The World Lakes Website is a  clearinghouse for information about protecting and restoring the health of lakes around the world.

The World Lakes website was developed by the members and staff of LakeNet, a world lakes network which was active from 1998-2008.  It now serves as an archive for the network's activities and continues to be maintained on a private basis.

LakeNet
LakeNet, a global network of people and organizations in more than 100 countries dedicated to the conservation and sustainable development of lake ecosystems, was supported by the LakeNet Secretariat (formerly Monitor International), a U.S.-based nonprofit organization governed by a 15-member Board of Trustees and by a team of professional staff.  The network was also supported by grants and contributions from individuals, private foundations, government agencies and international organizations.  LakeNet was guided by an international steering committee with regional representatives in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas.

In 2008, with the emergence of other internet and social networking technologies, the LakeNet Trustees decided to close down the e-Forum and to dissolve the nonprofit organization.  They transferred the management of the World Lakes website to the network's co-founders who maintain it on a private basis.

Mission
TThe mission of LakeNet, the organization which created this website, was to bring together people and solutions to protect and restore the health of the world's lakes.  For a decade, the nonprofit organization provided information services and conducted exchanges, assistance programs and policy work aimed at improving the stewardship of lake ecosystems by educating and inspiring people, cultivating leadership, and strengthening lake organizations.