Environment and Social Plan

- Song Saa Reserve, Eco-Tourism Park, Banteay Srei -

Prepared for Arcadia Land Holding Co., Ltd.

Table of Contents

Executive Summary 4 Introduction 6

Part 1: The Environment and Social Profile of the Banteay Srei Site 7 1.1 Background 7 1.2 Biodiversity 9 1.3 Trapaing Chamboak 10 1.4 Landscape Change 15 1.4.1 Deforestation 15 a. Patterns 15 1.4.2 Drivers of Deforestation 16 1.4.3 Implications & Opportunities 17 1.4.4 Water Management 18 1.4.5 Fire 18 1.4.6 Water Quality 19 1.4.7 Observations and Discussions 19 1.5 Socio-economic 19 1.5.1 Banteay Srei Village 19 1.5.2 Toul Kralanh 20 1.5.3 O’Monous 21 1.5.4 Ko Koh Chum 21 1.5.5 Observations and Discussion – Socio-economic 22 1.6 Cultural Heritage & Landscape 23 1.6.1 Banteay Srei – Temple 23 1.6.2 Birth Place of Angkor Empire – Phnom Kulen 24 1.6.3 Cultural Heritage Conservation and the Banteay Srei Site 25

Part II: Environment and Social Proposals – Banteay Srei Site 26 2.1 Introduction 26 2.2 A Framework for Guiding Development and Management 26 2.3 Issues and Opportunities 27 2.4 Strategic Opportunities and Considerations 29 2.4.1 Introduction 29 2.4.2 Climate Change 29 a. Background 29 b. Cambodia Climate Change Strategic Plan 30 c. Intended Nationally Determined Contributions 30 d. Opportunities 30 e. Moving Forward 31 2.4.3 Biodiversity – Strategies and Plans 31 a. Background 31 b. Opportunities 31 c. Moving Forward 31 2.4.4 Sustainable Development Goals 32 a. Background 32 b. Opportunities 33 c. Moving Forward 33 2.4.5 Social Enterprises 33 a. Background 33 b. Opportunities 33 c. Moving Forward 34 2.5 Projects for the Banteay Srei Site 34 2.5.1 Introduction 34 Implementation – The Song Saa Foundation 35 Project 1 — The Heritage Forest Garden Initiative 36 Project II — The Trapaing Chamboak Heritage Management Plan 42 Project III — The Wildways and Flyways Heritage Project 46 Project IV — The Banteay Srei Heritage Hub 51 2.5.2 Other Environmental and Social Planning Considerations for the Site 55 a. Smaller Scale Activities 55 b. Monitoring and Reporting 55

2 c. Synthesis Between the Environment and Social Planning and Other Site Activities 55 d. Corporate Alignment 57 e. Environment Impact Assessment 57

Part Ill: A Community for Banteay Srei – A Concept Note 58 4.1 Background 58 4.2 Why is this Important? 58 4.3 What Could a Banteay Srei Community Comprise 58 4.4 Concepts to Practice 60 4.5 Design Principles for ‘Project Community’ 60 4.6 Opportunity 60

References 62 Appendices Species identified at the Banteay Srei Site from Surveys Completed Between November 2016 and January 2017 63

3 — Executive Summary —

VISION

“A plan that promotes the regeneration and restoration of environment and social resilience, in harmony with commercial development, on a site in the Siem Reap Province of Cambodia.”

Opportunity

Through adopting a vision based on the 3 rs—Restoration, Regeneration and Resilience—Arcadia Land Holdings Co., Ltd proposes a programme for its BS site that will restore the connections between water, people, land and heritage, both on the site and across the district of Banteay Srei. The promise is an initiative that both inspires and provides leadership for stewardship in the lower Mekong plain of Southeast Asia and beyond.

Goal

The goal of the Song Saa Reserve, Eco-tourism Park, Banteay Srei environment and social plan is as innovative as it is ambitious. And building on the lessons and successes of Song Saa’s work in the Koh Rong archipelago, and the knowledge and skill of its staff, its aspiration is to create a regional exemplar for restoration and stewardship that reflects the present and future needs of the environment and people of the Banteay Srei area and beyond.

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The Song Saa Reserve, Eco-tourism Park, Banteay Srei environment and social plan is divided into four parts.

Part 1 sets out the environment and social context of the Song Saa Reserve, Eco-tourism Park, Banteay Srei site, with points of note including:

• The loss of the site’s rainforest cover as the predominant landscape change, which has had a significant impact on biodiversity and land use patterns. • A lake and wetland, Trapaing Chamboak, bordering the site is a predominant landscape feature, and provides a range of ecosystem services to the development site. • There are four villages in proximity to the site, with home-based agriculture being the primary economic activity. • There are high levels of poverty in the surrounding villages, which is reflected in high primary school dropout rates, outward migration in search of jobs and indebtedness to credit agencies. • Water quality and quantity and fire management are matters that need to be catered for in the development and management of the site. • The site is in a significant cultural area for the Khmer people, including proximity to the scared mountains of Kulen and the Banteay Srei temple of the Angkor Archaeological Park.

Part II provides the project focus portion of the plan and includes:

• A framework for approaching environment and social project work on the site, based on the principles of: (a) permaculture, (b) integrated catchment management, (c) the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and (d) ecological restoration. • An outline of a group of strategic opening that could yield support for projects undertaken on the site, including opportunities provided in the arenas of climate change, biodiversity, the sustainable development goals and social enterprise development. • A set of four large-scale projects for the site, which focus on the opportunities identified through the profile work undertaken in Part I, and which seek to bring about the regeneration and restoration of the ecological and social resilience of the site. The projects are:

- The Heritage Forest Garden Initiative – which focuses on opportunities for the reforestation of areas of the development site. - The Trapaing Chamboak Heritage Management Plan – this entails a collaborative planning process for the establishment of a long-term management plan for the restoration of the Trapaing Chamboak Lake and its wetland margins.

4 - The Wildways and Flyways Heritage Project – An initiative that establishes a strategy and process for regenerating and restoring the biodiversity of the Banteay Srei site in harmony with other development imperatives. - The Banteay Srei Heritage Hub – A project that endeavours to create a learning and education hub that focuses on archaeological and biodiversity/climate change.

• A set of other planning considerations, including monitoring and reporting, corporate alignment and the legal requirements for an environment impact process.

Part Ill provides a concept note on the characteristics of the human community that could evolve at the Banteay Srei site and Part IV, the steps to follow in the implementation of the environment and social plan.

An appendix summarizing the birds, amphibians, fish, insects and plants observed on the site during surveys completed between November 2016 and January 2017 is included. The species lists highlight the low level of biodiversity on the site, which has accompanied the removal of its original forest cover.

