Intricacies, challenges and implications: the governance of Tadlac Lake, Baños, Laguna, Philippines

Grounded on the lacuna in literature - the scarcity of scholarly works on lake governance and small lakes in the country, and the notable transformation of Tadlac Lake - from a threatened and poorly regulated lake to a potential model for governance and ecotourism development, this article documents the small lake and examines its governance specifics, challenges and implications. It argues that the governance of Tadlac Lake can be characterised as intricate, watershed-based, hierarchical, participatory and centralised. It also contends that the lake's development - its transformation from an aquaculture-based lake into an ecotourism-oriented lake - illustrates a key lesson for developing small lakes in the country. To close, the article hopes to instigate more governance studies on lakes, particularly small lakes, owing to their number (in the country and globally) and the fact that in the country, many are surrounded by impoverished communities.