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Foreword Inle Lake is one of the priority conservation areas in Myanmar due to its unique ecology, historical, religious, cultural, traditional background and natural beauty. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Myanmar and tourism is expected to rise significantly with the opening up of the country. Realization that widespread soil erosion on the mountain ranges flanking Inle Lake could eventually cause problems that would threaten the future existence of the Lake prevailed since late 19th century. Measures were introduced, but were ineffective as they were not developed progressively enough. Several droughts occurred since 1989, but the severe drought that occurred in 2010 was the wakeup call, which brought about serious concerns and recognition that urgent planning and mitigation measures in a comprehensive and integrated manner was imperative, if the Lake was to be saved. Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry (MOECAF) organized a National Workshop in 2011 at Nay Pyi Taw; basic elements required to draw up a Long Term Action Plan were identified and a resolution to formulate a Long Term Restoration and Conservation Plan for Inle Lake was adopted. MOECAF requested UN-Habitat to assist in formulation of the Long Term Restoration and Conservation Plan for Inle Lake and the Royal Norwegian Government kindly provided necessary financial assistance. The Team of experts engaged by UN-Habitat identified the main causes, both natural and human induced, that have impacted adversely on the Lake and its environment. Fall out of climatic variations, irresponsible clearing of soil cover, various forms of change in land use patterns in the Watershed areas caused widespread soil erosion, resulting in heavy loads of sediment entering the main feeder streams and ultimately into the Lake, causing it to become very much smaller in size and shallower in depth. Dumping of chemical fertilizer and pesticides, all forms of wastes into the Lake water has caused hazardous pollution impacting on the health and livelihoods of local communities. The team rightly pointed out that the task of restoring Inle Lake and its Watershed areas is immense and complex, as it involves not only solving environmental issues, but also uplifting the Socio-economic status and capacity of local communities. Also, that only a multi-sectoral, multi-disciplinary, holistic approach with the committed participation of the people, could achieve any tangible results. This is a clear indication that the task of saving Inle Lake cannot be achieved by this Ministry acting alone, but will need the full cooperation of all related Ministries, Ministerial Departments, CSOs, CBOs, local communities and stakeholders. I would like to commend the Shan State Government, UN-Habitat, all Governmental Departments at the Union and Shan State level, and local stakeholders for their whole hearted cooperation. In particular, the team of experts, for their unstinting effort to formulate this Long Term Plan in a comprehensive and holistic manner through painstaking collection and collation of baseline data, on-ground validation and incorporation of feedback from series of Workshops and dissemination sessions at the local community level. As such, I am pleased to confirm official adoption of the Long Term Restoration and Conservation Plan for Inle Lake by MOECAF. On behalf of the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry, I hereby convey our heartfelt gratitude to the Royal Norwegian Government and UN-Habitat for having made formulation of this comprehensive Long Term Restoration and Conservation Plan for Inle Lake possible. July 2014 Nay Pyi Taw Long Term Restoration and Conservation Plan for Inle Lake 1 Long Term Restoration and Conservation Plan For Inle Lake Executive Summary Inle Lake is situated in Nyaung Shwe Township, Taunggyi District, Southern Shan State. It is the second largest fresh water lake of Myanmar. Scientists have estimated that Inle Lake was transformed from a Tectonic Lake to a Solution Lake over a period of 1.6 to 65 million years, placing it among the world’s oldest surviving lakes. Possessing several ancient Pagodas, Temples and Shrines held in high esteem by Buddhist believers, many domestic pilgrims travel to the Lake every year to pay homage to these revered religious sites. The Lake is world renowned for its breath taking scenic beauty, its history, richness in biodiversity; unique religious, culture and traditions. Inn-thars (Lake Dwellers) while standing on one leg at the rear end of the boat, curl their other leg around a long oar to propel the boat with their leg (leg rowers) and the practice of growing vegetables on floating vegetation strips are novelties unique to Inle. The genuinely warm hospitality and good cheer of the local ethnic communities is also an attraction. Inle has thus become a “national icon”; a must see destination that attracts large numbers of international tourists each year. Due to Inle Lake’s diverse Wetland ecosystem, richness in