The first documented settlements in Indawgyi Lake go back to the 14th century when the Shan Ni (Tai Laeng) settled in the plains and cultivated paddy fields. Documents of the 1860’s also reveal the presence of small Kachin villages in the surrounding mountains of Indawgyi Lake. In the aftermath of World War II more people settled in Indawgyi Lake due to its rich natural resources and fertile soils. During military rule armed conflicts displaced Kachin communities from the mountains into the plains, where they live in various villages to date. The Bamar, the biggest ethnic group in Myanmar, are relatively new to Indawgyi as they started moving here in the early 1990s.

Modernisation

Nowadays, the Indawgyi Lake basin is home to over 50,000 people of three different ethnicities with nearly half of them being under 18 years old (2015 census). In recent years the region faced an overwhelming development as the road connection to Hopin and further to the state’s capital Myitkyina was paved in 2015, which cut the travel time significantly. In the same year Indawgyi Lake joined the national electric grid, now supplying most of the 36 villages with electricity. Later that year the first telecommunication towers were set up providing mobile phone and internet access. Population growth and rapid development affect the interaction of local communities with the environment as demand for natural resources, such as farmland, firewood, and timber is increasing.