Sustainable Lake Management Topic Page

SLM

Natural and artificial lakes store nearly 90% of all liquid surface fresh water on the planet and are vital to economies, societies and ecosystems worldwide. Yet, these ecosystems face increasing pressure from biodiversity loss, pollution and rising temperatures. Recognizing these threats, in March 2022, the United Nations Environment Assembly adopted a landmark resolution on Sustainable Lake Management (SLM). It calls on countries to protect, conserve, restore, and sustainably use lakes and reservoirs, while integrating them into national and regional development plans.

In this topic page you will find access to readings and contents on Sustainable Lake Management. For an in-depth learning, we invite you to take our self-paced course. The course has been designed for lake or water practitioners at the middle management level who are responsible for the daily operations or management of lake or reservoir water resources.

Learn more about the online course here.
UN Resolution on Sustainable Lake Management
Key readings
  • Embedding Lakes into the Global Sustainability Agenda: Link to the document
  • FAO, SER & IUCN CEM (2023) “Standards of practice to guide ecosystem restoration. A contribution to the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration”. Summary report. Rome, FAO: Link to the document
  • Effective Institutions: Responding to Change” report from ILEC (2023) Integrated Lake Basin Management Training Materials: Link to the document
  • Identifying Effective Policies” report from ILEC (2023) Integrated Lake Basin Management Training Materials: Link to the document
  • Financing a Water Secure World” by OECD (2022). Pages 14-20: Link to the document
  • Planning for Sustainable Lake Basin Management. report from ILEC (2023) Integrated Lake Basin Management Training Materials: Link to the document
What you need to know about the global resolution on sustainable lake management?
Lisbet Rhiannon Hansen   
Lisbet

Lisbet Rhiannon Hansen has ten years of experience working with climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and integrated water resources management in international settings. As a Programme Advisor for the UNEP-DHI Centre for Water and Environment she has worked with NGOs, governments, and international organizations – from the local to the global level – on sustainable development initiatives with a focus on water management. Since 2015, Lisbet has worked with countries to develop integrated water resources management plans for transboundary lakes and river basins in sub-Saharan Africa. She has an academic background in geography and environmental conflict management, and has been developing online courses for Cap-Net since 2021.  

Participants

Target participants are lake or water practitioners at the middle management level who are responsible for the daily operations or management of lake or reservoir water resources. 

 

Participants are expected to have previous basic knowledge of pressures impacting lake systems (e.g. nutrient pollution from agriculture, overfishing, excessive water extraction, drying up lakes, etc.) and the impacts of climate change on them. Gender balance is very important for all course partners; we especially encourage women to participate in this course. 

Contents and approach

Contents are structured in modules. In each module participants will find readings, videos, suggested web sites, forum discussions and quizzes.

The course consists of five modules, each comprising an introductory video, mandatory and recommended readings, recommended web sites and videos, and a discussion forum. In the forum, questions will be provided to facilitate knowledge sharing. Participants will need to complete a short quiz at the end of each module. The quiz will be based on the introductory video and mandatory readings. Each module should take 3-4 hours to complete.

  • Module 1: Introduction - Introduces the new proposed definition of SLM, why SLM is needed, the international momentum behind it and fundamental principles.
  • Module 2:  Determining the Baseline - Presents standards, key components of a lake recovery plan and a tool for conducting a baseline assessment.
  • Module 3: Guidelines, Tools and Technologies for Monitoring and Evaluation - Highlights standards, steps and tools for conducting effective monitoring and evaluation when a lake recovery plan is implemented. Nature-based solutions will also be highlighted for consideration in this stage.
  • Module 4: Institutions, Stakeholder Engagement and Policies - Attributes of effective institutions and policies in SLM will be showcased, along with tips for stakeholder engagement and strategies for managing transboundary lakes.
  • Module 5: Implementation and Financing- How to implement SLM, along with key considerations when doing so; the variety of financing mechanisms available will be highlighted.
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