An estimated 2/3 of the total 450 million population of Indigenous Peoples and local communities worldwide live in Asia. More than 660 million people depend on the region’s biodiversity for their livelihoods and welfare.

ASEAN countries are home to the most biodiverse coral reefs on Earth, over 600 species of reef-building coral live here, ⅓ of the world’s coral reef species. That's more than anywhere else in the world!

Witness and marvel at wild orangutans residing in the jungle of Gunung Leuser National Park.

The corpse flower, also known as Rafflesia arnoldii or giant padma, is the largest individual flower on Earth. It can grow up to 3 feet wide and weigh up to 20 pounds. The flower has a strong and unpleasant odor of decaying flesh, which it uses to attract pollinating flies. 

Approximately 20% of the world's bird species can be found in the region. Visit Khao Sok National Park in Thailand or Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve in Singapore for a great bird watching experience.

Mangrove trees are instrumental in mitigating the effects of climate change and have the capacity to absorb and store carbon dioxide, effectively stopping greenhouse gasses from entering the atmosphere. 

Approximately 20% of the world's human population live within 30 km of the sea. Visit Kepulauan Seribu National Park in Indonesia and Bai Tu Long in Vietnam to learn more coastal and marine life.

It is the largest inland lake in ASEAN and the third largest lake in the world.

Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary was established in 1999 to protect local waterfowl and their habitats and neighboring catchment areas.

Considered a birdwatcher’s paradise, the sanctuary is home to hundreds of ruddy shelduck, bar-headed goose, tufted duck, openbill, common crane, and brown-headed gull.

Rare species include the red-crested pochard, grey-headed lapwing, sarus crane, lesser adjutant, black-necked stork, woolly-necked stork, white-rumped vulture, slender-billed  vulture, blue-bearded bee-eater and brahminy kite.

The lake is a major stop for migratory birds and attracts thousands from December to March. Even for those who aren’t enthusiasts, the sight of thousands of birds on the lake, and flying in flocks over it, is something to behold.

Southeast Asia is home to over 30,000 species of flowering plants, making it one of the richest regions in the world for plant diversity. This diversity is due to the region's varied climate and geography, which includes tropical rainforests, mangrove forests, and mountains.

The mangrove forests of Southeast Asia are home to a variety of unique plants that are adapted to living in salty water. These plants include the mangrove tree, the nipa palm, and the seagrass.

It is a symbol of purity and enlightenment. The lotus is native to Southeast Asia and is found in many bodies of water, including lakes, ponds, and rivers. Read how people in Inlay lake create lotus flower weaving.

It is native to Sumatra, Indonesia. The corpse flower is known for its strong, foul odor, which is said to resemble the smell of rotting flesh. The corpse flower blooms only once every 5 to 10 years.

I went to Inlay Lake for the first time in December 2019 on a photography tour. As a citizen of Myanmar, I had of course seen the lake in photos, videos and movies  before. But I was able to enjoy it in person in 2019.

Inlay Lake played a major role in my life as well as in the photographs I took. I won many international photo awards with the ones taken there.

The most breathtaking spots in Inlay Lake are the floating houses. Since I was born and grew up on land, seeing the floating houses there was quite extraordinary for me.

One unique custom seen in Inlay Lake is people rowing a boat with their leg. Leg-rowing is a world-famous and iconic technique applied by the Inntha.

While rowing a boat even by hand is not easy for us, Inntha, regardless if they are man, woman or child, can row a boat using one leg.  Despite the emergence of motor-powered boats these days, the Inntha keep their tradition of leg-rowing alive by doing it every day.

I still remember what one Inntha said, “Inlay Lake provides us with not only accommodation but also with fish to eat.”

They believe that they will never have worries about their livelihoods as long as the lake is sustainable.

Among the various fish diversities, “Nga Phein (Inlay Carp)” is the most common fish family in Inlay Lake. However, they are now endangered due to constant consumption by people for years. Other fish species are just half the price of Nga Phein.

But Nga Phein is still difficult to be bought at the market. When I made a request to local residents that I wanted to see Nga Phein in person and record them in photographs, they took me to a fish farm where Nga Phein are bred.

The owner did not breed Nga Phein with the intention of consumption and sale but to preserve the major fish family of Inlay Lake with fondness.

Recently, people have been cross-breeding new fish species with Nga Phein for consumption. Since genuine Inntha do not eat fish without scales, they cross-breed the fish  species that have scales, for example, Tilapia. Tilapia is called by local residents as “Kyauk Ngar”.

