Rafael D. Guerrero III
Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development
doi.org/10.57043/transnastphl.1999.5757
Abstract
The Philippines is blessed with more than 100 freshwater lakes ranging from a few to a thousand hectares in size. The lakes are either tectonic, kettle or maare in type. These bodies of water are important for fisheries because of their domestic, agricultural, industrial and recreational uses. An assessment of 36 major Philippine lakes indicated that 55.5% are threatened, 41.7% are in good condition and 2.7% are in critical condition. With the exception of Laguna de Bay which is managed by an authority, the management responsibility of the other lakes in the country falls on the local government units. Despite the existence of laws and ordinances for conservation and protection of inland waters, however, there is poor enforcement of such measures due to lack of capability and political will on the part of the implementors. The strengthening of the LGUs in cooperation with the Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management Councils mandated by law and the bolstering of the technical and political capability of LG Us to formulate and implement integrated lake management plans are recommended as the key strategies for the sustainable development of Philippine lakes.