Investing in Cambodia’s future by conserving its past Global Heritage Fund Banteay Chhmar Conservation Training Project

Investing in Cambodia’s future by conserving its past

Global Heritage Fund
Banteay Chhmar Conservation Training Project

The Global Heritage Fund (GHF), an international heritage conservancy that specialises in conservation and development of cultural assets in developing regions, has begun a flagship project in collaboration with the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts at one of the greatest architectural treasures of Cambodia’s northwest, the 12th century masterpiece of Banteay Chhmar. GHF is seeking corporate partners who wish to demonstrate goodwill and respect to the government and people of Cambodia by investing in its unique cultural heritage and supporting Banteay Chhmar Conservation Training Project.

In the last five years the Kingdom of Cambodia has enjoyed a rate of economic growth averaging 9.5 per cent per annum, while a Phnom Penh Stock Exchange is expected to be launched in the coming year. This is a remarkable recovery for a country and population whose fragmentation and displacement under Pol Pot’s regimen is an indelible memory for most adult Cambodians. The people and government of Cambodia are determined to resurrect their country, and look back to the past glories of the Khmer empire for inspiration, as materially indicated by the national flag that figures the greatest symbol of that empire, the 12th century masterpiece of temple construction, Angkor Wat. Indeed, this national symbol is well chosen since it is also the focus of a tourism industry that has grown exponentially in Cambodia, with 2 million arrivals in 2007 (a 20 per cent increase over 2006) generating approximately $1.4 billion in foreign tourism revenue, about 10 per cent of the kingdom’s GDP. According to the President of CATA (Cambodian Association of Tourism Agents), Cambodia expects to welcome 3 million foreign visitors annually by 2010.

There can be no doubt that tourism will continue to play a fundamental role in the future of Cambodia’s economy for the foreseeable future, but there are signs that unfettered development is threatening the cultural and natural environment that so many visitors are flocking to see. The focus of tourism activity around the protected area of Angkor Wat has come at the relative ignorance of the smaller, yet equally exquisite, outer lying temple complexes. This has not only resulted in a lack of ‘trickle down’ of tourism revenue nationally (Siem Reap is the third poorest province in the country), but is also having severe consequences for the ecology of Siem Reap as water and waste management facilities come under greater and greater pressure.

This problem has been acknowledged at government level and attempts are now being made to promote tourism circuits through improved road networks (funded by ADB and World Bank) throughout north-western Cambodia, as well as promoting the country’s coastal region to the south-west.

Built by the great Angkorian architect, King Jayavarman VII, the temple of Banteay Chhmar follows similar grandiose temple plans that he was building in Angkor, including the famous Bayon Temple. A one-kilometre arcaded enclosure wall formerly surrounded the temple in which there were 500 metres of sculpted bas-reliefs telling stories of the Ancient Khmer and depicting royal processions, battles with the Chams and some rare images of King Jayavarman VII. Seventy per cent of these unrivalled bas-reliefs now lie in ruins, unseen and unprotected.

A race against time
Severely lacking maintenance and repair over the past 800 years, Banteay Chhmar has slowly collapsed and disintegrated - its proud towers disappearing into the overgrowth. Coupled with threats from trees and the jungle, structural failure and looting, Banteay Chhmar is in critical need for master planning, conservation and increased protection. Local communities must be an integral part of Banteay Chhmar’s protection and responsible development to ensure long-term success and proper management. New roads connecting Cambodia and Thailand will soon bring an onslaught of new tourists to Banteay Chhmar, and GHF – in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts – is now in a race against time to prepare the site to receive these growing numbers of visitors, to minimise their impact and to prevent this sacred site from being overrun by visitors and the destructive forces of unplanned development.

GHF has, in collaboration with their in-country partners, set up a conservation team of over 50 workers not only to carry out research and emergency conservation on the endangered structures, but also to carry out extensive research on the hydrology, and topography of the surrounding areas to identify many unknown historic features, which in the long-term will provide a showcase for conservation of remotely located temples in rural Cambodia, enhance the knowledge of Khmer culture through research and conservation, and contribute also to the community-based tourism that supports and enhances the local community and environment.

“To be given the challenge of bringing back to life one of the great Khmer Empire sites caps all my previous experiences in Angkor. With twelve years experience of working in the historic city of Angkor, my team and I are confident that we can develop a new experience for visitors to Cambodia. One of the exciting results of GHF’s involvement will be the training of a new team of conservation professionals and craftsmen who will form the backbone of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts’ efforts to establish a team of skilled professionals to look after other major historic sites in North Cambodia.”

John Sanday, GHF Field Director, Asia & Pacific

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Global Heritage Fund

– Preserving Heritage Globally,

Changing Lives Locally

Global Heritage Fund is an international, non-profit, heritage conservancy that provides technical expertise and financial resources to preserve humankind’s most important, endangered archaeological sites and monuments in developing regions. We take each site through a comprehensive four to six-year programme that encompasses master-planning, conservation science, community involvement, and strategic partnerships. We currently have 10 projects in 8 countries, including China, India, Pakistan, Cambodia, Turkey, Guatemala, Peru, and Libya. While the nature and depth of each of our projects differs, one theme runs throughout: that the monuments, art and architecture of our ancestors can, if respected, bring lasting cultural, social, and economic benefits to civil society. Our mission is to help people realise the value of these assets, in places where the sites are all too often neglected – or worse. We invest in countries and regions that have seen few financial or technical resources for cultural-asset preservation and development.

For more information and opportunities to support GHF work in Cambodia, please contact:
James Hooper
Global Heritage Fund UK Manager
c/o 20 Hamilton House
Vicarage Gate, London W8 4HL, UK
Tel: +44(0)7970 034 535
Email: Jhooper@globalheritagefund.org
www.globalheritagefund.org