Towards creating an environmentally sensitive lake basin

Abstract

AbstractThe first International Conference on Conservation and Management of Lakes was held in Otsu, Japan, in 1984. Succeeding conferences were held in the USA, Hungary, China and Italy. Other global environmental activities include the Stockholm UN conference in 1972, the Nairobi Declaration in 1982 and the UN report on our common future in 1987. In 1992, the Earth Summit was held in Brazil and environmental restoration began on a global scale. The Rio declaration stressed that harmony with nature is important. Agenda 21 outlines an action plan for mankind, where not only the role of state and local government is described, but also that of non‐government organisations (NGO), industry, labour, scientists and farmers. In Japan, the Basic Environmental Law was enacted in 1993 in response to the Earth Summit; the Basic Environmental Plan was formulated in 1995. In the plan there are four keywords: circulation, coexistence, participation and international activities. Circulation means to create an economic social society based on circulation. Coexistence means to restore and to maintain an ecosystem, and to ensure coexistence between nature and humankind. Participation means that each entity cooperates and works actively for environmental preservation. International activities means to make the best use of experience, technology and capability in order to promote international cooperation. We are in the midst of a major movement towards global environmental preservation. We have a responsibility to pass on a healthy and beautiful Earth to our children, grandchildren and great‐grandchildren. However, environmental improvement is not an easy task; in particular, the improvement of the lake environment is lagging behind.