Myanmar Protected Areas: Context, Current Status ... - Istituto Oikos

INDAWGYI LAKE
Site ID 10
Locality Kachin State, Monyin Township
Coordinates N 25° 07’, E 96° 22’
Size (km²) 815
Altitude (m. asl) 105 -1,400
Myanmar category Wildlife Sanctuary
IUCN category IV
Site Governance Nature and Wildlife Conservation Division
Boundaries Demarcated
Year gazetted 2004
Protection level Partial (Recreation/Tourism and Fishing allowed)
Main purposes
Habitat
Key resources
Conservation, Cultural heritage, Research/Education,
Recreation/Tourism
Mixed Deciduous Forest (Moist Upper), Wetland, Evergreen
Forest (Riverine), Mixed Deciduous Forest (Bamboo),
Hill Forest (Pine Forest)
Hoolock Gibbon, Burmese Bushlark, Hooded Treepie,
Great Hornbill, Slender-billed Vulture, White-rumped
Vulture, Himalayan Vulture
Legend of topographic maps
Head Quarters
Ranger Post
Towns
Protected Areas
State/Region Boundaries
Roads
Water areas
Rivers
Elevation
5.800 m. asl
0 m. asl
Legend of satellite maps
Water Depth Vegetation Density
Deep
Shallow
High
Low
SITE DESCRIPTION
Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary is situated in Monyin
Township of Kachin State in northern Myanmar. It is an
Important Bird Area (IBA) and an ASEAN Heritage site.
NATURAL RESOURCES
50% of the site is covered by mixed deciduous forest and 30%
is wetland. Evergreen forest (riverine), mixed deciduous forest
(bamboo), hill forest (pine forest) are other forest types of the
site.
Checklists of 165 different types of trees and medicinal plants,
38 mammals, 448 birds, 41 reptiles, 34 amphibians and 50
butterflies are available at the park warden’s office. BLI has
designated the area as IBA in 2004 for the presence of 10
threatened bird species, including the critically endangered
White-rumped Vulture Gyps bengalensis and the near
threatened Hooded Treepie Crypsirina cucullata endemic to
Myanmar.
MANAGEMENT
Annual management plan
Buffer zone designated
Management actions in place:
• Patrolling
• Environmental education
• Participatory rural assessment
• Biodiversity surveys
Management problems:
Myanmar Protected Areas
36 37
THREATS
INSIDE
• Hunting & Collecting Terrestrial Animals
• Gathering Terrestrial Plants
• Logging & Wood Harvesting
• Fishing & Harvesting Aquatic Resources
• Mining & Quarrying (gold)
OUTSIDE
• Hunting & Collecting Terrestrial Animals
• Gathering Terrestrial Plants
• Budget
• Manpower
Required equipment:
• computer, camera, GPS, binoculars, telescope, bird watching
tower and rest house for departmental visitors
Required actions inside
• Shifting cultivation control
• Fishing regulation according to spawning seasons
• Electric fishing prevention
Required actions outside
• Gold mining control
STAFF / RESOURCES
A total of 14 staff has been working at the site. The park
warden’s office is situated in Monyin township. Ranger posts
are situated at Monyin, Lonton sp. and Nantmon. Three
ranger posts with four staff in Monyin, five buildings with six
staff at Loneton and one building with four staff at Nantmon
guard post. Staff attended local training and training in other
countries.
TOURISM
The site is visited every year by local and foreign tourists but
statistics on numbers of tourists are missing. A military guest
house and a guest house which belongs to the local authority
are present at the site. The pagoda at the site is famous in
Myanmar.
LAND USE AND HUMAN ACTIVITIES
INSIDE
• Fishing
OUTSIDE
• Gold mining
• Cultivation
RESEARCH
Gibbon project: evaluation of the status of Hoolock Gibbon
conducted by BANCA in 2009-2010.