Can Angkor be saved?

UNESCO Courier, Feb, 1994 by France Bequette

A WAY THROUGH THE MINEFIELDS

Much remains to be done for the management of water resources before Angkor can reclaim the reputation it once had as a "hydraulic capital". The prosperity of the early Angkor empires was closely linked to irrigation. A network of dykes and canals served to control flooding and to provide water in the dry season from huge reservoirs called "barays", all of which are now abandoned with the exception of the Western Baray, which has been restored in this century. The temple moats were both sacred boundaries and sources of water and of food in the form of fish and lotus, whose fruits contain a mealy substance from which bread can be made. Now, however, they have silted up and are clogged with vegetation.

Other, more immediate dangers also threaten the Angkor region. There are estimated to be twelve million mines in northern Cambodia. A French company, COFRAS, which has trained Cambodian mine disposal squads, has been attempting to clear the eight minefields identified at Angkor. Three hundred and sixty mines have already been removed. The only way one can reach the temple of Ta Nei and the eastern entrance to Angkor Thorn--the so-called Gate of Death--is by following a mine disposal squad. Countless people--adults and children--have been killed by the mines or have lost limbs. In addition, armed and trained Khmer Rouges are operating in the vicinity, terrorizing the local population by sporadic raiding.

In these circumstances, it is very difficult to prevent the looting of sculptures that every year causes the sanctuaries to deteriorate further. The thieves prize loose with chisels the wonderful faces of the heavenly dancers known as apsaras, cut the heads off statues, and in some cases remove the statues wholesale, even those weighing more than a ton. The protests of the Cambodian government, of UNESCO and of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) have no effect on the traffickers, who know where they can get vast sums of money for the statues.

The task of coordinating international aid that the Cambodian government has entrusted to UNESCO is a difficult one. Only one archaeological excavation is currently under way, and that is the EFEO's investigation of the Terrace of the Leper King. Without co-ordination and political determination to protect the site, Angkor could well fall into the hands of unscrupulous businessmen seeking quick profits from the curiosity of tourists and the poverty of the local population.

Angkor has a special place in the memory of humanity. Let us hope that the international community will wake up to the fact soon enough to take the urgent action that is needed to save, protect and rationally develop this irreplaceable treasure.

FRANCE BEQUETTE is a Franco-American journalist specializing in environmental questions. Since 1985 she has been associated with the WANAD-UNESCO training programme for African news-agency journalists.