The paper presents initially some specific features oftropical lakes (high recycling rates, elevated primaryproduction during the whole year, high nutrient assimilation,high settling velocity of nutrients, intense organic matterdecomposition, high grazing rates), which leads to theestablishment of a very dynamic ecosystem. Due to thesecharacteristics the warm water lakes show completely differentreactions to the impacts derived from the phenomenon ofeutrophication in comparison with lentic systems situated intemperated regions. Moreover in shallow lakes occurs an almostpermanent mixing process, which in its turn allows theresuspension of nutrients and a consequent increase in theprimary productivity. The key point at the study of theeutrophication of tropical lakes is the comprehension of thecomplex relationship between nutrient concentration andbiomass formation. The paper presents the result of somestudies carried out by the author in Brazilian lakes andreservoirs, leading to the conjecture that the nutrient massin a water body is often not directly linked with thephytoplankton growth. The strategies for the recovery ofdegraded tropical lakes should hence be directed towards acontrol of the formed biomass and not to a limitation in thenutrient input, as is usually the case in cold waterlakes.