34TS.15 27PS
15.The Lake of Wonder Project in Siem Reap of Naga Group Global Limited”:
The review of this project took place in two stages:
1. first, at the Plenary Session of the ICC held on 27 January 2021;
2. then, at the Quadripartite meeting of the ICC held on 4 March 2021 (France, Japan, UNESCO, APSARA, the two Ad Hoc groups of experts in conservation and in sustainable development and Her Exc. The Minister of Culture and Fine Arts).
1. first, at the Plenary Session of the ICC held on 27 January 2021;
After having listened to the project presentation by the representatives of the Naga Group, the Ad Hoc groups of experts noted:
the project is a leisure park located on a plot of 75 hectares located about 500 m from the limit of the protected zone 2 or “buffer zone” of the Angkor site inscribed in December 1992 on the World Heritage List;
that this project has a very large leisure park that could be considered as a “Disneyland”, and intended to be one of the largest amusement parks in Southeast Asia.
While not denying the importance of the financial investment operation of this project, which could encourage tourists coming to visit the Angkor site to stay there longer and to create possible jobs for the benefit of local communities, the Ad Hoc groups of experts wonder whether the APSARA National Authority has required that impact studies on cultural heritage and the environment be carried out:
a) the impact on cultural heritage:
The amusement park is located 5 kilometers from the center of Angkor Wat temple, and what about the other nearest temples?
The negative intellectual and physical impact which will seriously affect the image of the recognized Outstanding Universal Value of Angkor.
The disproportionate size of the project seems incompatible with the spirit of preservation and management of an iconic site such as Angkor.
The site of Angkor is sacred to all Cambodians and that this sacred value is revered at the highest level of the Kingdom since all the monarchs of the past as of the present come here to address their prayers.
The realization of this project will go towards changing the sacred and cultural spirit of this site, and the “spirit of places”, the “genius loci” recognized by UNESCO risks being totally diluted and shall constitute a real cultural aggression vis-à-vis the religious belief of Cambodians towards Angkor.
b) the impact on the environment:
Has a traffic plan been planned to manage a large flow of vehicles of all kinds to this huge leisure park?
Are impact studies carried out on the pollution and carbon emissions that this project will generate?
Why is this project so close to a World Heritage site,
What are the sources of water from the artificial canal projected into the leisure park?
Does the planned building height respect the urban environment?
Where are the spaces provided for the parking?
In view of the questions presented above, the Ad Hoc groups of experts are not convinced that the project “The Lake of Wonder of the Naga Group” is a “PLUS” for the Angkor site, but on the contrary, it will pollute the spirit of the sacred place with an enormous cultural potential and will have a negative impact on the Outstanding Universal Value of the site.
The Ad Hoc groups of experts recommend that the project be rejected and that the name of Angkor must be protected and not be associated with a leisure park to preserve its Outstanding Universal Value.
2. then, at the Quadripartite meeting of the ICC held on 4th March 2021 (France, Japan, UNESCO, APSARA, the two Ad Hoc groups of experts in conservation and in sustainable development and Her Exc. The Minister of Culture and Fine Arts).
In light of the clarifications provided by the Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, the Ad Hoc groups of Experts noted that only a land lease for “The lake of wonder project in Siem Reap of Naga Global Limited” was signed by the Cambodian authorities, on May 2020, and accordingly, no approval has been given and that the project has been therefore abandoned.
They also note that the project could not be submitted to their attention for opinion, due to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced the postponement of the two sessions of the ICC-Angkor from 2020 to January 2021.