Six scientists from Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of Chinese Academy of Sciences, including Prof. HU Zhengyu, member of the International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC), attended the 17th World Lake Conference, October 14 to 19, 2018.  

The 17th World Lake Conference was held at Tsukuba International Congress Center in Lake Kasumigaura, Ibaraki, Japan from October 14 to 19, 2018. Six scientists from Institute of Hydrobiology (IHB) of Chinese Academy of Sciences, including Prof. HU Zhengyu, member of the International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC), attended the congress.    

The theme of the congress was harmonious coexistence of humans and lakes - toward sustainable ecosystem services. The congress consisted of student conference, policy forum, technical sessions, and Lake Kasumigaura session. Japanese imperial highness Prince Akishino, governor of Ibaraki Prefecture, president of ILEC, Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japanese Ministry of the Environment, Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, director of United Nations Environment Proghramme, Governor of Shiga Prefecture gave greetings and congratulatory messages at the opening ceremony of the congress.    

IHB Profs. WANG Qiang, BI Yonghong, Associate Prof. WANG Haijun, and experimentalist MI Wujuan gave oral presentations and posters at the congress.    

The Ibaraki Kasumigaura Declaration 2018 was announced at the congress, declaring that all the governments, social groups, business enterprises and users and providers of water resources shall share the benefits of ecosystem services fairly and equitably and utilize ecosystem services sustainably.    

Hosted by the International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC) in conjunction with organizations in countries around the world, the World Lake Conference dates back to the Shiga Conference on Conservation and Management of World Lake Environment in 1984. Since then, the conference has served as a forum for researchers, government of-cials, NGOs, citizens and others to gather in one place to discuss and exchange views on the diverse environmental issues affecting the world’ s lakes and lake basins, as well as their initiatives for addressing these issues. The 18^th World Lake Conference will be held in Mexico in 2020.