The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

New Web site for LakeNet

Lisa Borre writes:

On behalf of the LakeNet Secretariat, I invite you to preview recent improvements to our website at http://www.worldlakes.org. The new and improved website is the culmination of five years of information collection about lakes and their management which is now part of a searchable, online database. We hope it provides more and better information in an easier to use format and serves as a catalyst for effective work to protect and restore the health of lakes throughout the world.

Highlights of the new website include:

· An improved database of information on over 2,000 lakes with hundreds of more detailed lake profiles which describe physical characteristics and management issues and include links to timely news articles, lake organizations and other relevant resources;

· breaking news stories on lakes and lake issues with a searchable archive of over 1,000 articles;

· links to over 1,500 organizations and resources useful to lake managers and others working to protect and restore lakes;

· a maps section, drawn from a database of more than 250,000 lakes, that begins with global lake maps and will include regional, national and individual lake basin maps; and

· a special section of the website dedicated to the Lake Basin Management Initiative, a global initiative to document and share experiences and lessons learned in lake management.

We would like to draw your attention to drafts of Experience and Lessons Learned Briefs which are currently posted for review and comment at: http://www.worldlakes.org/lakebasinmgt.asp?anchor=experiencebriefs.

Improvements to the website and information management system were made possible with grants from the United States Agency for International Development and the Global Environment Facility and with the cooperation of the International Lake Environment Committee (ILEC) in Japan and Saint Michael's College in Vermont.

The website is still a work in progress and other features will be added in the coming weeks, including a universal search, program updates and online forms to send us information. As always, we welcome your feedback and encourage you to send us information for inclusion on the website or to participate in LakeNet's e-Forum by sending a message to mailto:info@worldlakes.org or by posting a message to the group at: mailto:lakenet@yahoogroups.com.

Best regards,

Lisa Borre
Director
LakeNet Secretariat
300 State Street
Annapolis, MD 21403 USA
Tel: 410-268-5155
Fax: 410-268-8788
Website: www.worldlakes.org

For further information about the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, please contact the Ramsar Convention Bureau, Rue Mauverney 28, CH-1196 Gland, Switzerland (tel +41 22 999 0170, fax +41 22 999 0169, e-mail ramsar@ramsar.org). Posted 1 September 2003, Dwight Peck, Ramsar.