About the 18th World Lake Conference

1. Welcome

Dear colleagues,

On behalf of the 18th World Lake Conference (WLC18) Organizing Committee, it is a pleasure to welcome you to the 18th Edition of The World Lake Conference.

The World Lake Conference (WLC) began with the Shiga Conference on Conservation and Management of World Lake Environment in 1984, known as LECS’84, which was held at Lake Biwa, Japan with the objective of contributing and promoting scientific studies on the management of lakes around the world.

The Conference has since become recognized worldwide as a platform for participants from diverse areas to exchange views and experiences on the assessment and management of lakes, their resources, and their basins for sustainable use.

Past conferences have been held in the United States, Hungary, China, Italy, Argentina, Denmark, Kenya, India, Indonesia, and Japan on a biannual basis.

This edition of the conference, entitled “Governance, Resilience and Sustainability of Lakes for a Better Society”, hosted by the University of Guanajuato, Mexico, will be held in a virtual format. It is the first time in 23 years that the World Lake Conference will be convened in Latin America since the WLC7.

The 18th World Lake Conference aims to contribute to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals through the exchange of: information, management experiences, best practices and lessons learned towards knowledge generation. The WLC18 represents an international forum for lake experts, management authorities, scientists, professionals, technologists, practitioners, users, students, and civil society members who are interested in spreading, learning, and implementing pertinent actions directed to the comprehensive management of lakes and their basins for sustainable use.

We are looking forward to a great Conference and the participation of experts from countries around the world and sharing ideas and best practices.

Dr. Sergio Antonio Silva Muñoz
Chair, University of Guanajuato WLC18 Scientific Advisory Board
Provost for Academic Affairs, University of Guanajuato

2. University of Guanajuato

The University of Guanajuato is a comprehensive, multi-campus university with almost 300 years of history. It was ranked as 4th among public (state) universities in Mexico, and 1st for international outlook, according to the Times Higher Education World University Ranking in 2021. UG is a major research institution with 108 graduate and 98 undergraduate programs in Arts, Health Sciences, Economics and Administration Sciences, Natural and Exact Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities, Life Sciences, and Engineering. UG has a total population of 28,448 students in 4 Campuses across Guanajuato State, organized into 13 Divisions and 52 departments. The UG High School System has 15,173 students in 11 venues in the state of Guanajuato.

UG has over 330 laboratories and 566 researchers certified by the National System of Researchers of the Mexican Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT). Research is developed by research groups in an ideal environment for knowledge production, management, and the transfer of technology. UG also organizes every year its Summer Research Program, recognized internationally for its quality, offered to undergraduate and graduate students.

In terms of international collaboration, UG has 399 international agreements with 190 international partners in 32 countries. It offers double degree programs at both undergraduate and graduate levels.

3. Overview of the program and services

November 9th (Day 1)

November 10^th (Day 2)

November 11^th (Day 3)

4. Thematic areas

The Main topics of the conference focus on Research & Advances, Applied Sciences and Management Studies, Management Practices and Experiences Gained are among others:

• The Practice of Managing of Water Resources: Managers and Stakeholders are welcome to share  experience on implementing Integrated Lake Basin Management (ILBM); Citizens’ Activities and Environmental Education; Lakeside History and Culture; Lake Basin Heartware; Sustainable Use of Freshwater Resources; Countermeasures and Technologies for Sustainable Use of Ecosystem Service; Biodiversity and Biological Resources; Monitoring Based on Scientific Knowledge; Institutional Management Systems and Policies; or any other topic assisting in achieving governance and sustainability of lakes and their basins.
• Science and Technology: The following topics are welcome: Numerical simulations of hydrodynamics and pollutant transport and reactions, Wastewater treatment; Technologies to address persistent organic pollutants, Environmental engineering technologies/environmental technologies for surface and groundwater problems, Source water pollution problems;
• Governance: The following topics are welcome: Politics and policies, Legislation and regulations, Lake-related Institutions, Financial sources and administration;
• Social Ambit: The following topics are welcome: Cultural aspects, Literature, Religion, Civil participation, Education possibilities, Human rights, History;
• Environment and Health: The following topics are welcome: Natural resources and biodiversity aspects, Quality of human and natural life, Lake Yuriria, Climate change impacts, Sustainable ecosystem services;
• Economics: The following topics are welcome: Economic impacts of water pollution and/or excessive water withdrawals, Economic impacts of lost lake-related ecosystem services; Sustainable financing challenges and activities; Payment for ecosystem services.

5. Posters hall

The posters submitted and accepted for presentation will be made available to view during the period of the Conference in the virtual poster exhibition room, available from November 9^th 10:00 hrs (GMT-6), on the event’s platform.

