Protecting livelihoods and nature on Inle Lake

Inle Lake, Myanamar’s second largest lake, is under threat by deforestation, pollution, unsustainable agriculture, and tourism.

The fear that haunts Ko Than Htoo, who is the main breadwinner for his five-member family, is that Inle Lake will one day dry up. He has been a boatman for over 25 years. Only two years ago he had to leave nearby Pekon Lake after the water level went down to the point of his boat running aground.

Enlisted as a Ramsar site and a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserve, Inle Lake is the…