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Cambodia’s 'forgotten' temple of Banteay Chhmar is located 100 kilometres northwest of Siem Reap. In the 1990s, the Cambodian military mined the temple and looted large sections of bas-relief to sell in Bangkok and other places abroad.
More than 115 of these pieces were recovered and are now held in Cambodia’s National Museum in Phnom Penh. In 2008, the Global Heritage Fund was given the project to conserve the temple. The Fund has a budget of $6m and 44 employees to reconstruct the temple with the end goal of its inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage list. Essential to the project’s success is the support of the 12,000 or so villagers who live near the temple. Community-based tourism aims to give 100 percent of tourist revenue to the local community.
