake basin management.

ILEC Received Lake Chapala AwardILEC received the Lake Chapala Award, which is given to

November, 2006 with Corazon de la Tierra, a local NGO

individuals or organizations which has contributed to thewhich has been implementing the Sustainable Development

preservation of Lake Chapala, the largest lake in Mexico.

Program of Condiro-Canales Mountain for the conservation

The awarding ceremony took place on 21st March, 2006 at

of Lake Chapala and its rich biodiversity.

Auditorio de la Ribera del Lago Chapala. On behalf of ILEC,
Prof. Matsui, a Board
Memberand

ILEC

ScientificCommittee

Member, received theaward plaque from theLakesideAwardsCommittee.
As part of collaboration,
ILEC co-organized anexperts meeting and apublic forum for the
restoration

of

Lake

Chapala from 1st - 4thAward PlaqueProf. Matsui with Local People after the Ceremony

INTERNATIONAL LAKE ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE--Secretariat--

81091 Oroshimo-cho, Kusatsu-city, Shiga 520-0001, JAPANTEL +81-77-568-4567, FAX +81-77-568-4568, E-mail: info@ilec.or.jp

This brochure is printed on recycled paper.