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ater

ducation

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nstitutional

evelopment

In preparation for ILBM implementation, the development of a lake

brief began in 2009, comprising data on the basic features and environ-

mental state of the lakes and information onmanagement and governance

challenges. The lake brief was developed based on the template and ques-

tionnaire introduced by the International Lake Environment Committee

(ILEC) in 2008. To ensure the successful development of lake briefs,

NAHRIM conducted meetings where lake managers were identified in

consultation with the stakeholders, and were subsequently guided on

template and lake brief requirements. Suitable avenues for discussion

and presentation in the form of meetings and seminars were held to

enable the lake managers to present their lake brief. A total of 26 lake

briefs – covering 28 lakes across the country – have been prepared to

date by various stakeholders and compiled by NAHRIM. The lake briefs,

which provide an analysis of the state of basin governance for the respec-

tive lake, have become an important component of the ILBM platform

process, which addresses the six pillars of lake basin governance:

• institution

• finance

• policies

• stakeholder participation

• technology

• information.

The lake brief assessment not only provides baseline information

on the health of the water bodies, but also enables lake managers to

improve their management approach by prescribing effective manage-

ment solutions to overcome lake issues and monitor their health.

Stakeholder participation is crucial for the success of a management

approach in any type of water body. Lake communities are an essential

part of many lakes as they inhabit many of these natural or man-made

systems. In natural lakes, native communities have been living in and

around the lakes for a long time and are thus dependent on the lake

for their livelihoods. In man-made lakes, especially in

urban areas, most of the lakes have been developed as

recreational areas where surrounding communities can

spend their leisure time. Understanding the importance

of community participation, stakeholders including NGOs

have been engaged in the colloquium and included in

many of the workshops, and their role has been incor-

porated as one of the national strategies for sustainable

lake management. In some lakes, community stakeholder

committees such as ‘friends of the lake’ (also known as

‘rakan tasik’ in Malay) have been established by NGOs.

These committees should be promoted to assist in the

management of the lakes and their landscape.

Sustainable management action requires sound and

scientifically-based information. In order to enhance

the management of lake data, a central National Lakes

Inventory (NLI) was developed by NAHRIM in 2007

based on inputs and recommendations from workshops.

The inventory comprises summary information and data

for each lake, and assessments based on the preliminary

eutrophication study. The structure of the NLI was adapted

from the World Lakes Database developed by ILEC. An

introduction to this lake inventory, which is known as the

National Lake InformationDatabase (NLID), was presented

to stakeholders – mainly lake managers and researchers

– so they could make contributions to the database. The

lake inventory has been enhanced to become a lake data-

base which applies spatial data in geographical information

system format to support non-spatial data storage. This

enhanced NLID involves cooperation, with data input and

updates performed by various lakemanagers while the data-

base is manned by NAHRIM. The database will eventually

Putrajaya Lake has attracted recreational, sports and tourism activities

Image: Putrajaya Corporation