Expedition Report
A team of two, one of whom was an Imperial undergraduate, spent August trekking in Myanmar along popular routes and tourist trails around and between Lake Inle, Kalaw, and Pindaya. They intended to document the cultural and environmental impacts of tourism, and to make a broad assessment of conservation issues that could arise as a result of the current boom in tourism in the country following its recent emergence from military rule.
The team undertook day treks around Kalaw to familiarise themselves with the local flora and fauna. They then made a trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake, during which they visually monitored footpath erosion and recordings of the biodiversity. Finally, they undertook a comparison trek between Kalaw and Pindaya, to see how tourist impact differs in this area.
As it was the low season there were fewer tourists than there would be during busy months such as January, when it was reported that streams of people use the footpaths. The pair also encountered a quantity of litter along the main trek route from Kalaw to Pindaya, and extensive footpath erosion, possibly as a result of the local people and their ox carts, but also because of having to cater for high volumes of tourists.
As there were restrictions on camping in the area they covered, the team stayed in hotels, hostels and local villages. They faced a variety of challenges, including monsoon weather conditions, the danger of landslides, finding local guides outside the main trekking season, enduring food poisoning which incapacitated them for three days, and experiencing the effects of 6.8 magnitude earthquake which the country suffered towards the end of the expedition. However, the team returned feeling that they had undertaken a worthwhile and successful expedition.
