Kyoto - Minister of Public Works and Housing (MPWH) Basuki Hadimuljono made a visit to Shiga Prefecture, Japan, at the invitation of the Governor of Shiga, Taizo Mikazuki, who had extended the invitation during the 10th World Water Forum in May 2024 in Bali.

Minister Hadimuljono said that his arrival in Shiga Prefecture was to study the management and conservation of sustainable lakes in Lake Biwa, the largest lake in Japan with a coastline of 270 kilometers (km).

He further explained that lakes are a unique ecosystem that is diverse and rich and has high value for ecology and socio-economics. However the state of lakes around the world is under threat. Climate change and human activities are increasingly threatening lakes, which store 87 percent of the liquid surface freshwater on Earth. Real action is therefore needed to protect an restore lakes worldwide.

"The Ministerial Declaration of the 10th World Water Forum calls for the establishment of a world Lakes Day by the UN General Assembly, World Lakes Day will remind us to continue advancing the agenda for sustainable lake managemeny at local, national, regionalm and international levels," said Minister Hadimuljono, on Monday, September 30.

World Lakes Day is celebrated every year on August 27 and refers to the date of the firts World Lakes Conference at Lake Biwa in 1984.

As for Indonesia, lake management is regulated by Presidental Regulation (Perpres) Number 60 of 2021 on National Priority Lake Rescue. According to this regulation, the relevant ministries cooperate in the rescue of lakes within the scope of their respective duties and authorities, such as in the normalization and revitalization of rivers and the contruction of sediment control structures.

"As a result, we issued the MPWH Regulation Number 28 of 2015 to establish the border lines of rivers and lakes to protect the function of lakes and rivers from disturbances caused by activities in their surroundings. The border lines have been set at 8 out of 15 priority lakes, while others are still in the process," he said.

Lake Biwa, also known as Lake Ibu, is Japan's most important source of water, providing 14 million people with fishing and drinking water. However, this lake is facing major challenges in the form of pollution and a decline in resources due to urbanization. To address this challenge, the Governor of Shiga introduced the Mother Lake Goals (MLG), Eutrophication Prevention Regulations and River Load Management in 2021, which have proven successful in reducing pollution since the 1970s.

"Given Shiga Prefecture's success in managing Lake Biwa. I hope we can share our knowledge and experience in managing the lake and apply it in Indonesia," he concluded.