“It is good to have a better understanding of the inlets – it is not easy to know how it works as an outsider”
participant Kandawgyi Lake tour
A different view on the Royal Lake – uncovering the ecosystem services of the Kandawgyi Lake area
Early Sunday morning, 8.30am – the first persons are arriving. We are gathering for the very first study tour of 2019: a walking tour exploring the surroundings of Kandawgyi Lake.
A group of 25 participants of different backgrounds joined us to learn more about the role and the ecosystem of the lake. People from environmental organisations, students from water studies and environmental studies and interested individuals, each joining the tour for different reasons:
“I am interested to learn more about the water collection in the lake, the inlets”, “I would like to meet likeminded people” or “it is a nice way to spend the Sunday morning, learning something new”.
Most of the participants have walked around before, but have signed up to get learn more about the specific functions of the lake. Guided by Dr Piet Filet, water management and flooding expert from Brisbane, the group walked along the north eastern side of the lake.
Kandawgyi Lake lies in the center of Yangon, built by the British in the 1880s to serve as a water reservoir. Today that role has evolved and now the lake serves a major recreational purpose, with several restaurants, leisure areas and shops located on the water front. In addition, Kandawgyi serves as a large retention basin to control flood risk.
During the tour, the group walked together and along the way, we explored the different functions that the ‘great royal lake’ has. We specifically looked at what happens around the lake, and how these activities affect the lake.
Read a full recap of the tour on our Myanmar Water Portal: click here for the full article. We will organise more walking tours, keep an eye out on our website or contact us for more information.
For more information on the Study Tour, please reach out to Gerdien:
Gerdien Velink
Project Manager