biodiversity and species endemism including rare and threatened species, it was classified as a “Ramsar Site” by the Ramsar Convention and also recognized as an “Important Bird Area” as it is a popular stop over site for migratory water birds along the East Asian Flyway. The Government of Myanmar designated it as the Inle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary in 1985, incorporating Saga Lake and the Mobye` Reservoir to the south. It was later declared an ASEAN Heritage Site by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Government of Myanmar (GOM) is cooperating with UNESCO to have Inle Lake recognized as a World Heritage Site. Through several surveys conducted on the topography and soil structure of its Watershed areas since the late 19th century, it had been realized that sedimentation from the upland ranges could cause dire consequences for the future survivability of the Lake. Many interventions were introduced, but implementation was mostly nominal and therefore ineffective. A concerted effort was coordinated in 1992-1993 with the main focus being to address problems in the Watershed areas. Majority of interventions lacked coordination; related UN agencies, CSOs, CBOs, NGOs and INGOs worked according to their own agendas, independent of Government Ministerial Departments. Inter Ministerial coordination was also weak. Besides, all their focus was principally on peripheral issues, leaving the most critical need to effectively restore the Lake unaddressed. As such, deterioration of Inle Lake continued unabated. Maintenance clearing and dredging of rivers, streams, lakes, reservoirs need to be undertaken at regular intervals to ensure a sustained supply of water to maintain their storage capacity. But as these operations are costly, labour and equipment intensive, most countries had not been able to undertake them. Irresponsible utilization of water from the rivers and streams that feed water bodies such as lakes, and excessive use of the underground water resource, has resulted in the loss or severe degradation of large inland lakes and seas around the world. For example, the Aral Sea between Kazakstan and Uzbekistan, Lake Barnaby in Canada and most recently Lake Oroumieh in Iran. 2 Long Term Restoration and Conservation Plan for Inle Lake According to a survey of Inle Lake conducted in the early twentieth century, the total open water surface area was known to be around 100.4 square miles; length from North to South 36 miles; width from West to East 8 miles; deepest part of the Lake 20 feet in the rainy season and 12 feet in the dry season. A survey conducted by the Forest Department and the Land Records Department in 2007 revealed that the total area of open water surface was only 63 square miles; length from North to South 11 miles; width from West to East 4 miles; deepest part of the Lake 12 feet in the rainy season and around 6 feet in the dry season. The Lake had therefore lost 37+ square miles of open surface water area, 25 miles in length, 4 miles in width and 6 to 8 feet in depth. Dr. Takahisa Furuichi, then a scholar at the Centre for Resource and Environmental Studies, The Australian National University, conducted a study of Inle Lake over a period of 3 years. He submitted his final report to the Forest Department in March 2008, in which he stated that according to his measurements, the north to south axis is about 18km (11.2 miles) and east to west axis about 5 km (3.11 miles). The deepest part of the Lake was 2.8 m (9.2 feet). The open water surface in the Lake based on Landsat TM 2000, was 43.5 sq. km (16.791 sq. miles), which is even less than the 2007 measurements mentioned in the preceding paragraph. He calculated that the Peat Marshes would be infilled within 120 years and the Lake would disappear in approximately 2200 years (higher Mass Accumulation Rate – MAR suggests this would be 700 years), if the sedimentation rates estimated in this study were uniformly applied to the entire lake and marsh areas and dredging did not occur. These are extremely alarming indicators that Lake Inle is indeed in peril; and that drastic measures need to be taken immediately, to restore it and its watershed areas. This will require massive inputs and a holistic, multi-sector, multi-disciplinary, peoples’ participatory approach; for addressing the severe degradation of the Lake is complex, as it involves not only the environmental issues, but also the socio-economic aspect of the Lake Dwellers and communities living within the confines of its watershed areas. UN-Habitat undertook drafting of this Long Term Restoration and Conservation Plan at the behest of the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry (MoECAF) in 2011, to assist in formulating a Long Term Restoration and Conservation Plan for Inle Lake. A team of international experts was mobilized and entrusted to conduct a comprehensive study to identify the root causes of deterioration of the Lake and formulate a draft Long Term Restoration and Conservation Plan.

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