Inlay Lake Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, inscribed 2015, in Myanmar. The Inlay Lake Biosphere Reserve is located in Taunggyi District, Southern Shan State. Inlay Lake is a freshwater lake and reportedly the second-largest inland lake in Myanmar. The Inlay Lake wetland ecosystem is home to 267 species of birds, of which 82 are wetland birds, and 43 species of freshwater fish, as well as otters and turtles. In addition, freshwater fish from the inland wetland constitute the major protein source for the people of Inlay. The reserve hosts diverse flora and fauna, and the lake is reported to be the nesting place for the globally endangered sarus crane (Grus antigone). Inlay Lake is also notable for the socio-cultural traditions of the local inhabitants, who have adapted their lifestyle and livelihoods to their biophysical environment. The majority earn their income from traditional methods of hydroponic farming, fishing and shifting cultivation. Farmers from one of the dominant ethnic groups in the Inlay Lake region, the Inthas, practise floating island agriculture, locally known as “Yechan”, a form of hydroponic farming.