First conservation activities in Indawgyi Lake date back to the colonial time when 62,000ha of reserved forests were established in the early 20th century. The former isolation of the Indawgyi Lake basin would naturally conserve the region for decades due to the relatively low impact of the local communities. However the establishment of military rule in 1963 drastically changed the resource management practices. The opening of the area in the early 1990’s also attracted many domestic migrant people and caused a rapid depletion of Indawgyi’s natural resources.

Throughout the past two decades Indawgyi’s outstanding importance was recognised in various declarations in order to conserve its ecosystems. Today Indawgyi Lake is a Wildlife Sanctuary (1999), an ASEAN Heritage Park (2004), an Asian – Australasian flyway partnership site (2014), a Ramsar site (2016), and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (2017). The comprehensive conservation strategy for Indawgyi Lake is based on practical, integrated solutions, and acknowledges the importance of local participation. The diverse strategy focuses on nine major topics with individual projects and approaches.