Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, Archaeological Site of Ancient Ishanapura

• Management systems/ management plan (Need to clarify the attributes of the Outstanding Universal Value with regard to the boundaries of the temples zone and the buffer zone; Need to augment the Conservation Plan, to refine the Management Plan and to complement the monitoring program)
• Impacts of tourism / visitor / recreation (Need to address a number of tourism-related issues: revise the Tourism Management Plan, prepare a visitor code of conduct, prepare an interpretation and presentation plan for the Kampoon Thom Museum, improve signage, improve the visitor display and interpretation information at the Sambor Prei Kuk Visitor Centre, etc.)
• Illegal activities (Need to continue implementing careful looting control)
• Other factors (Risk of collapse of some temples; Need to avoid herbicides in fighting weeds and replace them by masonry- and environment-friendly methods)

On 27 November 2020, the State Party submitted a report on the state of conservation of the property, which is available at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1532/documents/ and presents progress with a number of conservation issues highlighted by the Committee at its previous sessions, as follows:

• Activities over the past two years have focused primarily on site maintenance, conservation, restoration and archaeological investigations as well as on improvements of site interpretation and capacity building;
• The First Aid Conservation Project of Decorative Wall and Flying Palace Carvings was completed in 2020, and the preservation, safeguarding and monitoring project is in progress;
• At Prasat Yeay Poan, the octagonal tower structures and the Inner Eastern and Western Gates have been stabilised and tree roots removed, a walkway for tourism access and site protection has been constructed, making the site accessible to visitors;
• Vegetation has been regularly removed from three towers with intrusive tree roots;
• Protection fences have been installed at the main temple complexes, and the boundary of the property has been marked by posts;
• Archaeological investigations have included ground surveys and the use of aerial orthophotos and LiDAR, and a list of newly identified archaeological sites has been provided;
• Training for students and members of the local community has taken place to enable their participation in the conservation programmes;
• The Conservation Manual for Sambor Prei Kuk is in draft form and will be finalised soon to support the implementation of the management system;
• To date, the recommended work on risk management has focused on the monitoring of structures, the management of vegetation, the construction of a fire ‘trail’ to assist with emergency responses and protection from vandalism;
• Visitor surveys are conducted every two years, most recently in 2019, and visitor statistics have been collected to assist with the ongoing assessment of the carrying capacity of temple zones and other areas, including data collected on hourly visitor levels, group sizes, local Khmer and international visitor numbers, and seasonal patterns;
• The Visitor Code of Conduct has been widely disseminated, and various improvements to visitor facilities are summarised in the report;
• A review of parking areas has been conducted, and plans for an ‘all-weather’ road and new parking areas are being developed;
• The Heritage Police Unit was established in 2019 to assist with anti-looting measures;
• The longer-term possibility of extending the property boundaries has not yet been fully explored, although some initiatives have been launched which will indirectly assist this work;
• The State Party mentions that a bypass road has been constructed to ensure that heavy truck traffic no longer passes near the property.

The property is now supported by a new International Coordinating Committee mechanism, which is an extension to the International Coordination Committee for Angkor (ICC-Angkor), and thus regularly benefits from the professional insights of its expertise.

The State Party has made commendable progress towards achieving the urgent conservation priorities for this property, particularly in relation to stabilisation works for the octagonal towers of Prasat Yeay Poan, vegetation management, site interpretation and archaeological investigations over a number of major monuments of the property and its territorial configuration. Within the inscribed property and its buffer zones, 25 new sites have been identified. All these activities help document the attributes of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, but more work is required to fully articulate the attributes of the property and should include all aspects that convey its OUV, such as the territorial configuration, standing structures and ruins, decorative elements and inscriptions, archaeological sites and evidence, hydraulic elements, causeways, etc. Improvements to the exhibition of the property are considered a challenge.

The Committee may wish to welcome the State Party’s report that the recommended Conservation Manual is under constant improvement, including new elements and lessons learnt, and will be annexed to the Management Plan, and that the Visitor Code of Conduct (based on the example of Angkor) has been completed and disseminated. Experimental activities have been conducted to address some aspects of the recommended refinement of the Management Plan through the development of a Risk Response Plan, e.g. for built heritage, natural elements and vandalism. However, the Management Plan needs to be compiled with concrete and strategic guidelines for risk management by following the outline provided in the resource manual Managing Disaster Risks for World Heritage and the guidance materials made available by the Advisory Bodies. The State Party’s report indicates that steps have been taken towards implementing the recommended monitoring system, notably by ensuring regular reporting on the conservation and restoration works, but there is insufficient information on items such as risk data, settlement patterns and ancient hydraulic structures. The Management Plan needs to contain guidelines for monitoring measures targeting these components (e.g. built aspects including ancient civil engineering, natural environment and visitors).

Progress is continuing in relation to the Committee’s recommendations on elements of the management system, such as the assessment of the property’s carrying capacity. The State Party notes that the property is yet to become an active tourism hub, and that tourism facilities and infrastructure are limited, although the number of tourists is expected to increase at rate of around 10% a year. The aim to sustainably develop tourism at the property is thus supported, underscoring the importance of forward-thinking planning.

Longer-term possibilities to extend the property boundaries understandably await the completion of more urgent tasks. In the meantime, it is recommended that the Committee support the priorities established by the State Party to fully document the property, consolidate all the components of the management system, develop sustainable tourism planning and infrastructure, and implement the most urgent and ongoing conservation programmes.

Capacity-building programmes for staff, students and local communities involved in site management and conservation work are welcomed and should be further encouraged. Finally, the Committee may also wish to encourage the State Party to improve the conditions of artefacts discovered at the property and gradually improve their interpretation and exhibition for educational and outreach purposes.