The history of the World Lake Conference (WLC) dates back to the Shiga Conference on Conservation and Management of World Lake Environment of 1984, known as LECS’84, which was held on the shore of Lake Biwa, Japan. The aim of the LECS’ 84, which was to contribute to promoting scientific approaches in the world lake basin management, has been inherited to the World Lake Conferences held in various parts of the world including USA, Hungary, China, Italy, Argentina, Denmark, Kenya, India, Indonesia and Japan.

Today, the Conference is globally recognized as a place for multi-sectoral participants (i.e., academia, government, citizens, NGOs and enterprises) to exchange their views and experiences on the sustainable management of lakes and their basins.