1. Introduction

This document sets out a plan to promote the regeneration, restoration and resilience of the physical and social environment of a property project site in the Banteay Srei district of Cambodia (henceforth, ‘the site’).

The plan draws on the extensive experience of Song Saa staff, professional contributions from the nationally renowned eco-tourism and birding enterprise, the Sam Vesna Centre and the global conservation organisation Wildlife Conservation Society. The result is a plan that is visionary and unique for property development in Cambodia, where care and consideration for the environment and people lies at the centre of the project’s concept.

The plan is divided into three parts:

Part 1: The environment and social context of the site.

Part ll: Project framework and descriptions for undertaking on the site.

Part Ill: A Community for Banteay Srei – A Concept Note

6 PART 1

The Environment and Social Profile of the Banteay Srei Site

1.1 Background

The Banteay Srei site is located approximately 38 kilometres north of the city of Siem Reap, in the Angkor basin, an area of 2986 km2 in the central Cambodia province of Siem Reap (see Maps 1.1, 1.2 & 1.3). The basin is bordered by the great lake of Tonle Sap1 in the south and the low-slung range of the Phnom Kulen Mountains in the north, the basin rising from 6 amsl—around the shores of the Tonle Sap—to 469 m at the tallest point in the Kulen range. Three small size rivers dissect the basin—the Puok, the Siem Reap and the Rolous—all of which fed into the Tonle Sap. The Banteay Srei (BS) site is located in the catchment of the Siem Reap River.

Map 1.1: The Angkor Basin and the Song Saa Reserve, Eco-tourism Park, Banteay Srei Site and Other Significant Features

Banteay Srei site

The basin landscape is a mosaic of flooded and upland forests, rice fields, scrub land, sites of shifting cultivation, areas of deforestation and urban development, and designated protected areas. The emergence of intensify-style agriculture, including cassava and plantation development, has occurred over the last seven years. Forests within the basin are dominated by deciduous and evergreen species, the latter heavily populated by species of the Dipterocarpus genus2. Rice growing is a dominant agricultural activity, with irrigated and rain fed rice grown beyond the margins of the Tonle Sap Lake.

1 The Tonle Sap is the largest fresh water lake in Southeast Asia and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The Tonle Sap acts as a reservoir for the Mekong River during the rainy season (May to October), with the lake’s surface varying from 2500 km in the dry season to a staggering 15,000 km2 in the wet. 2 A lesser-known fact is that the jungle surrounding Angkor Wat was the first legally protected forest area in Southeast Asia (created in 1925).

Map 1.2: Boundaries, red, of the Song Saa Reserve, Eco-tourism Park, Banteay Srei

Map 1.3: Provincial and commune details of the Banteay Srei site. Note proximity to Phnom Kulen National Park (PKNP)

8 Historically, landscape and vegetation patterns of the BS site have been shaped by a culmination of precipitation patterns, soil type and human interaction. Weather wise, seasonal monsoons bringing wet, moisture-laden air from the southwest between May to October, while November to April are characterized by dry, cooler airflows from the northeast. The majority of rainfall occurs during the wet season, with an annual precipitation range of 1050 to 1800 mm. The soil type of the site is predominated by a culmination of gley soils (wetland, lake and margins), and heavily weathered fine sands and silt pediments (beyond permanent wetted areas). Of these, the majority of soils on the site are the product of river and erosion deposits from the Quaternary era. Layers of organic matter are small and general soil fertility low.

1.2 Biodiversity

Details garnered from village interviews indicate that prior to the 1980s the BS site was covered in rainforest (A Thai logging company arrived in the 1980s and subsequently deforested large swathes of the area) (Nee, 2017). This forest comprised a culmination of evergreen and dipterocarp open trees, which supported a rich array of arboreal species. These included pileated gibbon (Hylobates pileatus), Indochinese silver langur (Trachypithecus germaini), Bengal slow loris (Nycticebus bengalensis), Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), Indochinese tiger (Panthera tigris), wild boar (Sus scrofa), golden jackal (Canis aureus) and red muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak).

In contrast, records from surveys completed by the Sam Vesna Centre (SVC), in November 2016 and January 2017, identified a species range that included few mammals, birds or other creatures of note. Villagers did report the incidence of mongoose and civet (a mongoose was previously observed by Foundation staff), while a dead large-eyed pit viper (T. macrops) was observed during the SVC survey. A wider range of micro-fauna—skinks, lizards and snakes etc.—likely inhabits the site, while the elongated tortoise, once common to the area, may exist in the remote and less disturbed portions of the property. Overall, a culmination of hunting, habitat removal and chemical-based agriculture mean that the likelihood of anything more unique is unlikely.

The forests, lake and wetlands that dominate the property have traditionally offered rich habitat for birds. Species observed during the SVC surveys include comb duck (Sarkidiornis melanotos), Asian openbill stork (Anastomus osettans), oriental darter (Anhinga melanogaster), alexandrine parakeet (Psittacula alexandri) and red-breasted parakeet (Psittacula eupatria) (Image 1)3. One area, near the centre of the property, along the lake edge, has exceptionally high numbers of snipe and cinnamon bittern, marking it as a zone that should be protected from disturbance if possible.

A large water body, legally named Trapaing Chamboak4, forms the eastern boundary of the property and dominates the landscape of the site. A checklist compiled through village interviews reveals 29 species of fish inhabiting the water body (see Appendix 3). Prominent food species include butter catfish (Ompok bimaculatus), black skin catfish (Clarias meladema), swamp eel (Monopterus albus) and walking catfish (Clarias betraches) (SVC, 2017). Unsurprising, given its ubiquitous nature, the chevron snakehead (Canna striata) is also found in the lake, and is probably the water bodies most significant food species. This fish can grow up to a metre long, however fishing pressure means that catches of this size are unlikely. Given this species susceptibility to fishing pressure, the fish could provide a useful bio-indicator for any future monitoring regime developed for the property.

Nee (2017) and SVC (2017)5 both detail village comments that fish numbers have dropped ‘significantly’ over the last four to five years. Informants attribute this change to overfishing and the use of illegal methods (e.g., electricity). Further observations suggest the destruction of spawning and refuge habitat around the edges of the lake and the increased use of herbicide in the greater catchment have contributed to this change.

The recorded presence of wetland birds on the lake and the absence of similar large bodies of open water in the BS area means, that the lake has potential to support large wetland and wading birds. Currently, results from surveys suggest, this potential is restricted by:

• Disturbance by humans and dogs (wading birds will not alight in locations where dogs are presence, as the animal has a tendency to chase them). • Hunting and egg collection. • Destruction of shoreline food habitat. • Overfishing. • A lack of secure areas for undisturbed wading, nesting and roosting. • The absence of certain habitat types (e.g., tubular grasslands, which encourage Sarus cranes).

