Cambodia's Angkor Wat Under Strain
Unregulated Development, Growing Tourism Put Pressure on Temples
Oct 26, 2008
The towers of the Angkor Wat temples, the most important archaeological site in south-east Asia, are on Cambodia's flag, a reminder of the greatness of the Khmer Empire, which once covered much of South-East Asia. Today's Cambodia however is one of the world's poorest nations, with an average annual income of US$480. Decades of war and unrest have left a shackling legacy in the form of land-mines, ramshackle infrastructure and poverty.
Importance of Tourism to Cambodia
Tourism is the country's main industry, and the temples of Angkor are the prime attractions. Over two million tourists visited Cambodia in 2007, and the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism predict this will increase to 3.2 million in 2010. Tourism brought in $1.5 billion in revenue in 2006, underlining the industry's importance to Cambodia, a highly impoverished nation.
Yet this influx of tourists is placing great strain on Cambodia's infrastructure. Siem Reap, the town where visitors to Angkor stay, is starting to buckle under the pressure. The drainage and sewage systems are frequently overwhelmed, with the streets turning into rivers during the rainy season. Power blackouts are not unusual.
Tap Vattho, who heads the development department of the Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap (APSARA), the government agency which manages the Angkor Archaeological Park, told the Cambodia Daily bluntly:
"We don't have enough infrastructure to welcome mass tourism. We are not ready. If a million come a year, the environment will be destroyed very quickly."
Environmental Degradation in Cambodia
Archaeological research carried out by the Greater Angkor Project (GAP) has shown the ancient site of Angkor to be a vast engineered landscape, similar in size to Greater London. There is evidence that the extended settlement profoundly impacted the environment, with the complex water management system failing in places. The archaeologists have speculated that environmental degradation played a part in the ultimate decline of the Khmer Empire.
Seoung Kong, a deputy director-general at APSARA, told the Associated Press last year that what happened to ancient Angkor "appeared to be repeating itself now" due to the tourist boom.
Thousands of pairs of feet walk across the ancient stone of the temples every day, not always softly, while back in Siem Reap, new hotels and restaurants continue to be built without any regulation. Their overuse of groundwater has resulted in a lowering of the water table, threatening the stability of the monuments. At least one temple, the Bayon, is plagued by widening cracks and sinking foundations.
Siem Reap officials are working to improve the town, cleaning up the river and installing more power generators. They are also encouraging visitors to stay longer, and venture further, in an attempt to relieve the pressure on the most famous temples. At the very least, Angkor's future relies on a more sustainable approach to development.
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