The ESPON LAKES project organises a European roundtable on Integrated Territorial Development in large lake regions. This is a public event, open to all interested actors at European, national, regional and local levels.

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Large lakes are “pools of resources” for European territories. They can be attractive areas for leisure and tourism, water reserves and fishing grounds. Inland waterway transport on lakes can be a sustainable alternative to prevailing modes of person and freight transport.  Their diverse ecosystems and biodiversity richness deliver a number of ecosystem services.

Water is the common denominator of strategies, policy debates and concrete measures targeting large lake regions. They deal with preserving water quality, regulating water levels, finding the right balance between protection and use of water and water surfaces. These are complex challenges. Addressing them requires dialogues between a wide range of actors from different sectors and geographic levels. ESPON LAKES has explored how the notion of "integrated territorial development”, which is a guiding principle of EU Cohesion Policy, could inform and inspire actors of large lake regions.

This roundtable takes stock of ESPON LAKES findings and opens for discussions on their possible uses in policymaking. The following questions will be addressed:

• What benefits could one derive from integrated development in large lake regions?
• What obstacles need to be overcome to achieve such integrated development?
• What existing EU instruments and tools could be mobilised to strengthen capacities of actors at all levels to support sustainable development in large lake regions?