3 See Appendix 1 for a list of historic bird species, and Appendix 2 for bird species recorded during the 2016 and 2017 SVC survey. 4 The lake goes by numerous local names, including Boeung Chouk (Lotus Lake). I have reverted to the legal name as defined by the Ministry of Water and Meteorology, Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC). 5 The SVC and Nee studies were undertaken in November 2016.

It is anticipated that the removal of these factors—together with the creation of artificial habitats—would lead to an increased seasonal presence of water birds at the site, including the appearance of adjutants (Leptoptilos sp.), Sarus crane (Grus Antigone), cattle egrets (Bubulcus sp.) swamp hen (Porphyrio sp.) and spot-billed pelican (Pelecanus philippensis) (see page 10).

1.3 Trapaing Chamboak

A predominant landscape feature of the site is a large human-made lake known locally as Trapaing Chamboak. Historic evidence suggests that the human-made lake was developed in coordination with the construction of the Banteay Srei temple (circa 697 AD), the impoundment supplying water to the temple site and its surrounding settlement (it is believed that there was once a surface water connection between the lake and the temple site). Records indicate that the forested portion of land on the eastern side of the lake was once entirely surrounded by water, creating an island that, through time, has merged into the greater shoreline of the present day lake (see Map 1.3). From a topographic perspective, villagers also report that the lake was once connected through a culmination of waterways and a canal to Kulen Mountain, 25 kilometres to the north of the site. Interviews point to the presence of two large springs on the property, locally known as Chup Thom and Choup Tbal (see Map 3).

Interviews point to the presence of two historic dams on the property. The first, known locally as the ‘Koma Dam’, was constructed in Angkorian times and helped in the supply of water to the northern forested portions of the site (this forest has now disappeared). A further dam, named Chham Bok Thom, once existed in the site of the current gates that control the exit of water from the lake. The purpose of this dam was to facilitate the transfer of water towards the Banteay Srei temple site. Damaged numerous times during the conflict period of 1970 – 1998, the dam was rehabilitated in the early 2000s.

Villagers report the lake to be three metres deep at its deepest point, increasing to four to five metres at the height of the wet season. At the bottom end of the water body a series of gates, constructed in the early 2000s, are used to manage flows, including the supply of water to downstream users (these have been constructed on the site of the old Angkor dam—Chham Bok Thom). Records on flooding indicate that the most significant recent event occurred in 2003, when floodwaters inundated the district.

Inhabitants from the villages surrounding the lake, Banteay Srei, O’Monous, Ko Koh Chun and Toul Kralach, collect non- timber forest products (e.g., water plants for food), fish, and source irrigation water from the downstream outlet of the water body (note: informants suggest that there were once fish ponds on the land at the lower end of the lake, near the site of the old Chham Bok Thom dam). The shoreline is also a popular route for the movement of livestock, namely cattle and water buffalo, with portions of the land surrounding the lake being treated as an open access area and used for grazing. Villagers report that the area is also popular with people from outside the district, who arrive to fish and camp during key holiday periods (e.g., Khmer New Year).

Image 1.1: ‘Rewilding the Lake’: Bird Opportunities for the Banteay Srei Site

Cambodia is home to two adjutant species—greater and lesser—of which the latter is the most numerous. Both birds are members of the stork family, with the greater adjutant listed as Endangered and the lesser adjutant as Vulnerable. Of the species it is likely that the lesser variety (yellow necked bird in the photograph) would be the one to appear at the BS site, if favourable conditions were created.

An iconic bird of open wetlands, the A large wader, the painted stork favours Sarus crane is the world’s tallest flying the margins of shallow wetlands, where bird (1.8 m). The bird features it is often observed hunting for food. prominently in Khmer folklore and is The bird frequently nests in colonies depicted on the walls of the Bayon with other wetland birds, including spot- temple at Angkor. Crane numbers billed pelicans. The bird is listed as have declined markedly over the last Vulnerable. 120 years, with fewer than 1000 birds remaining in Cambodia.

Cambodia’s only native pelican, the spot -billed usually favours large lakes, such as Tonle Sap (located 60 kilometres south of the Banteay Srei site). However, when disturbance is reduced, birds will roost and nest in more confined locations. The pelican reacts favourably to artificial enhancements, including willingness to nest on raised platforms.

A medium sized bird of 75 – 92 cm, the Woolly-necked stork is one the most beautiful of the Alexandrine (top) and Rose-ring large wading birds of Cambodia. parakeet (bottom), listed as Near The bird—listed as Threatened on the IUCN Red List. Vulnerable—is adaptable in These birds are common in the forests terms of habitat preference, and around the Banteay Srei temple. will be found in locations as diverse as fallow fields, irrigation canals and human-made ponds. This versatility means that the bird is probably the easiest of larger water birds to encourage back to the lake.

11 Image 1.2: Habitat and land use of the Banteay Srei site November 2016 Note: Later land purchases extended the site’s footprint to the northeast & south (see Map 1.).

Image 1.3: Habitat types of the Banteay Srei site (SVC, 2017)

13 Image 1.4: Fauna and flora features of the Banteay Srei site (SVC, 2017)

14 1.4 Landscape Change

1.4.1 Deforestation a. Patterns It is likely that for the bulk of the Angkor empire period large swathes of forests in the Banteay Srei area were removed, either as a supply of firewood and construction materials for the burgeoning kingdom or to provide land for agricultural purposes. What is not disputed is that by the time of Andrea Malraux’s ill-fated exhibition to the area in 1923, dense jungle had reclaimed much of the district. The fact the temple was not rediscovered by Europeans, until the 1920s, is an indication of how persuasive the rainforest’s return was.

Map 1.3: Changing Forest Cover in the Angkor Basin 1989 to 2005

Phnom Kulen range

Source: Gaughan, et al.,2009, pp. 217

During the interceding years the rich evergreen jungle and pockets of dry dipterocarp would have provided a range of ecosystem services to the clusters of habitation that existed in the Angkor basin. This would have including timber for building, charcoal for cooking, as well as non-timber forest products such as honey and resin (the latter used for making torches and the water-proofing of boats). Civil conflict, which started with the rise of the Khmer nationalist movement (Khmer Issarak) in the 1940s and the emergence of the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge in the 1960s, both groups seeking safety in the region’s rainforests, dissuaded further development.

Cumulatively, this meant that by the mid-1980s Gaughan (et al., 2009) estimates that 40 percent of the Angkor basin was covered in forest6, the remainder of the region either non-forested (56 percent), or water (4 percent). However, by 2005 this had dramatically changed, with forest cover reduced to 32 percent, non-forest cover at 65 percent and water, largely unchanged, at 3 percent. Although more recent documentation is not forthcoming, national trends of deforestation—17 percent per year since 2005—suggest remaining forest cover in the basin would be in the 5 – 15 percent range, with the bulk of continuous forest cover restricted to the Phnom Kulen National Park.

