Myanmar's first UNESCO biosphere reserve Inle Lake launched

Myanmar has launched the country’s first United Nation Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Biosphere Reserve Inle Lake in Shan state.
With this launch Myanmar opens a new chapter in its commitment to bio-diversity and eco-system conservation.
In June 2015, the lake was officially designated as Myanmar’s first biosphere reserve under UNESCO’s Man and the Bioshpere (MAB) programme.

About Inle Lake

• Inle Lake is located in Taunggyi district in Myanmar’s eastern Shan state.
• It is the second largest lake in Myanmar with an estimated surface area of 116 km2.
• The wetland ecosystem of this freshwater Inle Lake is home to diverse flora and fauna.
• It is home to 267 species of birds, out of which 82 are wetland birds. The Inle Lake is nesting place for globally endangered Sarus crane.
• It also has 43 species of freshwater fishes of which 9 species of fish are found nowhere else in the world.
• Apart from its ecological importance, Inle Lake is also has unique for the way the local inhabitants have adapted their life style to their environment.
• Presently, the lake gets funding from the government of Norway for conservation purpose under the framework of the Inle Lake Conservation and Rehabilitation project.

Month: Current Affairs - December, 2015