WMF Announces New Conservation Work at Angkor: Phnom Bakheng and Churning of the Sea of Milk Gallery at Angkor Wat

Bonnie Burnham, president of World Monuments Fund (WMF), announced today that WMF is launching a major new phase of its conservation program at Angkor, working closely with the governmental organization APSARA National Authority (Authority for the Protection and Management of Angkor and the Region of Siem Reap).

The U.S. Department of State has today announced the award to WMF of $978,705 in funding through the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation to allow WMF to begin conservation work at Phnom Bakheng, the first Khmer temple constructed within the historic city of Angkor. Today the temple is visited daily by thousands of tourists who come to see the glorious sunset. A previous grant of $550,000, awarded to WMF in 2004 by the U.S. State Department, supported a comprehensive multidisciplinary plan for heritage and environmental conservation and tourism management at the site. The new funding will support the stabilization and conservation of the east elevation, the site’s most visible yet most endangered section, making it safe for visitors while protecting it from damage.