6 For the purposes of Gaughan’s (et al., 2009) study, forest was defined as areas with minimum 30 percent canopy coverage, a figure that provided an ecologically sound delineation between scrub/regrowth areas and ‘real’ forest.

15 Map 1.4: Forest cover trends in Angkor basin: 1989 – 2005

BS site

Source: Gaughan, et al., 2009, pp. 218

The patterns of changing forest cover in the Angkor basin is presented pictorially by Gaughan (et al., 2009) in Map 1.3 and 1.4. Viewing Map 1.4, areas of cover and non-cover are sequenced at 1989, 1995 and 2005 and coloured. Accordingly, areas of green (F-F-F) indicate locations where forest cover existed in 1989, 1995 and 2005; while yellow (F-N-N) identified zones where forest existed in 1989, but was recorded as absence in 1995 and 2005 and so on.7

The culmination of Gaughan’s analysis, observations from village interviews and satellite imagery (see Image 1.5, overleaf) suggest at a pattern of forest cover change on the BS site that follows the F-N-N pattern. However, village interviews do suggest that there is more woody cover on the property than a decade ago. A fitting description of this vegetation would be ‘scrubby regrowth’, with its present indicating that portions of the site are entering a forest cover scenario close to the blue signifier on Gaughan’s key (i.e., F-N-F). Informants attribute this change to the presence of a ‘strong landowner’, who dissuaded people from returning to the site and removing the re-growing vegetation. This highlights the importance of security and oversight as a management control against further vegetation removal from the property.

1.4.2 Drivers of Deforestation

Gaughan et al. argues that the most recent patterns of deforestation in the Angkor basin have been driven by household charcoal production, with villagers manufacturing the product and selling it on to middlemen who vend it to Siem Reap town. Much of this charcoal, he suggests, has been consumed by the hospitality industry, where it is use it for cooking in hotels, restaurants and roadside stalls (particularly for the catering of traditional meals, such as grilled meats)8. With mounting tourism numbers, Gaughan argues that the impetus for charcoal driven deforestation can only increase9. Village interviews, in contrast to these claims suggest that the role of charcoal is not be as significant as it once was, with the emergence of intensive

7 One interesting note has been a small portion of area where forest cover had actually increased, between 1989 and 2005, represented by the pale green (N-F-F). The largest portion of this area is in the Angkor archeological park, where stronger policing has provided a stop to illegal timber removal. 8 In terms of the scale of this activity, the authors point to airport international arrival figures, which have gone from 34,000 in 1993 to 1.12 million at the time of their study (2005). Current visitor trends, up to 3.9 million in 2015, will have only exacerbated this pattern (note: figures do not include visitors arriving by non-air travel means). 9 To support their argument the researchers highlight similar studies that have revealed the causative links between deforestation, charcoal production and tourism (e.g., Hofstad, 1997).

16 plantation style agriculture now a predominate driver of vegetation change in the Banteay Srei district.

In terms of forest cover change these observations point to the following drivers of deforestation across the BS site: (1) logging—which resulted in the removal of commercial hardwood species in the 1980s; (2) 1990 – 2010, clearing associated with re-settlement along with the removal of smaller trees and understory vegetation to provide for household and livelihood needs, including the manufacture of charcoal; and (3) 2010 – today, wholesale vegetation clearance to support more intense forms of agricultural development

Image 1.5: Satellite image depicting vegetation cover change on the Banteay Srei site (red) between 1996 and 2016. The images show dramatic loss of cover between 1996 and 2006 inside the site, while surround forest cover has steadily decreased right across the period.

1.4.3 Implications & Opportunities

Deforestation has been the most persuasive landscape change on the BS site, with environmental and social implications that will impact on any future development that occurs on the property. Of particular note here is:

• A reduced level of biodiversity. • Increased sedimentation issues for the lake and other water bodies. • Increased vulnerability to hyper-period hydrological events. • Less ecosystem resilience. • The decline of a range of ecosystem services (e.g., pollinators).

By understanding the drivers of forest change it is easier to understand what interventions will be effective in any attempts to promote reforestation of the BS and beyond. The ability to control activities on the property means that the predominant present day driver of deforestation can be excluded (i.e., agricultural intensification). However, it is also anticipated that as forest cover increases on the property, it will be a tempting target for poachers, as the opportunity to source wood from other

17 locations is likely to be low. Understanding the pattern also shows us how some interventions, such as those that seek to reduce charcoal for village cooking would likely be ineffective, as the actual driver of this is external market forces.

Overall, the interplay between economic incentives, vegetation cover and patterns of changing land use suggest that deforestation in the district is driven by the interplay of changing imperatives, shaped by forces both inside and outside the district. This invariably means that any strategies that seek to address this issue will need to accommodate a range of values if it is to be effective.

1.4.4 Water Management

As researchers garner a greater understanding of the relationships between the archeological park’s temples and the reservoirs (barays), moats and canals that surround them, it is evident that water management played a key role in their design and construction. In the past it was believed that these water features were important for defensive or celestial reasons, and while this may remain true, in part, they are now considered to have played a crucial role in the integrity of the temple structures. Underpinning this appreciation is the physical realities of the temples sites themselves, which sit on an extensive band of sand that, archeologists believe, require a permanent level of saturation to protect the structural impacts of subsidence.

In this context, the moat and baray features were designed, in part, to ensure a permanent level of saturation beneath the temples, in order to ensure their structural integrity. (Heng pers. comm). And it is now believed that the builders of the Angkor temples employed a sophisticated mathematical equation to calculate the size of the moats and barays necessity to ensure the required level of sub-soil saturation beneath their structures.

Unsurprisingly, today, with surface and groundwater levels across the province in decline, the Apsara Authority is taking a keen interest in water management across the Angkor basin, with a dedicated planning office now in place. Presently this department is working on the development of an integrated catchment management strategy for the basin, which will inevitably have implications for water management and utilisation at the BS site. This work will create a set of considerations that will need to be built into the development of the site and which are discussed further in Part II.

1.4.5 Fire

Vegetation fires are a seasonal hazard in Cambodia where conditions over the dry season (November – May), and a pyrotechnic interest amongst some Khmer youth result in the regular occurrence of grass and scrub fires. The BS site is not immune from this danger and as early as January 2017 a small grass fire made its way across the middle portion of the property (see Image 1.6).

The risk of fire on the site appears is strongly correlated to the amount of dry combustible grass matter, vegetation type and the time of the year. It was noticeable that with the fire captured in Image 3., the flames generally past around areas of wetland and green growth.

The season of risk of fire poses genuine concerns for the development and management of the site. However, with forward planning on vegetation types, breaks and green buffers, along with the support of a fire unit, it is a problem that can be managed.

