The seven principles detailed in World Lake Vision provide a road map for achieving the transition tomanaging lakes for their sustainable use.

Principle 1:

A harmonious relationship between humans and nature is essential for thesustainable use of lakes.

Principle 2:

A lake drainage basin is the logical starting point for planning and management
actions for sustainable lake use.

Principle 3:

A long-term, preventive approach directed to preventing the causes of lakedegradation is essential.

Principle 4:

Policy development and decision making for lake management should be based on
sound science and the best available information.

Principle 5:

The management of lakes for their sustainable use requires the resolution of conflicts
among competing users of lake resources, taking into account the needs of present
and future generations and of nature.

Principle 6:

Citizens and other stakeholders should be encouraged to participate meaningfully in
identifying and resolving critical lake problems.

Principle 7:

Good governance, based on fairness, transparency and empowerment of all
stakeholders, is essential for sustainable lake use.

The World Lake Vision is above all a call to action.
The key to the sustainable use of our lakes lies in finding a balance between the water needs ofhumanity, and the ability of nature to meet these water needs over the long term. This document identifies
a wide range of actions and strategies to assist lakecommunities, decision-makers and others with astake in lake resources to develop individual lake
visions to guide their sustainable use. Indeed, if weare able to use lakes in a sustainable andresponsible manner, there is much hope we canmeet the needs of the human and naturalcommunities that depend on them for clean
freshwater resources, the key to life.
International Lake Environment Committee Foundation(ILEC)
1091 Oroshimo-cho Kusatsu, Shiga 525-0001, JAPANwww.ilec.or.jp e-mail:info@ilec.or.jp
telephone number: +(81-77) 568-4567
fax number: +(81-77) 568-4568

World Lake Vision Committee

The World Lake Vision: A Call to Action
In the century that lies ahead, humanity faces
the challenge of developing a civilization fit for a
finite planet and one equipped to deal with amounting scarcity of essential resources such as
freshwater. The world′s lakes, which are a
primary source and storehouse of the world′
seasily-accessible freshwater, will be a criticalarena in this great transition to a society whichsustains itself without degrading and depleting
its own natural foundation. Many of these lakes
are already in jeopardy. The World Lake Visionaims to illuminate this growing crisis, toarticulate principles to guide this transition
toward managing lakes for their sustainable use,
and to provide a practical blueprint for insuring
the long-term health of lakes and the integrityof the freshwater required by human societies
for their survival and economic development,
and for maintaining life-supporting ecosystems…………
It is difficult to overstate the urgency of theproblems confronting the world′s lakes, whichhold more than 90 percent of all the liquid
freshwater on our planet′s surface. Many of theworld′s most important lakes are in crisis, beset
by a myriad of problems that affect the quantityand quality of the water they contain, theorganisms they support, and their ability to meet
the water needs of the surrounding humanpopulations. Some suffer from excessive water
withdrawals and diversions, while others havewitnessed deteriorating water quality because ofpolluting human activities on the surrounding

land. In recent decades, problems
originating even beyond the immediate lakebasin --notably acid rain and climatechange-- have added additionalburdens to already stressed lakeecosystems.

Despite clear evidenceof an escalating crisis,
most lakes still lack thekind of well-conceived,
integrated plan needed to manage
them in a way that both insures their health andsupports human water needs over the long term.
Current lake management and conservationefforts typically fail because their approach is too
narrowly-focused and fragmented. The World
Lake Vision responds to the need for practicalguidance by offering a comprehensive framework
for tackling the daunting lake management
challenges that confront us. While this document
may prove helpful to a variety of audiences, itaims first and foremost to assist the efforts ofcitizens around the world who inhabit lake basins.

At the moment the number of severelydegraded lakes is relatively small, but thecatastrophic demise of the Aral Sea insouthcentral Asia, which is literally
disappearing because of thediversion of the rivers that
replenished its waters,
looms as a warning
sign. In the absenceof a holistic, integrated
approach to pollution
prevention and sustainable
use, many lakes and thecommunities that depend upon them may faceequally dire fates in the foreseeable future. This
would represent a loss far beyond their value assources of freshwater, food, and recreation. Lakes
are also places of great beauty and biologicalcomplexity, which have served as cradles ofculture and landscapes of human history.

The World Lake Vision provides a set of guiding
principles for developing and implementing
effective management programs for the world′slakes. These principles augment those alreadyarticulated in the World Water Vision, but focus
specifically on lakes, their unique characteristics
and uses, and the threats they face. It also
describes promising strategies to address thesethreats, which individuals and organizations
working at the local, national, and global level canundertake over the longer term.

The Precautionary Principle must be thedeparture point for such efforts. This politicaldecision-making approach emphasizes thatcommunities and governments should not use thelack of full scientific certainty as a reason to
postpone action to prevent serious and irreversible
environmental damage, to which lakes areespecially vulnerable. The World Lake Visionalso incorporates the Dublin Principles for
managing freshwater resources, emphasizing theimportance of public participation in water
development and management efforts, including
the central role of women in these matters.