6. Integrated Lake Basin Management Workshop

The workshop program will be designed to fulfill three general objectives, during 3-hours sessions each day of the Conference.

1. Introduction to and review of the ILBM concept, representative application cases and their typologies, and key challenges faced and emerging prospects for overcoming them.
2. Review of the state of program development at the local, national, regional, and international levels, the state of cross-fertilization of the lessons learned and experience gained from the past and ongoing efforts, and the state of international collaboration for further program development.
3. Development of an international network of ILBM research, human-resource development, and information resource generation and use, particularly for facilitating the local, national, regional, and international governmental and non-governmental efforts.

7. Special Sessions

Day 1 Tuesday November 9^th

• Citizen Participation in Lake Basin Management, coordinated by Shiga Prefecture

Day 2 Wednesday November 10^th

• Water Solutionaries Create Waves from Great Lakes to Great Lakes
• UNEP-ILEC Special Session on Mainstreaming Lakes and Wetlands in the Global Water Agenda and SDGs
• Panel: Governance in Latin American Lakes (in Spanish)

Day 3 Thursday November 11^th

• Current Status, Suggested Management Interventions and Long-term Collaboration Needs on the African Great Lakes
• Lake Briefs for Obtaining Information and Data for Integrated Management of Lakes and Reservoirs and Their Ecosystem Services in Latin America

8. Organizations involved

Host Organizations

• University of Guanajuato
• International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC) 
• Guanajuato State Government 
• National Water Commission, Mexico (CONAGUA)

Supported by 

• Guanajuato Municipal Potable Water and Sewer System 
• Mexican Network of Basins 
• Institute Corazón de la Tierra

9. Conference Committee

The 18th World Lake Conference Program Committee is comprised of the University of Guanajuato and International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC) Scientific Committee members and Local Organizing Committee members, as follows: 

1. Scientific Committee

This Committee consists of two main boards as follows: 

A. University of Guanajuato Scientific Advisory Board

Chair Person: 

• Sergio Antonio Silva Muñoz 

Members: 

• Gilberto Carreño Aguilera 
• Pabel Antonio Cervantes Avilés 
• Germán Cuevas Rodríguez 
• Arodi Bernal Martínez 
• José Antonio Arciniega Nevárez 
• José de Jesús Mora Rodríguez 
• Luz Adriana Arias Hernández 
• Josefina Ortiz Medel 
• José Luis Nava Montes de Oca 
• Xitlali Virginia Delgado Galván 
• Locksley Fabian Castañeda Ulloa

B. ILEC Scientific Committee

Chair Person: 

• Walter Rast (Chair; USA) 

Members: 

• Alejandro Juárez Aguilar (Mexico) 
• Sandra Azevedo (Brazil) 
• Salif Diop (Senegal) 
• Colin Maxwell Finlayson (Australia) 
• Zhengyu Hu (China) 
• Tiina Nõges (Estonia) 
• Daniel Olago (Kenya) 
• Ajit Kumar Pattnaik (India) 
• Adelina Santos-Borja (Philippines) 
• Yoshihisa Shimizu (Japan) 
• Masatsugu Takamatsu (Japan) 
• Pieter van der Zaag (The Netherlands)

2. Local Organizing Committee

• Elías Rigoberto Ledesma Orozco 
• Verónica Carmona Hernández 
• Marco Roberto Delgado Cortés 
• Daniela Pereda Valdez 
• Erick Manuel Sánchez Robles 
• Karla Marcela Rivera Nieto 
• Rosa María Navarrete Landín 
• Carmen Aragón Jáuregui 
• José Francisco Márquez González 
• Virginie Sophie Pautrat 
• Aideé Carmina Flores Tello 
• Betzabee Romero Moya 
• Ivón Ledesma Páramo

10. Technical requirements to participate

Attendees:

Technical requirements to participate in UG events platform:

• Personal devices (desktop or laptop computers, tablets or cell phones).
• Internet connection
• Speakers
• Windows, macOS, IOS, Android and Linux operating system

Presenters:

Technical requirements to participate in Zoom platform:

• Internet connection
• Speakers and microphone
• Webcam
• Windows, macOS, IOS, Android and Linux operating system
• Zoom Client for personal devices (desktop or laptop computers, tablets or cell phones).

11. Contact Information

The Organizing Committee (University of Guanajuato) of the 18th World Lake Conference can be contacted at:

Lascuráin de Retana #5 Colonia Centro CP 36000
Guanajuato, México
Tel: +52-47373-20006 ext 2707  or 2757
Email: support.wlc@ugto.mx