Image 1.6: Smoke from a grass fire that ignited on the BS site in January 2017. The alleged perpetrators were children herding cattle. Although the smoke and flames were impressive, the actual damage was limited, in most cases, to rank and dead areas of grass.

18 1.4.6 Water Quality

Villager comments collected by Nee (2017) highlight the risks involving groundwater quality in the Banteay Srei area. In particular, the emergence of intensive agricultural, together with the uncontrolled use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, point to the dangers of groundwater contamination. Moreover, with no reported systems of water quality monitoring in place, there is the danger of contamination occurring without public awareness. What is apparent, from Nee’s work, is a reoccurring dissatisfaction about the quality of village well water, with taste and smell being questioned.

In terms of future activities on the BS site, these observations highlight the need for a groundwater strategy that entails:

• Seeking groundwater from confined aquifer sources that are beyond potential zones of chemical contamination. • A need for regular groundwater quality testing.

1.4.7 Observations and Discussion – Environment

The key environmental factors characterising the BS site are:

• Removal of all primary vegetative cover—open deciduous and evergreen tropical rainforest—over the last 35 years.

• Sandy loam soils of the site have poor fertility, highly porous and contain only a minimal layer of organic matter.

• The lake of Trapaing Chamboak is a dominant landscape feature. Lake is hydrologically connected, via sub-surface springs to Phnom Kulen, and lies in an arm of the Siem Reap River catchment. Security of its water level is linked to developments in the wider catchment, including rates of groundwater abstraction and the loss off forest cover in the Kulen Range.

• Fish yields in the lake have steadily declined over the last five years.

• Species lists indicate the absence of any exceptional mammal or bird species, with all identified species falling into the category of ‘Least concern’ on the IUCN Red List.

• The reduction of certain habitat pressures, including human disturbance, could precipitate the return of a number of large water bird species to the site.

• There is increasing evidence of chemical use, for agricultural purposes, in the Banteay Srei district. The unmanaged nature of this activity, along with high natural arsenic levels in the Angkor basin mean that the monitoring and safeguarding of water quality, including regular testing, need to be incorporated into the property’s operation.

• Local villagers regard the Trapaing Chamboak, its margins and large portions of the property itself as an open access resource, relying on the property as a source of NTFPs (especially around the lake’s margins), a fishing ground, a location for herding and grazing livestock, and as a recreational area. The open access nature of this de facto property right means that there are no communal rules determining responsibility and care over these areas, with interviews by Nee (2017) failing to identifying any rule regime. This makes the property vulnerable to natural resource transgressions, such as the setting of fires and the removal of trees.

1.5 Socio-economic

The Banteay Srei site is surrounded by four villages, which are occupied mainly by indigenous Khmer (see Map 3). Details of the village names, location and key date are summarised below:

• Banteay Srei - southeast side of the BS site • Toul Kralanh – northeast side of the BS site • O’Monous – 2 km to the northwest of the BS site • Ko Koh Chum / Stoeung Chum – 2 km to the southwest of the BS site

19 1.5.1 Banteay Srei Village

Records suggest that some form of inhabitation has occurred at the site of the Banteay Srei village since the late nineteenth century. Settlement increased markedly in the 1970s, with the number of families rising to 300 during the Khmer Rouge era10. Over this period there was sporadic fighting, which continued through to the 1990s. From 1998, following the cessation of conflict and an extensive demining operation, people slowly returned to the village.

Table1.1: Key Data from Villages Surrounding the Banteay Srei Site

Village Name # Family # Population # Housing Total Female Tile roof Tin roof Thatch roof Total Household Banteay Srei 386 1682 945 51 157 123 331

Toul Kralanh 481 1650 925 42 137 133 312

O’Monous 166 825 462 2 68 67 137

Ko Koh Chum / 175 986 415 7 78 58 143 Stoeung Chum

Note: Nature of roofing material is a useful means for assessing average village wealth. A high proportion of tile or tin roofs can indicate comparatively ‘wealthy’ village compared to those dominated by thatch. Source: Angkor Participatory Natural Resources Management and Livelihood (2012).

Today, people living in Banteay Srei village rely on rice cultivation and home gardens (Khmer: chamkar) for their livelihood. The collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), including honey, rattan, mushrooms and bamboo, provide supplementary income, with the nearby hills and forests of Kulen, 25 kilometres to the village north, being the primary source for these products. A smaller number of people work in construction, the repair of the temples, and selling food and souvenirs at the Banteay Srei temple.

Observations indicate that life remains challenging for the people living in the village (Nee, 2017). Income levels and literary rates are low, with many of the village’s younger inhabitants leaving the area for jobs in Phnom Penh and Thailand. The restrictions that the World Heritage status imposes on building and land use has also limited the development opportunities for villagers. And informants indicate growing conflict between the organisation managing the temple site—the Apsara Authority—and the community. Meanwhile, a lack of language skills means that most villagers are unable to reap the benefits arising from tourists visiting the area. Unsurprising, therefore, improved education and English tuition is recognised as desirable by many villagers, especially the young.

The close proximity of Trapaing Chamboak means that the lake features prominently in the livelihoods and culture of the village. With fishing and the use of the shoreline for agriculture, including livestock rearing, being important activities associated with it. Meanwhile, villagers report that fish catch has dropped steadily over the last five years, with the lake supporting domestic needs and few fish available for sale. Some dry seas rice planting and vegetable growing (chamkar) occurs around the southern margins of the lake by Banteay Srei inhabitants.

Support from international non-government organisations (INGOs) has played a role in ameliorating some of the effects of poverty on the village. As a result of this support health levels are reported to have improved, while access to potable drinking water—via wells—has also increased (although many complain of the taste and spell of the water).

1.5.2 Toul Kralanh

Toul Kralanh village did not exist until the early 1990s, when land clearance for agriculture saw the emergence of the village. Unsurprisingly, therefore, the majority of the village’s inhabitants arrived during the logging era (1990s – early 2000s), participating in the removal of trees and in the production of charcoal. With the demise of the logging industry, in the early 2000s, most of Toul Kralanh’s inhabitants reverted to farming, however the seizure of large swathes of land by the Apsara Authority, in 2005, resulted in many families losing access to the land that they had previously cultivated. Many people left after this event, while of those that remain only 30 percent rely on farming for their livelihood today.

10 The Banteay Srei area was occupied early on by the Khmer Rouge (around 1970) and subsequently retained a Khmer Rouge presence through to the late 1990s.

As in the village of Banteay Srei, residents of Toul Kralanh derive additional income from working in construction and restaurants, as farm labourers, and tasks around the temples (e.g., repair and guards). NTFPs are also collected from the nearby Kulen range. Similar to Banteay Srei, villagers report significant outward migration of young people to jobs in Siem Reap and Thailand.

