From 6 to 8 December 2022, the 16th International Living Lakes Conference took place in Puno (Peru). The networking meeting on Lago Titicaca with 170 participants from 30 countries was organised by the international Living Lakes network, which was launched in 1998 by the Global Nature Fund (GNF) based in Radolfzell.

Almost 25 years after the network was founded, the Global Nature Fund recently hosted the 16th international conference, a platform for exchanging knowledge and experience, bringing together high-ranking representatives from the business sector, authorities, the media and NGOs. The conference also marked the launch of a new strategic project that involves ten countries on three continents. The aim of the project, which is being supported by the German government and implemented under the International Climate Initiative (IKI), is to contribute over the long term to the protection and restoration of lakes and wetlands, promote biodiversity conservation and help secure vital ecosystem services for communities living on lakes.

Having been sponsors of different GNF funding projects for many years now, the Wilo-Foundation and Wilo were also invited to the conference. Facundo Rojo (Wilo Argentina, Head of Business Development Latin America), who took part in the conference on behalf of the Wilo Group, presented solutions for the water industry in his presentation, especially technical system solutions for irrigation. Moreover, he talked about the company’s social engagement, in particular about the water-related projects of the Wilo-Foundation, including two water projects in Colombia which were successfully implemented in recent years in collaboration with the “Fundación Humedales”, a Colombian NGO that was also present at the conference.

Background:

The key objective of the Living Lakes Network, an environmental initiative that works on all continents, is the conservation and protection of the earth’s drinking water reservoirs. The network currently has 113 members. The Wilo-Foundation has been supporting the activities of the German section of the Living Lakes Network since 2020. The Global Nature Fund primarily coordinates the collaboration between environmental and nature conservation organisations on the partner lakes. In 2020, the German Eight, which has its training base at the Dortmund Rowing Centre, was appointed ambassador of the Living Lakes Network for a minimum period of four years.