Myanmar - Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary

Indawgyi Lake Wildlife Sanctuary (WS) contains Indawgyi Lake, the largest freshwater lake in Myanmar, and a substantial portion of the surrounding forested watershed. Established in 1999, ILWS covers 73,600 hectares and ranges in elevation from 169 m at the lake surface to over 1,400 m. The lake drains to the north and includes 12,000 hectares of open water, along with marsh, floating vegetation, and submerged macrophytes. Rice is cultivated adjacent to the lake in some low-elevation areas, while mixed deciduous forest, riverine evergreen forest, and hill pine forest cover the uplands in the watershed. Half of ILWS is forest; one-third is non-rice wetland. Species in ILWS include globally threatened waterbirds and endemic fish and turtle species.