Observations by Nee (2017) indicate lower levels of hygiene and sanitation, compared to the village of Banteay Srei, although most households have access to underground water (the community is equipped with 22 culvert wells, 171 pumping wells and 5 hand dug wells). However, villagers report concerns about the quality of this water, with many reverting to local ponds as an alternative, while rates of waterborne disease are high, especially amongst children. A lack of health ‘literacy’ amongst the population has been used as an explanation for the high rates of illness in the village by the local authorities.

Similar to BS village, Toul Kralanh has received outside assistance from national and international NGOs, who have helped to supply wells, fishponds, roads, fruit trees, schools, basic agriculture materials, livestock, food support for impoverished families, community saving schemes and general community education services (e.g., domestic violence and gender programmes).

Village records indicate that school enrolment rates for young children are high, but that dropout rates steadily increase through the age groups, with very few children from the village to attend high school. Adult literacy rates are reported to be low11.

Community interaction with Trapaing Chamboak is similar to that the Banteay Srei village, with lakefront margins being an animal grazing location for cows and buffalos.

1.5.2 O’Monous

Originally part of Banteay Srei settlement, it shares a similar history to the villages already discussed: light settlement before the Khmer Rouge, disruption during the Khmer Rouge era and resulting period of civil war, clearing of forests in the late 1990s, and a tenuous path out of poverty—with significant INGO support—into the present day. The village derives its name for the Khmer term for ‘pine apples’, a large number of which were once grown in the area.

Nee (2017) reports similar livelihood, education and health trends in O’Monous to the other villages surrounding the site, although he does suggest that O’Monous appears more improvised. As evidence, Nee cites:

• Lower school enrollment rates than for the other settlements (the village is some distance from the Banteay Srei Primary School). • School dropout rates are higher as is outward migration in search of work. • Elevated rates of illness caused by waterborne disease. • Low levels of family planning.

NGO support, as for the other villages, is reported as significant, meaning that poverty levels are not as severe as they would otherwise be. Similar to the Banteay Srei and Toul Kralanh village, NGOs have supported water, education and livelihood activities.

Because of distance from the Trapaing Chamboak, Nee (2017) suggest that its villagers derive the lowest level of benefit from the lake compared to the other settlements in the vicinity.

1.5.3 Ko Koh Chum (Stoeung Chum)

Like the other villages, Ko Koh Chum was lightly populated until the 1990s, when the decline of hostilities and the burgeoning timber industry encouraged people to move to the area from other provinces. The result has been a steady increase in the population to the levels observed today (see Table 1.1.).

Rice cultivation and chamkar account for 70 percent of family income (this is a higher rate than for the other three villages), with the cultivation of cassava and fruit growing contributing to a more diverse range of agricultural products than observed in the other villages. However, poor soil fertility means that production rates from family plots are low. Supplementary work in construction, hospitality and around the temple sites makes important contributions to household economies.

11 Children in the area attend school at the Banteay Srei Primary School.

Image 1.7: Corn being irrigated with water sourced from the canal draining Trapaing Chamboak, Ko Koh Chum.

A number of the trends observed in the other villagers, including poor sanitation, access to groundwater (and dissatisfaction with its taste), low rates of education and high levels of waterborne diseases are replicated in Ko Koh Chum.

Like the village of Banteay Srei, the residents of Ko Hoh Chum derive greater benefit from Trapaing Chamboak on account of their close proximity and access to the canal that drains the water body. Nee (2017) calculates that at least 54 families use water from the channel to irrigate their crops (see Image 1.7). Fishing is also noted as a significant benefit derived from the lake. Contributions by NGOs match those of the other villages.

1.5.5 Observations and Discussion – Socio-economic

Observations from interviews and surveys around the BS site highlight a range of reoccurring factors that have shaped the social environment of the area, with these having potentially positive and negative implications for development on the site. Simultaneously, they also point to areas of opportunity where the developer could intervene to promote community health and wellbeing. The observations in summary are:

• National socio-economic data indicate that the Banteay Srei district falls with the 0-25 percent docile for income and livelihood wellbeing. Siem Reap is nationally recognised as one of the poorest provinces in Cambodia, with much of the wealth created by the Angkor Archeological Park flowing out of the region.

• Agriculture, in the form of rice cultivation and chamkar, is the primary livelihood activity in the area, contributing to 30 – 70 percent of household income. Poor soil fertility, the small size of family holdings, distance from market and an aging workforce—many young adults migrate out of the area for work—mean that income levels from agriculture are limited despite its economic importance. Low paid construction, hospitality, and work on the temple sites provide notable income sources, while some income is derived from the collection and sale of NTFPs, although these are generally consumed within the household.

Despite the importance of agriculture, the activity faces some key limits in terms of productivity and contribution to family wellbeing. These include: - Low rates of soil fertility. - Most family holdings are of insufficient size to support their resident households. - Agricultural inputs, such as fertilizer, are beyond the purchasing capacity of households.

• An increasing number of young adults are migrating out of the district, and seeking work in Siem Reap and Thailand, with the remittances they provide an important wealth supplement for local families. Families who lose family members to outside work are subsequently obliged to rely on those who remain to complete household tasks, an impact that likely drives up the rates of primary school non-completion reported by Nee (2017).

22 • Access to non-timber forest products (NTFP) provides an important bulwark against household poverty for villagers, providing resources that are used to supplement household resources, with excess produce being available for sale.

• The importance of Trapaing Chamboak to the nearby communities reflects the combination of proximity, responsibility for grazing livestock, and livelihood wellbeing. In summary, for villagers living two kilometres or more from the lake, including those of O’Monous, the lake is less important. Meanwhile, for those living close by—Banteay Srei and Ko Koh Chum in particular—the lake essentially acts as a ‘backyard’, which villagers access for fish, NTFPs and animal grazing.

• Primary school enrolment rates, with the exception of O’Monous, are generally good, but the dropout rate is high, with few children making it to high school, although the school itself is located in Banteay Srei village, next door to the primary school.

• Nee (2017) reports a burgeoning micro-loan industry in the villages surrounding the BS site, which has provided benefits to some families, but trapped others in debt. This has helped to drive up the number of family members seeking work outside the district, with Thailand a popular destination.

• Nee (2017) suggests that the standard of hygiene and sanitation are not high amongst the local communities, although basic health services were reported to be in place. Birth control is generally not practiced, with villagers showing low rates of family planning.

1.6 Cultural Heritage & Landscape

The BS site is located within a landscape steeped in history and meaning to the Cambodia people. To the east lies the revered temple site of Banteay Srei, which is frequently recognised as one of the most beautiful and unique within the Angkor archeological complex. Beyond the temple, 25 km to the north lays the Phnom Kulen range, a set of raised tablelands acknowledged as the birthplace of the Angkor Empire and the Cambodian nation. Considered together, it is little exaggeration to suggest that the Banteay Srei site lies at the epicenter of Cambodian history.

