As unregulated development and business moves forward, local environmentalists are also worried about an even bigger potential environmental disaster - runoff from a coal mine.

Khun Chankhe, an environmentalist with the Pa-Oh Youth Organization, says that waste from an open pit coal mine, 13 kilometers away, is ending up in Inle Lake’s watershed, making matters worse.

"Most of the people in the villages rely on the upper Tigyit Creek use the water for their bathing and drinking and travel, so it is very dangerous for them because of the water pollution from the mining. This also affects Inle Lake," said Chankhe.

As tourism and development continue unabated, Burma’s second-largest freshwater lake - and the people that live on it - stand to lose much more.