How long before this unique place between heaven and earth disappears? How long will men, birds, fish be able to share this lake, jewels of Burma and humanity? How many mistakes must be made to understand that Inle is dying?
“The lake is beautiful but at the same time it is very fragile, there are more people, more noise, more water consumption, more gardens, fewer trees and less water in the reservoirs.
When Myo was small, she could drink the water from the lake. Out of the question now. The water is so polluted that it is not advisable to bathe there. The fault of the farmers. As here we never do anything like the others, the peasants do not really cultivate the land but floating islands. 3,200 hectares of floating islands that are fixed where tomatoes are grown with a lot of fertilizer. Natural fertilizers cost double the chemical fertilizers. So it is beneficial to take these chemical fertilizers even if the water is no longer drinkable.
This excessive consumption of fertilizers has consequences for the other major activity: fishing. And of course, on Inle Lake, we do not fish as elsewhere. We use these strange triangular nets. Fish or shrimp catches are becoming smaller and smaller. Today, in one night, I fish 3 kilos of fish. Ten years ago, I brought back 7 kilos.
The most serious is the shrinking of the lake. It lost 2 meters on average, on 6 or 7, and 40% of its surface. Accused: deforestation. These mountains that surround the lake were once covered with jungle. We cut all the trees, only a maquis.
When a surface is deforested, the soil is found bare. During periods of intense rainfall, the soil is trapped in the rivers and thus the lake. The lake is no longer powered by water but by sand.
The government seems to have become aware of the danger. He announced the creation of an Inle Lake Conservation Authority. It will not solve the problem in itself but it’s better than nothing. “France Télévision • 20.03.2014
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