1.6.1 Banteay Srei – Temple

Banteay Srei is the modern name of a 10th-century Khmer temple originally called Tribhuvanamaheśvara (‘Great Lord of the Threefold World’), a title for the Hindu god Shiva. The temple's modern name, Banteay Srei—‘citadel of the women’, or ‘citadel of beauty’—likely relates to the intricacy of the bas-relief carvings found on the walls and the tiny dimensions of its buildings. Others accord its name to the many devatas (lesser deities) found along its red sandstone walls. In the past, the Angkor town of Īśvarapura, no trace of which now exists, surrounded the temple.

Consecrated on 22 April 967 A.D., Banteay Srei was the only major Angkor temple not built by a monarch; its construction credited to the courtiers Vishnukumara and Yajnavaraha, who served as counsellors to king Rajendravarman II. The foundation stela12 states that Yajnavaraha, grandson of king Harsavarman I, was a scholar and philanthropist who helped those suffering from illness, injustice and poverty. His pupil was the future king Jayavarman V (968-1001).

Remarkably, the temple was only rediscovered by Europeans in1914 (by comparison, Angkor Wat was rediscovered in the mid-1800s), and was the subject of a celebrated case of ‘tomb raiding’ by the future famous Frenchman, Andre Malraux who, in 1923, stole four devatas from the site. The incident inspired interest in Banteay Srei and following the clearance of jungle, became the first Angkor temple to be restored using anastylosis (a process where a ruin is restored using the original architectural methods and materials). Much later, between 2000 and 2003, a joint Cambodian-Swiss Banteay Srei Conservation Project installed a drainage system to protect the temple from water damage, while measures were put in place to prevent harm to temples walls from nearby trees. Unfortunately, in the past, looting and vandalism have caused some damage to the temple’s reliefs and walls.

Banteay Srei is built largely of hard red sandstone, which can be carved like wood, with brick and laterite use restricted to various enclosure walls and additional structural elements. Design-wise, the site comprises three concentric rectangular enclosures constructed on an east–west axis, with a causeway situated on the axis leading from an outer gopura, or gate, to the third—outermost—of the three enclosures. The inner enclosure contains the sanctuary, consisting of an entrance chamber and three towers, as well as two buildings that are usually described as ‘libraries’.

12 An upright stone slab or column typically bearing a commemorative inscription or relief design.

In terms of features, the temple is renown for the beauty of its sandstone pediments and lintels. A pediment is the triangular space found above a rectangular doorway or openings and, at Banteay Srei, the pediments are relatively large in comparison to the openings below, and take on a sweeping gabled form. Of note, the pediments at the temple site were the first to render mythological subject matter in their depictions. A lintel, meanwhile, is a horizontal beam spanning the gap between two posts. Some lintels serve a structural purpose—supporting the weight of the structure—while others are purely decorative in purpose. The lintels at Banteay Srei are beautifully carved, rivalling those of other renowned Angkor sites.

Many niches in the temple walls contain carvings of devatas or dvarapalas13, while other decorative motifs include depictions of kala (a toothy monster, symbolic of time), the guardian dvarapala (an armed protector of the temple) and devata (demi- goddess), as well as numerous false doors14, and the colonettes15. This culmination of features has led to wide praise for the Banteay Srei temple, with famed Angkor scholar Maurice Glaize16 describing it such: "[G]iven the very particular charm of Banteay Srei—its remarkable state of preservation and the excellence of a near perfect ornamental technique—one should not hesitate, of all the monuments of the Angkor group, to give it the highest priority. At Banteay Srei”, he continued, "the work relates more closely to the art of the goldsmith or to carving in wood than to sculpture in stone". Glaize’s observations are consistent with the growing number of tourists whom journey to the site, the temple garnering recognition as a ‘precious gem’, and a ‘jewel of Khmer art’.

1.6.2 Birth Place of the Angkor Empire - Phnom Kulen

Phnom Kulen (trans. ‘mountain of the lychees’) is renown as the birthplace of the Khmer Angkor empire and the modern nation of Cambodia itself, for it was here that King Jayavarman II proclaimed independence from Java17 in 804 CE (Cambodia had previously existed as a vassal state). Today, the site where this event took placed is marked by a three-tiered laterite structure, called Rong Chen, which was built by Jayavarman II’s in celebration of his nation-creating act.

The importance of the Kulen range in the evolution of the new Khmer kingdom is not merely symbolic—physically it was home for much of the sandstone that formed the building material for the temples and other structures of the Angkor complex, as well as the wood that was used to support these endeavours. Hydrologically, as the source of the Angkor basins three main rivers, it also played a key role in the development of the intricate irrigation system that paved the way for the growth and expansion of the fledging civilization.

Culturally, the mountain range is acknowledge as the spiritual home of Cambodia, with its tallest peak, Phnom Kulen, considered the most revered mountain in the kingdom, with devote Hindu and Buddhist followers making regular pilgrimages to its slopes. Again, it was King Jayavarma II who bestowed this religious significant on the range—as it was he who saw the Kulen range through Hindu eyes (before the 14 century, Cambodia was predominately a Hindu nation)—with the range taking on the quality of the fabled Hindu mountain Mt. Meru, rising above the mythical ocean, represented by the great lake of Tonle Sap. It was therefore on the summit of Kulen—‘where the earth met the heavens and men met gods’—that he was ordained. Suitably, it was also amongst the slopes of Kulen, at the aforementioned Rong Chen, that the ambitious Jayavarman was crowned ‘the God who is King’ and the first Emperor of Kambujadesa—Cambodia.

Alongside Rong Chen, the most renowned culture feature of Kulen is a series of carvings that cover the rocks of the upland tributaries of the Siem Reap River. Dated to the 11th and 12th centuries, these hold special religious significance, as they are integral to a ceremonial ritual known as abishek. In this ritual sacred figures—statutes etc.—are cleansed through bathing, a process that is believed to infuse the objects with spiritual energy (shakti). On the bed of a Kulen river, through carving scared images into the riverbed, the ancient Khmer sought to accomplish abishek on a grand scale: guaranteeing that the carved figures were constantly bathed, while ensuring that the water passing over them became charged with spiritual energy.

The most prominent carvings are the numerous Shiva lingams and yonis18 at Kbal Spean, where the belief holds that water, which passes over the carvings, is endowed with the spiritual energy of Shiva and his female associates. It is this conviction that results, each year, in thousands of Khmer making a pilgrimage to Kbal Spean, the river taking on a Ganges-like symbolism for those who bath there.

