Lake Biwa

See also: Biwa

The lake Biwa , or Biwa-KB (琵琶湖), is largest of the fresh water lakes of the Japan, located at the center of the Préfecture of Shiga, in the North-East of the old imperial capital, Kyōto. Because of its proximity of the old capitals of Nara and Kyōto, the lake is often quoted in the Japanese literature, in particular the poetry and the accounts of battles.

Use

The lake extends on approximately 670 km ². The rivers drain the mountains surrounding the lake, providing drinking water to 15 million people in the area.

Natural history of the lake

The lake Biwa is the third older lake in the world, after the Lac Baïkal and the Lac Tanganyika, with approximately 4 million years. All its history is recalled in the museum of natural history of the lake Biwa, with Ōtsu. This long time during which the lake was never drained allowed the creation of a varied ecosystem. The scientists indexed 1100 alive species in the lake, including 58 endemic species .

The biodiversity of the lake nevertheless suffered for some time with the introduction from carnivorous fish.

Environmental legislation in favor of the protection of the lake

Several environmental laws apply to the lake:

Prevention of the Eutrophication

Set up in 1981 and reinforced on July 1st 1982, which became the day of the Lake Biwa , the characteristics of this treaty are the establishment of prefectoral standards for the use of nitrate and phosphates in domestic agriculture, industry, and water flowing in the lake.

Ramsar legislation

The lake was indicated in 1993 by UNESCO like a wetland to protect and a World Heritage.

Schedule of Shiga for the conservation of the reeds

The colonies of reeds of the lake fix the feature of coast. The role of the reeds is regarded as very important for the purification of water and the conservation of the habitat of the birds and fish. The large ancestral colony of reeds was reduced of half these last years. The ordinance, implemented for the protection of the colonies of reeds, is in activity since 1992.

See too

External bonds

  • Prefecture of Shiga
  • Research institute of the Lake Biwa
  • Wikitravel: Lake Biwa (in English)
  • Lake Biwa (World Wildlife Fund)
  • Webcam of Biwako

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