The knowledge gap.





Despite their importance, lakes remain among the least monitored water bodies on Earth. Unlike rivers, which often have established gauging stations, lakes are poorly studied, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

UNEP is working to change this. Through tools and initiatives such as the Freshwater Ecosystems Explorer, the UNEP lakes portal, the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration and integrated water resources management frameworks, efforts are underway to close data gaps and improve policies, plans and approaches. But we need to scale up, and scale up fast.

UNEP launched a landmark, transboundary initiative in the Lake Tanganyika Basin that works across Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia to protect biodiversity, restore critical wetlands and degraded landscapes, support sustainable fisheries management and enhance water security. It will rehabilitate 1,700 hectares of ecosystems and foster catchment-wide governance through community engagement and basin-level monitoring, all underpinned by the commitment of UNEP to integrated water resource management.

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