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UNDP Myanmar is implementing its Country Programme for 2018-2022. Integrated programming has guided the design of the new programme in order to better address the inter-linkages between peace-building, governance, natural resource management and disaster resilience, inclusive growth, and the vertical linkages between subnational and national governance levels.
The Governance for Resilience and Sustainability Project (GRSP), within the Sustainable & Inclusive Growth (SIG) portfolio, leverages existing vertical funding and links up to horizontally and vertically with UNDP Country Programme key priority areas working at national and sub-national levels. GRSP is designed to help the Government of Myanmar (GoM) implement recent policy reforms related to environmental governance, climate change and disaster risk reduction (DRR), to ensure that economic growth in Myanmar is more inclusive, resilient and sustainable. The project recognizes that environmental degradation, when combined with natural disasters and effects of climate change, undermines the attainment of inclusive and sustainable growth.
GRSP also operates as an ‘umbrella’ project for integrating other key environment, climate and DRR related projects within UNDP’s portfolio. A dedicated project to support strengthened management of Inle Lake in Shan State is integrated into the management of GRSP.
The Inle lake is renowned for a number of traditional cultural and livelihood practices, which have made it one of the main attractions for Myanmar’s booming tourism industry. The lake is, however, suffering environmental degradation from the combined effects of unsustainable resource use, increasing population pressures, climate variability and rapid tourism development.
The Government of Myanmar (GOM) implemented a number of initiatives to develop and conserve the Inle Lake in recent years. These initiatives were done in collaboration with a number of development partners including UNDP, UNEP, UNESCO, IUCN, IFC, Government of Norway, and UN-Habitat.
UNDP implemented the Inle Lake Conservation and Rehabilitation project in 2012, in collaboration with MOECAF, and with financial support from the Royal Norwegian Government and in partnership with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The objective of this initiative was to restore the environmental stability of the lake and improve the quality of life of local communities through the implementation of environmental conservation and environmentally friendly community development activities.
In 2015, the GOM prepared the Inle Lake Conservation 5-Year Action Plan (2015/16 to 2019/2020) which identifies nine priority issues, including setting up an institutional framework for Inle Lake conservation management, developing baseline data on the natural and social environment for future conservation and development and of Inle Lake, and promoting sustainable tourism practices, including improvement in infrastructure, training and capacity building for the local community.
The conservation and management of Inle Lake are long-term and ongoing processes, which are crucially needed to practice an integrated approach focusing on biodiversity conservation, integrity of the lake environment and improvement of the livelihoods of local communities. The Inle Lake Conservation plans aim at ensuring a balanced approach between conservation and development of Inle Lake through the active participation of local communities and key stakeholders. The estimated overall budget required to implement the Action Plan is USD33.3 million. The plan will also include monitoring and management systems to evaluate progress of conservation efforts.
Despite the overall achievements of projects and initiatives by the GOM so far, there are limitations in terms of strong mechanism to lead the necessary planning, decision-making, and coordination of different stakeholders and the necessary funding to support the implementation of the Inle Lake Conservation 5-Year Action Plan (2015/16 to 2019/2020).
In the effort to provide continuing support to the GOM in promoting inclusive, resilient and sustainable development and environmental management (under Outcome 2: UNDP Myanmar CPD 2018-2022), UNDP Myanmar with the funding support from Government of Norway, is implementing a 2-year project on Strengthening the Inle Lake Management Authority to Improve Development and Conservation.
The project’s main aim is to support the implementation of the Inle Lake Conservation 5-Year Action Plan (2015/16 to 2019/2020) by strengthening the Inle Lake Management Authority, to coordinate, manage and develop the Inle Lake effectively. This will require strong leadership and coordinated efforts of all stakeholders involved – government, non-governmental organisations and local communities. As such, it is vital to strengthen the governance of Inle Lake to rally private, civil and government actors at various levels and defines various roles. It is also equally important to develop local capacities to collect and monitor the information of the lake’s ecosystem and establish a baseline and central database to measure, assess and use data to support the roles of the stakeholders.
The 2 key results of the project are:
- Result 1: The Inle Lake Management Authority (ILMA) operates effectively and efficiently with adequate managerial, technical and financial resources and with the support from lake stakeholders.
- Result 2: Progress in implementing the Inle Lake Conservation 5-Year Action Plan (2015/16 to 2019/2020) is systematically and transparently reviewed through a monitoring and evaluation framework and supported through institutionalised information collection, tracking and sharing mechanisms.
UNDP has engaged an NGO, the Myanmar Institute for Integrated Development (MIID), to provide technical assistance to the project.
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