The conservation of World Heritage is critical to the cultural and social sustainability of regions and nations. Risk monitoring and preventive diagnosis of threats to heritage sites in any given ecosystem are a complex and challenging task. Taking advantage of the performance of Earth Observation technologies, we measured the impacts of hitherto imperceptible and poorly understood factors of groundwater and temperature variations on the monuments in the Angkor World Heritage site (400 km2). We developed a two-scale synthetic aperture radar interferometry (InSAR) approach. We describe spatial-temporal displacements (at millimeter-level accuracy), as measured by high-resolution TerraSAR/TanDEM-X satellite images, to provide a new solution to resolve the current controversy surrounding the potential structural collapse of monuments in Angkor. Multidisciplinary analysis in conjunction with a deterioration kinetics model offers new insights into the causes that trigger the potential decline of Angkor monuments. Our results show that pumping groundwater for residential and touristic establishments did not threaten the sustainability of monuments during 2011 to 2013; however, seasonal variations of the groundwater table and the thermodynamics of stone materials are factors that could trigger and/or aggravate the deterioration of monuments. These factors amplify known impacts of chemical weathering and biological alteration of temple materials. The InSAR solution reported in this study could have implications for monitoring and sustainable conservation of monuments in World Heritage sites elsewhere.

10.1126/sciadv.1601284

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From Conservation to Sustainable Development—A Case Study of Angkor World Heritage Site, Cambodia

Journal of Environmental Science and Engineering - A (2016)

Peou Hang Natarajan Ishwaran Hong Tianhua Delanghe Philippe

The World Heritage Committee of UNESCO has called for a strategic commitment from its States Parties to strengthen links between heritage conservation and sustainable development.Fulfilment of this commitment will require integration of the conservation of sites with the sustainable use and management of natural resources in a larger area beyond the boundaries of sites.Identification and demarcation of areas for conserving World Heritage sites and sustainable development of broader regions must derive from an in-depth knowledge of people-environment relationships.The management of Angkor-an iconic World Heritage site -has been primarily focused on conservation and restoration of monuments within the boundaries of the site.However, that focus is now shifting towards addressing environmental, social and economic challenges for sustainable development of the broader landscape described in this paper as the Angkor ecosystem.Angkor has the potential to demonstrate the application of an ecosystem approach to sustainable development-advocated under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.The site could be a laboratory for new research on cultural ecosystem services as a tool for bridging site conservation to the sustainable development of the Siem Reap province where the site is located.

10.17265/2162-5298/2016.03.004

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Aménagements contre nature: l'OWDR opte pour la prévention avec "Adali"

Étienne Persoons Abdelkhalak El Idrissi Peou Hang Joseph Delwart

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東アジアの中の環日本海域 : 地域研究の拠点としての地域研究領域 (特集環日本海域環境研究センター設立10周年記念国際シンポジウム : 環境研究の拠点としての10年間,そして,これから) -- (これからの環日本海域環境研究センター)

真二塚脇希永全 Peou Hang

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Tourism and Development: Angkor’s Away

Philippe Delanghe Peou Hang Georgina Lloyd R. Mackay Sharon Sullivan

Angkor is a national icon that is part of the Cambodian sense of identity as well as a spiritual landscape in which Khmer people have lived for generations. Angkor’s landscape, monuments and traditional cultural practices are important to contemporary communities and to the future of the Angkor World Heritage site and the Cambodian nation. Paradoxically, as the effective combined efforts of the Royal Cambodian Government and international community have seen the Angkor World Heritage Site removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger, awakening of the global community to the wonders of Angkor has given rise to new threats from an ever-increasing wave of visitors and associated development pressures. However, tourism development may also present an opportunity for the site, its people and the national economy. With the support of UNESCO and the Governments of Cambodia and Australia, work has recently commenced on the preparation of an ‘Angkor Heritage Management Framework’. The work will build on the considerable achievements of APSARA (the Authority for the Preservation and Safeguarding of Angkor and Surrounding Areas) in this area to date. The framework recognises that managing heritage at Angkor is about managing tourism – so as to assess risks, conserve tangible and intangible values, enhance visitor experiences and guide development in a way which respects and provides opportunities and benefits for the thousands of Khmer for whom Angkor is a sacred place, a special home and a dramatic symbol of nation.

Visitor pattern

Safeguarding

Heritage Tourism

Cultural landscape

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