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Overview

Toward a Lake Basin Management Initiative: Sharing Experiences and Early Lessons in GEF and Non-GEF Lake Basin Management Projects

Recognizing that the conservation and management of lakes and reservoirs and their basins needs to be strengthened and assisted by sharing and exchanging knowledge, experience and technologies and by disseminating lessons learned and best practices, the International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC) and LakeNet teamed up to document and share lessons learned in lake basin management.

In 2002, the GEF approved a $1.5 million medium-sized project known as “Towards a Lake Basin Management Initiative: Sharing Lessons and Experiences from GEF and Non-GEF Lake Basin Management Projects.” The project was carried out jointly by the International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC), a Japan-based scientific organization established in 1986, and LakeNet, a U.S.-based NGO operating a world lakes network established in 1996 with members in more than 100 countries. The World Bank served as the implementing agency and chaired the project steering committee. Other funders and project partners included the Shiga Prefecture Government (Japan), the U.S. Agency for International Development and the World Bank-Netherlands Water Partnership.

The overall objective of the Lake Basin Management Initiative (LBMI) project was to strengthen the capacity for improved lake and reservoir basin management at the local, basin, national, and global levels. Particular objectives included: (1) documenting management experiences through lake basin case studies, (2) facilitating the sharing of experiences between decision makers and stakeholders, and (3) accelerating learning and implementation of effective lake and reservoir management.

With project funding, ILEC and LakeNet commissioned teams of local and international experts to prepare experience and lessons learned briefs for 28 lake basins. The briefs were presented and peer reviewed in three regional review workshops: Europe, Central Asia and the Americas (hosted by Saint Michael’s College, in Burlington, Vermont in June 2003), Asia (hosted by the Lake Laguna Development Authority in Manila, Philippines in September 2003) and Africa (hosted by the Pan-African START Secretariat in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2003). The workshops brought together 288 participants from 41 countries and were the main opportunity for discussion and debate on the lake briefs. In addition to the briefs, a total of 17 thematic papers were commissioned to focus on cross-cutting or regional/global issues. The project also supported the creation of a web-based clearinghouse of information on lake basin management through enhancements to LakeNet's website, including this special section devoted to the project outputs. A project e-forum was established to facilitate communication and dialogue among project participants, including public review of the final report. The project partners also prepared a final report synthesizing the main lessons learned in lake basin management.

In addition to the GEF grant, USAID awarded a grant for a joint project implemented by Saint Michael's College and LakeNet; a portion of which ($200,000) was used to co-finance a Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded project and the remainder ($300,000) was for the partners to enhance information technology capacity and to provide additional technical assistance.

Details about these program elements can be found on the web pages linked to this special section of LakeNet's website.

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Updates

1/25/2006 - Final Report Available on Managing Lake Basins for Sustainable Use
The final report of the Lake Basin Management Initiative was released at the World Lakes Conference in Nairobi in November 2005 and is now available for download (see document links in the Lake Basin Mgt section of the LakeNet website).

5/24/2005 - Lake Basin Management Initiative Project Steering Committee to meet in Shiga, Japan, 2-3 June 2005
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) Project Steering Committee is meeting to review and approve final report documents. The current version of the documents include changes following public comments on the 16 August 2004 version of the Draft Final Report.

10/1/2004 - Public Comments Still Sought on Lake Basin Management Initiative Draft Final Report
The partners of the LBMI continue to seek public comments on the 16 August 2004 version of the Draft Final Report.

8/27/2004 - LBMI Draft Final Report Available for Public Review and Comment
The draft final report for the GEF-Medium Sized Project: "Towards a Lake Basin Management Initiative" was released today for public review and comment. The closing date for public comments is 30 September 2004.

4/21/2004 - LBMI Project Steering Committee to Meet in Washington, 22-23 April 2004
The project steering committee is scheduled to review a draft of the final report at its second meeting. Members of the committee include representatives from the Global Environment Facility, World Bank, USAID, Ramsar Bureau, UN Development Programme and UN Environment Programme. Representatives of ILEC and LakeNet will also be present at the meeting.

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Documents

Managing Lake Basins for Sustainable Use - Lake Basin Management Initiative Final Report (PDF)  Project Report. Final. English. 2/27/2006.

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Participating Lakes

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Program Activities

For more information about this program, please click on one of the following links: