MEANJIN BRISBANE
DECLARATION

Lakes store freshwater, sustain biodiversity, regulate climate, and support economies, cultures, and livelihoods. Their ecosystem services are globally valued at trillions of dollars annually. 

The condition of lakes reflects the health of upstream catchments including surface water and groundwater systems and biota, and in turn influences the flow, water quality and resilience of downstream ecosystems. Lakes and reservoirs must be managed as integral components of broader hydrological, terrestrial, and ecological networks. 

As highly responsive systems, lakes signal ecological stress, climate impacts and catchment health. Robust monitoring using Indigenous knowledge, community science, and emerging technologies is essential. Geographical imbalances of inadequate monitoring in the Global South and many developing nations must be addressed to provide global scale understanding of lake responses to rapid environmental change.

Declining lake health threatens progress toward the SDGs, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the Paris Agreement, and the Sendai Framework. Declining biodiversity in lakes, as part of an interconnected freshwater continuum, outpaces that in marine or terrestrial systems and requires an emergency plan for recovery.

The custodianship, governance, and knowledge of Indigenous peoples must be embedded in law and practice for lake sustainability. Equity, justice, and the rights of nature must form the foundation of lake stewardship. Achieving sustainability of our life-supporting lake systems and equitable standards of living requires integrating lake policies into sustainable development, mediating conflicts that compromise our biosphere, and ensuring the rights of all, including Indigenous and under-represented groups.

Current governance and management systems are not adequate to address the accelerating impacts of population increases and climate change. Integrated, proactive, and inclusive strategies for lake restoration are essential. 

Integrating lakes and their specific indicators into national and global policy frameworks and governance, to monitor progress associated with actions that reduce current threats to water, biodiversity, and climate, and promote disaster risk reduction.

Advancing integrated basin-scale coordination, recognising upstream and downstream water systems, and transboundary interdependencies, and promoting cooperative and integrated lake basin management across sectoral, ecological, and regional boundaries.

Supporting Indigenous and community stewardship, by forming genuine partnerships through legal recognition, inclusive co-management, dedicated funding, and respect for knowledge systems, to ensure lake management aligns with Indigenous goals and balances sustainable use and long-term protection.

Strengthening monitoring and research by incorporating traditional knowledge, citizen science, and emerging data technologies, and addressing the under-representation of developing countries in global assessments. Detecting change and understanding trends in lake health need to be embedded in scientific knowledge and principles.

Promoting innovation and technology transfer to support lake sustainability, including nature-based solutions for catchment restoration and pollution control methods that restore water quality and strengthen climate resilience, ensuring equitable access to innovations and solutions for communities managing and depending on lake systems.

Investing in sustainable lake financing, through green bonds, payment for ecosystem services, nature repair markets, and climate finance, tailored to lake-specific challenges, to enable long-term restoration and equitable management that reflects the true value of lakes to humanity and nature. 

Educating and engaging emerging generations, communities, and civil society, to build a culture of intergenerational stewardship in lakes as shared natural and cultural assets, recognising the urgent need to reconnect people, including youth, with lakes as vital spaces for learning and collective well-being.

Governments to enact science-based national lake strategies, restoration targets, and integrated lake basin management policies, including their diligent enforcement. 

United Nations to plan for the adoption of lakes within the post-SDG global assessment framework.

Multilateral organisations to prioritise lakes in environmental agreements and funding mechanisms. 

The scientific community to co-develop tools, improve understanding of emerging threats, and support evidence-based policy and research goals. 

The private sector to disclose environmental impacts on lakes and adopt nature-positive practices across supply chains to facilitate their sustainable use. 

Citizens and civil society to reconnect with lakes and advocate for their protection.