Saving, Teaching and Protecting

"This project lies at the core of the new adjustments associated with climate change, particularly in this part of Southeast Asia where floods in the monsoon and typhoon seasons are sometimes dramatic for the local population."

Bernard Willinger

Association des Amis d'Angkor was created in 1988 to raise awareness of the Khmer civilization, to contribute to the restoration and maintenance of the monuments of Cambodia, particularly including the protection of the Angkor site. This former capital of the ancient Khmer empire has a complicated structure on 400 square kilometers with a grid network of canals, and retention basins for the water of its sacred river. The hydraulic network stopped functioning over the years. Disastrous floods in 2012 and 2013 revealed the crucial importance of this hydraulic network, which also plays a vital role for the stability of the monuments of the site.

With the aim of restoring the hydraulic system of Angkor, an agreement was therefore signed in 2013 between the Cambodian authority for the protection of the site of the region of Angkor (Apsara), the governorship of Siem Reap, the nonprofit les Amis d'Angkor, and the Interdepartmental Sanitation Board of the Paris Urban Community (SIAAP). A mission of the French Development Agency also helped assess requirements for the recommissioning of the network.
 

More information here : https://www.planet.veolia.com/en/angkor-cambodia-water-resource-heritage-climate-danger" data-entity-embed-display-settings="{"image_style":"crop_freeform","image_link":""}" data-width="original" title="ANGKOR AND ITS WATER: HERITAGE IN DANGER" alt="ANGKOR AND ITS WATER: HERITAGE IN DANGER">

Today, the nonprofit les Amis d'Angkor is working on installing a remote metering system to measure the water levels and the rainfall so as to prevent floods and to accompany the restoration of Angkor's hydraulic networks.

Veolia is sponsoring this vast program by offering the skills of experts sent to the Angkor site, and also by financing the installation of the metering stations on the model installed on the Bièvre in the Paris area.

168,000 inhabitants concerned

This program will help the 168,000 inhabitants of the 112 villages of the area and also create 15 local jobs. The environmental and social impact of the project is substantial, and this is why the Veolia Foundation is encouraging the involvement of the group's employees and financially supporting the nonprofit les Amis d'Angkor.