23
2014
Strategies for saving a national scenic treasure
Early each morning in Nyaung Shwe, the main hub for tourists visiting Inle Lake, the jetty resonates with the putt-putt sound from the engines of dozens of long-tail boats waiting to take visitors for a trip on one of the country’s most popular destinations.
An estimated 200,000 tourists – split roughly equally between domestic and international travellers – visit the lake each year, attracted by its scenery and the unique way-of-life of the Intha people, who call the lake and the surrounding hills home.
However the lake’s future is at risk, not only as a tourist destination and national scenic treasure but also as an integral part of the lives of those who live around its shores.
A study in 2007 found that the lake had decreased in size by almost a third between 1935 and 2000. The main cause for the decrease was the expansion of the floating islands used to cultivate vegetables, which have increased in size by five times during the last 20 years and now occupy almost a quarter of the lake’s surface area.
“It [vegetable farming] is seen as a lucrative industry, so it has attracted many people over the years,” said Joern Kristensen, executive director of the Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development, which helps to devise development plans for natural resources, particularly for Myanmar’s ethnic groups.
“A floating garden only has a life span of about three years, then it is exhausted and farmers cut a new one, but the old one is discarded by the shore and that contributes to the lake becoming smaller,” said Mr Kristensen.
The lake is also being affected by the chemicals and pesticides used by the farmers.
“The fertiliser brings more nutrition to the water and is giving unnatural growth to water hyacinths, which are keeping light out of the lake, impacting on the whole ecological system in the lake,” said Mr Kristensen, adding that pesticides have had “a very negative impact” on water quality.
The government has banned the construction of more floating gardens, but a weak regulatory and enforcement framework means the ban has had a limited impact, although the issue is beginning to be taken more seriously.
On October 13, MIID released a draft Destination Management Plan for Inle Lake, with recommendations for the sustainable growth of the region. They include a recommendation to promote a sustainable tourism industry to help farmers find jobs in the tourist sector.
“The tourism growth has created jobs and is a good way to reduce this unsustainable agricultural practice is help local people to be channelled into the tourism industry,” said Mr Kristensen. “But they will need training and education and that needs an organised effort.”
Mr Kristensen is enthusiastic about the wider national potential for the destination management plan. “We hope it can be used as a model for other emerging tourist destinations in Myanmar.”
Meanwhile, there are moves to establish other tourist centres around the lake, which would have the advantage of spreading the economic benefits of tourism further while reducing the stress on Nyaung Shwe, which as the destination’s hub receives most of its visitors.
U Sai Win is from eastern Shan State but has worked in the tourism industry at Nyaung Shwe for more than twenty years and has seen first-hand some of the changes that have affected the lake. He is the chairman of the Myanmar Tourist Guide Association in Nyaung Shwe Township.
“Before, people were able to drink the water from the lake, but now that is not possible because of chemicals [from the floating gardens] as well as deforestation that has led to sedimentation in the lake,” said U Sai Win, who is also director of Inle Speaks, an activist group that seeks solutions to some of the area’s environmental problems.
“We have started talking to farmers on the lake and are trying to encourage them to start using organic farming methods,” he said. “Generally, they understand the issues but unless we can guarantee them the same income from organic farming as they are getting by using chemicals, then they will continue to use that method.”
The solution, in his opinion, is to arrange for international experts in organic farming to travel to the lake and provide training. Inle Speaks is also working on sustainable energy solutions, because cutting trees for fuel is the main cause of deforestation in the hills around the lake.
Although U Sai Win accepts that tourism will inevitably have some negative effects on the lake’s environment, he believes that its overall impact has been positive, including helping to focus attention on some main challenges.
“Now there is a lot of interest in the lake, so people are beginning to talk more about the issues here,” U Sai Win said. “There are, of course, some cultural changes because of tourism, but these can be both [positive and negative].”
“Look at the increased access to the internet and local people sharing ideas with tourists, all of this is creating an awareness of the challenges we are facing, especially among the young people who have a real desire to change things,” he said.
Mr Kristensen thinks the key to finding sustainable solutions for the lake will require a program in which residents, investors, public organisations and the government work together cohesively.
“One of the key issues is funding as these projects will take time and cost a lot of money. The people living on the lake have been there for generations, so they have an understanding of what is happening, and when you speak to the people there, they understand that they cannot deal with the issue on their own.”