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WATER EDUCATION AND INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENTSustainable management of lakes in MalaysiaZati Sharip, Senior Research Officer, Research Centre for Water Quality and Environment;Saim Suratman, Director, Research Centre for Geohydrology; and Ahmad Jamalluddin Shaaban, Director General,National Hydraulic Research Institute of Malaysia, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, MalaysiaLakes, natural or man-made, are important water resourcesfor Malaysia. These inland water bodies cover an area ofover 10,000 hectares and contain more than 30 billioncubic metres of water. Most of these water bodies have multiplefunctions including the provision of water supply for domestic,industrial and agricultural needs, hydroelectricity generation,flood mitigation, and recreational and tourism destinations.However, deterioration of water quality in Malaysia’s freshwatersystems including lakes, resulting from rapid development withinthe catchment, is a serious concern.According to a preliminary assessment on the status of eutrophicationof lakes in Malaysia, conducted by the National Hydraulic ResearchInstitute of Malaysia (NAHRIM) in collaboration with the Academyof Sciences Malaysia (ASM) in 2005, about 62 per cent of 90 majorlakes that were studied were in a nutrient-rich or eutrophic state,while the rest were categorised as nutrient-balance or mesotrophic.Some of the eutrophic lakes, such as Lake Aman in Selangor andLake Sembrong in Johor, are threatened by algae bloom incidents,while Lake Chini in Pahang is vulnerable to excessivegrowth of aquatic plants. The excess nutrients werelargely induced by point sources and non-point sourcesoriginating from natural and anthropogenic activitieswithin the lake catchment. Concerted efforts in the formof national cooperation among government agencies,departments and private sectors were crucial to addressingthese serious eutrophication issues, and these effortshave been initiated and fostered since 2007.Sustainable lake managementA two-day colloquium among stakeholders on thetheme of Status and Issues of Lakes and ReservoirsManagement in Malaysia was jointly organized byNAHRIM (under the auspices of the Ministry of NaturalResources and Environment or NRE), ASM, the InterAcademy Panel and the Japan Science and TechnologyAgency at NRE in August 2007. Its aim was to advocategreater understanding on the status and issuesImage: Academy of Sciences MalaysiaTemenggor Lake is one of the biggest man-made lakes in Peninsular Malaysia[ 148 ]