A fisherman there once said, “Inlay Lake without fishes might be like Inntha lacking one arm”. Fishing plays an important role in Innthas’ daily lives. As long as the Inlay Lake has abundant fishes, Inntha will be able to make ends meet.

We usually have grilled fish and fish curry when we are in Inlay. Local residents also welcome guests with grilled fish and fish curry when they visit their houses.

Growing tomatoes on the floating islands is a conventional business passed down from generation to generation. Tomatoes can be grown biannually or annually. However, most of the locals generally grow them only once a year.

When I arrived at Inlay Lake, I was intrigued by the floating garden agricultural system. I spoke to several residents who grew tomatoes. Their tomatoes are very fresh.

“Profits gained from tomato production are inconsistent. If it shows a loss, we will have to try making profits next year. This is how we operate. The price of tomatoes is also unstable.

Since the crops are grown on floating platforms, there are a lot of costs, such as fertilizers, pesticides, wages for the workers and fuel for motor-powered boats.

Fertilizers as well as pesticides have to be used to help the crops grow well.

Although the residents know that such pesticides are a threat to the lake, they have no choice because it is essential for the farms.

Residents from Inlay region make Myanmar traditional handicrafts for their living as well. They make Patain (Gold or silversmith) and Panpu (Sculpture) out of 10 Myanmar traditional arts and crafts works, which is known as 10 Flowers.

Others also work at textile weaving businesses where traditional Inlay costumes are produced. In Inlay region, people mainly make fabric from cotton, and lotus textiles made from fibers of the lotus plant stem are popular.

Daw Ohn Mya from Inn Paw Khone Village of Inlay Lake explained and demonstrated the process of weaving lotus textiles from lotus fibers.

She explained while demonstrating, “Lotus textiles can be made exclusively from Padonma lotus out of the five lotus types. 

Padonma lotus stems are first snapped to expose the fibersd. It takes a lot of steps in weaving to form a lotus textile.

After lotus fibers are collected, a person can create only one lotus thread with them, which is 10 meters (30 feet) long in a day.

Lotus textiles are pricey because of the amount of time they take in the process of creating one. One lotus scarf of 7 inches costs MMK 95,000 (about USD 45).

This price seems expensive for us but it really is worth it.

Local weavers and sellers of lotus textiles said, “The advantages of lotus fiber are that it can make us feel cool in the hot weather and warm in the cold weather. Besides, it relieves osteoarthritis, headaches and is good for health.”

A traditional costume seller from Inlay said, “Inlay is alive only with the tourists. Our sales go up only when tourists visit here.”

95 species of water birds, 265 species of forest birds and 21 species of migratory birds have been recorded in Inlay lake. Bird areas have been designated for the preservation of these bird species.

Migratory birds are the ones that migrate from one location to another temporarily due to the seasonal changes on earth. Birds from the cold regions of the world usually fly out to the less cold regions for some time to avoid the  extreme cold.

Normally, these birds enter the above-mentioned regions from the last week of October to the end of January or to the first week of February. Therefore, a lot of migratory birds are found on the Inlay Lake during winter in Myanmar.

In order to preserve these bird species in and around Inlay Lake, the respective officials who are in charge of preservation have also asked people to:

1. Preserve the bird areas
2. Educate the local residents to value the bird species
3. Ban illegal killing of birds

“Inlay Lake is meaningless without water in it” said local people.

Water is the lifeblood of Inlay Lake. Natural species and Inntha have been relying on this lake. Therefore, water in the lake becoming shallower in depth is a major challenge to be resolved.

According to officials and local residents, there are several causes of the lake becoming shallower. But three main causes of the shallowness are as follows:

1. Drought; i.e., a weather issue
2. Silt carried by the mountain streams due to heavy rain; the flow of silt must be controlled systematically; and
3. Waste disposal.

There used to be a voluntary group called “Shwe Inn Sar Lu Khae Group”, where Ko Nyi Nge was also a member, that collected trash voluntarily.

They had been collecting trash voluntarily for over 5 years with some funding. Unfortunately, their group was dissolved due to inadequate support and funding.

Ko Nyi Nge, an experienced person regarding waste management, suggested solutions to the trash problem.

“There are three requirements to deal with the trash problem:
1. A specified place for waste disposal
2. Incinerators
3. A systematic process to collect the trash and operate the incineration; and an adequate budget”

The biggest challenge of Inlay Lake, one of the ASEAN Heritage Parks, is the trash problem. While waste on land can be easily collected and destroyed, waste in water is not as easy to treat as waste on land. We need to consider this in dealing with that problem. 

We should be aware that a piece of waste that we dispose of improperly might have a profound impact not only on Inlay Lake but also on the natural species and lives of the local residents that are reliant on it.