Following Up On The 10th WWF, Basuki Learns Sustainable Lake Conservation In Japan

JAKARTA - Minister of Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Basuki Hadimuljono made a return visit to Shiga Prefecture, at the invitation of the Governor of Shiga Taizo Mikazuki who was delivered during the 10th World Water Forum in May 2024 in Bali.

This visit aims to strengthen cooperation between Indonesia and Japan in the management of water resources and learn the water conservation and management technology that has been implemented in Lake Biwa.

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

He added that lakes are a unique ecosystem that is diverse, rich and has high value in ecology and socio-economics. Climate change and human activity increasingly threaten lakes that store 87 percent of liquid surface freshwater on Earth.

However, the current condition of lakes around the world is in danger. Therefore, concrete action is needed in protecting and restoring lakes globally.

"The declaration of the Minister at the 10th World Water Forum calls for the formation of World Lake Day by the UN General Assembly. World Lake Day will serve as a reminder to continue promoting the sustainable lake management agenda at the local, national, regional and international levels," Basuki said in a written statement, quoted Monday, September 30.

As for Indonesia, lake management is regulated in Presidential Regulation (Perpres) Number 60 of 2021 concerning National Priority Lake Rescue. Through this regulation, the relevant ministries work together to save lakes in accordance with their respective roles and authorities, such as river normalization and revitalization as well as the construction of sedimentary control structures.

"Following this, we issued PUPR Regulation Number 28 of 2015 to determine the border lines of rivers and lakes to protect the function of lakes and rivers from disturbances in activities around them. The border lines have been determined at 8 out of 15 priority lakes, while others are still in process," he said.

In Japan, Lake Biwa or known as Lake Ibu is the main source of water in Japan that provides fisheries and drinking water for 14 million people. However, this lake is experiencing major challenges due to pollution and decreased resources due to urbanization.

To answer this challenge, the Governor of Shiga launched the Mother Lake Goals (MLG) in 2021 and the Eutrophic Prevention Regulation and managed river loads that have proven effective in reducing pollution since the 1970s.

"Seeing the success of Shiga Prefecture in managing Biwa Lake, I hope, we can share knowledge and experiences about how to manage lakes and implement them in Indonesia," he concluded.