Decision 44 COM 7B.140

Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, Archaeological Site of Ancient Ishanapura (Cambodia) (C 1532)

The World Heritage Committee,

1. Having examined Document WHC/21/44.COM/7B,
2. Recalling Decisions 41 COM 8B.15 and 43 COM 7B.56, adopted at its 41st (Krakow, 2017) and 43rd (Baku, 2019) sessions respectively,
3. Notes with satisfaction that the property now has its own International Coordinating Committee as an extension of the International Coordination Committee for Angkor (ICC-Angkor) and benefits from regular reviews within this framework and from long-standing expertise;
4. Commends the State Party for the progress made in implementing the Committee’s previous recommendations, and requests the State Party to continue to its progress by:
   1. Consolidating the documentation of the attributes of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the property, ensuring that the Statement of the OUV, documentation, mapping and condition assessments are incorporated in the management system,
   2. Finalising the draft Conservation Manual for Sambor Prei Kuk and regularly updating it with new elements and lessons learnt to support the implementation of urgent and long-term conservation work,
   3. Further refining the Management Plan through the development of a systematic Risk Response and other necessary management components, including measures to monitor built structures, the natural environment and visitors at the property, and by continuing to identify adequate resources for all planned actions,
   4. Continuing to assess the carrying capacity of each of the temple zones, incorporating the outcomes into tourism planning and revising the Tourism Management Plan, including actions, timeframes and resources for the property,
   5. Continuing to implement anti-looting measures,
   6. Ensuring the effectiveness of the monitoring system through regular reporting on the conservation and restoration works, risk data, settlement patterns, ancient hydraulic structures, visitor satisfaction, community involvement, and broader environmental indicators,
   7. Considering the long-term possibility of extending the property’s boundaries, once the inscribed area has been fully documented and assessed,
   8. Continuing to develop capacity-building programmes for a variety of audiences;
5. Encourages 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;
6. Also requests the State Party to submit to the World Heritage Centre, by 1 December 2022, an updated report on the state of conservation of the property and the implementation of the above, for examination by the World Heritage Committee at its 46th session.