Destination Management Plan for the Inlay Lake Region -- Environmental Assessment

This report contains a summary of issues relating to sustainable management of environmental resources for Inlay Lake and its watershed, in the context of increasing pressures from international and domestic tourists. The environmental information and recommendations for actions are based on the best available information, but there are significant limitations in the extent and reliability of baseline data. Data on the Inlay Lake region in this report should be taken as indicative of conditions, rather than verified measurements. Large variations in data from different sources are apparent, such as the common use of a single figure to describe depth, width, length and area of a large lake with varying depths and an irregular shoreline. Much information is anecdotal, and has been included to fill gaps in measured data. Nonetheless, there are sufficient data to identify priorities to address immediate threats to the health of the Inlay Lake ecosystem and its watershed, as well as threats to the health and well-being of dependent human communities. The report recommends future monitoring to acquire consistent baseline information and regular monitoring updates. Knowledge gaps and priorities for further research are also identified. Some confusion may arise from multiple spellings of names and places in Myanmar language. The spellings used in this report have been standardised, but there may be two or three alternate variations for the same place names or personal names.