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JAPAN-APSARA Safeguarding Angkor |
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The
Background and the Necessity of the Bayon Master Plan
The Bayon temple created by the Khmer, is one of the most
remarkable, unique world cultural heritage. Moreover, the
Bayon temple is the proof of the prosperous history and
the traditional culture of the Angkor dynasty, it is the
living place of worship not only for the residents of the
Angkor– Siem Reap area but for all the people of Cambodia,
and today it is also the center of Angkor tourism. It is
one of the most important monuments for the Cambodian people.
However, Bayon is also the most deteriorated monuments in
serious danger of collapse. Since of the dense agglomeration
of buildings created by impulsive, on-site construction
techniques, it is the most technically difficult monuments
to restore. Due to such complicated reasons, full-scale
conservation measures for Bayon Temple as a whole had continued
to be put on hold, even though it was in urgent need of
conservation and restoration work.
We became keenly aware of the need for a master plan that
would present a comprehensive policy for conservation and
restoration, and realized that the formulation of such a
master plan would itself comprise a long-term project.
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The
Progress towards the Establishment of the Bayon Master Plan
In 1996, “The Bayon Symposium” started in order
to discuss a framework for “The Master Plan for the
Conservation & Restoration of the Bayon Complex”
in the form that JSA sponsors and UNESCO serves as the secretariat,
under the auspices of APSARA. Since then the symposium has
been held annually at Siem Reap, the Angkor monument’s
town. The symposium has been playing a vital role of exchanging
opinions by international participants who are engaged in
the conservation and restoration project of the Angkor monuments,
because the technical problems at the Bayon Temple relate
to overall Angkor monuments as well.
Not confining the theme to the extent of the Angkor itself,
the symposium had provided the opportunity for learning
from the world preceding projects of the similar kind and
intended to discuss the conservation and reservation of
the Angkor monuments from the global viewpoint. To this
end, every year we have participation by many international
experts with remarkable achievement and precious experience.
Furthermore, the most important aim of the symposium is
to inherit to the young Cambodian generation about the survey,
study and conservation of the Angkor monuments. In this
aspect we have successfully many participants from various
teams including APSARA.
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The
Purpose and the Goal of the Bayon Master Plan
June 2005, “The Bayon Master Plan” is completed
and published by bringing together the success of the 9
rounds of symposium up to 2004 and the activity results
of JSA. Based on these outcomes, the restoration of the
Bayon Southern Library, the conservation and restoration
of the bas-relief of the inner and outer galleries, the
long-term countermeasures for stabilizing the central tower,
has been described and is planned to start. The ultimate
goal of the Bayon Master Plan is to provide a fundamental
and comprehensive policy as the following, and it has made
the utmost for accumulation of a reference data from the
practical example.
1) To academically study and research the
religious, artistic, and architectural properties of Bayon
Temple and the significance of its conservation and restoration
from a multidisciplinary approach.
2) To carry out restoration work by integrating the processes
of elucidating, experiencing, training, and mastering the
traditional construction techniques of the Bayon and Angkor
monuments.
3) To utilize past research results pertaining to the Bayon
and Angkor monuments and engage in the restoration plan
formulation and restoration work under a framework of international
cooperation centering on Cambodian youths in order to apply
the knowledge and wisdom of the international community.
4) To fully harmonize the significance of Bayon to the Cambodian
people and society, to international tourism, and as a world
heritage, and to aim for eternal conservation.
5) The records of activities implemented by each team in
Angkor and the Bayon temple should be disclosed and applied
to the cultivation of Cambodian experts.
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A
Fundamental Principle of “The Bayon Master Plan”
The fundamental idea of “The Bayon Master Plan”
has an interrelationship in various meanings among the Angkor
monuments as a whole. As noted on the 7th article of “The
Paris Declaration” at “The 2nd Intergovernmental
Conference for the Safeguarding & the Development of
Angkor” held on 15th November 2003, and to respond
to the desires for making a good utilization of the Master
Plan in Angkor, the fundamental principle of “The
Bayon Master Plan” is summarized and established as
“The Bayon Charter”.
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| Full
text of “THE
BAYON CHARTER” |
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