22TS.2 20PS

 

GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS:

A. Respect for the sacred significance of the site:
Ever since it was first proposed that Angkor be put on the World Heritage List, special attention has been given to the sacredness of the site. The Conferences of TOKYO (1993) and PARIS (2003) expressed the wish for actions designed to raise awareness of this amongst visitors. The continued growth tourist numbers from year to year as well as the repeated observation of a disregard for the spirit of the site and even ignorance of their sacredness, require a coordinated response in order to highlight this special feature of Angkor and have effective measures taken in this regard. ICC–Angkor recommends such action and wishes to be informed of its results in the future.

B. Stone Conservation:
ICC–Angkor welcomes the increased interest expressed by international teams with regard to the science and techniques of stone conservation. It particularly pays tribute to the activities undertaken by GACP, the University of Palermo and GIZ/SCU. It strongly recommends the coordination of activities in order to harmonize the training programmes.

C. Maintenance plan:
Aware of the importance of maintenance in each of the temples of Angkor Park, ICC–Angkor reiterates its recommendation regarding the need to develop a maintenance plan either by the teams in charge of a conservation/restoration project or the APSARA National Authority. A budget must be allocated for this purpose during the project preparation phase and likewise for the relevant directorates within APSARA.

D. Project follow-up:
In general, the ICC-Angkor recommends that the ad hoc group of experts be informed sufficiently in advance of the projects contemplated by the various teams working on all sites and monuments, if necessary, outside of the ICC-Angkor sessions using Internet through the channel of the ICC-Angkor Standing Secretariat.

The ICC-Angkor recommends also that the APSARA National Authority be systematically represented by a high level officer when the ad hoc experts visit the various projects and sites (instead of only the visits of sites that it is in charge of) so as to avoid the risk of inconsistency of instructions between them.