Preah Vihear Emergency Conservation Takes Center Stage at 11th ICC Technical Meeting
Preah Vihear Emergency Conservation Takes Center Stage at 11th ICC Technical Meeting
SIEM REAP, Sept. 30, 2026 — Cambodia and international heritage experts have reviewed emergency conservation efforts at the Preah Vihear Temple World Heritage site, focusing on measures recommended by UNESCO to protect the monument from further deterioration following extensive damage during armed conflicts in 2025.
The review took place during the 11th Technical Meeting of the International Coordinating Committee for the Safeguarding and Development of Preah Vihear Temple (ICC-Preah Vihear) in Siem Reap on Wednesday.
The meeting was chaired by Cambodian Minister of Culture and Fine Arts Phoeurng Sackona, together with Chinese Co-Chair Li Qiaozhi, Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of China’s National Cultural Heritage Administration, and Indian Co-Chair Vijay Shankar Prasad, Second Secretary at the Embassy of India.
The National Authority for Preah Vihear presented findings from the joint UNESCO World Heritage Centre–ICOMOS advisory mission conducted from March 1–6, 2026. The mission documented extensive damage to the temple resulting from the 2025 armed conflict, with 562 damaged locations recorded across the World Heritage property. UNESCO described the scale of the recent destruction as unprecedented and warned that the site’s Outstanding Universal Value was under threat.
The technical meeting reviewed emergency interventions carried out in accordance with the UNESCO assessment and recommendations adopted during the 11th plenary session of the ICC-Preah Vihear in March.
Among the measures undertaken, the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC) cleared approximately 70 hectares around the site of unexploded ordnance, identifying 625 impact pits, 730 items of ordnance on the surface, 247 buried items and four drones, according to the National Authority for Preah Vihear.
Conservation teams have also collected and catalogued approximately 84,800 broken stone fragments from the temple, installed structural supports at 23 high-risk locations, and placed monitoring equipment at 50 locations to track changes to the temple’s structures.
Four protective roofs have been constructed, while nearly 250 metres of the ancient drainage system have been restored to help protect the temple from water-related damage.
Despite the progress, the meeting identified additional urgent conservation work. Another 25 structural locations require immediate reinforcement, while additional shelters are needed to store recovered stone fragments and prevent further deterioration or loss.
Further improvements to the site’s drainage system are also required to reduce water infiltration and associated risks to the ancient structures. The ICC-Preah Vihear’s recent expert assessment similarly identified drainage and structural reinforcement as urgent priorities.
The Chinese and Indian co-chairs reaffirmed their continued support and cooperation with Cambodia in conserving and restoring the World Heritage site.
The latest meeting comes as international and Cambodian experts continue emergency restoration work across the temple complex. ICC-Preah Vihear experts inspected conservation progress at the site on Sept. 28 and provided additional recommendations for vulnerable structures requiring continued support.
The ICC-Preah Vihear meeting also stressed the importance of maintaining security for both Cambodian and international conservation teams working at the site, allowing them to safely carry out the work needed to protect Preah Vihear’s Outstanding Universal Value.
The temple was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2008 and remains a site of outstanding cultural significance to Cambodia and the international community.