13 A dvarapala is a door or gate guardian often portrayed as a warrior or frightening giant. 14 Angkorian shrines frequently opened in only one direction, typically to the east. The other three sides featured fake or blind doors to maintain symmetry, with ‘blind’ windows were often added along otherwise blank walls. 15 Colonettes are narrow decorative columns that serve as supports for the beams and lintels above doorways or windows. 16 Maurice Glaize, a French architect and archeologist, was the official Conservator of Angkor between 1937 and 1945. 17 The exact origins of the ‘Java’ empire remains a matter of debate, but it likely refers to the Champa kingdom that emerged, in the latter part of the first millennium, in lower Laos and central Vietnam region, where it flourished and subsequently declined. 18 A linga is the phallic symbol of the god Shiva, while a carving known as a yoni symbolises the god’s female consort.

24 1.6.3 Cultural Heritage Conservation and the Banteay Srei Site

Field studies and consultation with the organisation overseeing the Angkor Archeological Park—the Apsara Authority—has indicated no official record of archeological sites on the property.

25 PART ll

Environment and Social Proposals Banteay Srei Site

2.1 Introduction

Part II sets out a series of projects that may be integrated into the management and commercial development of the BS site. It is divided into four sections.

• A framework for the integration of environment and social initiatives into the development and management of the BS property.

• A description of the key environment, social and cultural heritage issues and opportunities relevant to the site and which projects can seek to address.

• A list of proposed environment, social and cultural heritage projects for the site, including ‘anchor’ projects, timelines and an estimated breakdown costs where applicable.

• A description of other environment and social planning considerations for incorporation into the site

2.2 A Framework for Guiding Development and Management

Effective development and management requires a framework of guiding principles that can provide a structure for the organisation of environment and social initiatives for the BS site. The following tiered approach is used in this plan:

• The overall strategy for the framework is couched in the notion of 3Rs—regeneration, restoration and resilience. Together these concepts move the planning focus beyond traditional notions of ‘sustainability’, to a broader concept that incorporates the repair and rejuvenation of the physical and social environment. In short, it acknowledges that sustaining what we have is simply not enough, and what is required is a project approach that carries a higher standard of change and improvement.

• In seeking to actualize a 3R approach an integrative and innovative set of planning principles offer useful ‘tool kits’. Four ‘tool kits’ are considered relevant to the development of the site (see Figure 2.1.):

- Permaculture – A creative design process that seeks to mimic the patterns and relationships of nature— supported by appropriate technology (‘old’ and ‘new’), and an ethical philosophy—to form productive and nurturing landscapes that integrate environment, people and economy.

- Ecological Restoration – This ‘tool kit’ focuses on the repair and reversing of environmental damage, underpinned by a sound understanding of the physical and social environment where a restoration initiative is undertaken. Underpinning ecological restoration is a strong commitment to identifying the possibilities offered by both natural and human-created habitats. One form ecological restoration can take is through the notion of ‘re-wilding’. Re-wilding is a physical as well as philosophical approach that seeks to restore ‘lost’ landscapes, plants and animals to a place that they previously inhabited. The establishment of spatial connectivity between habitat mosaics, through the use of ‘corridors’ is a crucial part of any rewilding strategy.

- Sustainable Development Goals – The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) are United Nation’s approved targets for ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring prosperity. The SDGs provide a powerful framework for considering how activities undertaken at the BS site will affect a range of variables crucial to the accomplishment of ‘real’ sustainability, including gender equality, the management of resource consumption and the quality of education.

- Integrated catchment management - Integrated catchment management (ICM) seeks to take into account the relationships between all of the biophysical and social aspects found in a location, with the ‘catchment’ as the defining boundary (this includes flora and fauna, geology and hydrology, soils and the biosphere). In the BS situation, ICM has a pivotal role to play in terms of: (a) surface and sub-surface water flows; (b) sediment pathways; (c) biodiversity; (d) culture—the hydrological needs of the Angkor Archeological Park; (e) the provision of different ecosystem services, and (f) the community use and values.

Sustainable Permaculture Development Goals

Environment & Social Planning ‘Ecosystem’ of Ecological ICM Restoration the Banteay Srei Site

3Rs – Regeneration, restoration and resilience Figure 2.1: Interplay PROJECTS of Framing Concepts & Project Design at the Banteay Srei Site

Environmental & Social Outcomes

2.3 Issues and Opportunities

Drawing on the environment and social profile information in Part I, a summary list of key issues and the opportunities that exist to address these is summarised and presented in Table 2.1. These factors provide a foundation that a set of environmental and social-based projects on the BS site can seek to address.

Table 2.1: Environment, social and cultural heritage issue/opportunity summary—Banteay Srei site

ENVIRONMENT

Issue Opportunity

Lake, wetland and terrestrial habitat – opportunity for Refugia habitats provide opportunity for regeneration and improvement to the benefit of human and natural restoration of habitats on the site. communities.

Limited soil fertility Improvement of soil fertility through soil husbandry techniques based on permaculture and satoyama principles.

Low populations of native flora and fauna Management of human access and pressure would permit

27 the return of numerous species (esp. birds). Opportunity to re-introduce vulnerable and threatened species once safety can be assured.

Declining health of Trapaing Chamboak (lake) Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to develop a conservation and restoration plan for the lake, including habitat creation.

Decline of surrounding forest remnants surrounding the The Apsara Authority can support rainforest conservation Banteay Srei site. and restoration efforts through: (a) provision of trees; (b) access to land; (c) elements of an integrated catchment management plan (ICM for the Siem Reap river basin.

Seasonal danger of fires Creation of rainforest buffers, fire breaks, control of human access, and a dedicated fire-fighting unit.

Hydrological issues Collaboration with the Apsara Authority in the development of an ICM plan for the catchment area of the BS site.

Climate change – implications for water, biodiversity and local Pursuit of the activities described in the opportunities section wellbeing of both the environment and social portion of this table will lead to improvements in resilience, which will enhance the capacity of the environment and communities to handle the effects of climate change.

SOCIAL

Education: High dropout rates from primary school More detailed study of education issues in the BS area. Education retention activities (e.g., scholarships)

Health: High rates of waterborne diseases Collaborate with local authorities and partners (e.g., IMR) to implement water quality improvements and hygiene programmes.

Limited livelihood opportunities Policy prioritizing local employment, training and up-skilling for the BS site.

Agriculture – Low productivity and small plot sizes Explore opportunities for training and support, using restoration initiatives on the BS site as a pilot and model.

Dealing access and availability of non-timber forest products Explore opportunities for the provision of traditional NTFPs (NTFPs). from the BS site (e.g., honey and heritage medicine ingredients)

Outward migration of family members for economic reasons. Preferential employment opportunities at the BS site, micro- loan facilities and targeted education and livelihood support.

Indebtedness Non-exploitative micro-loan facilities.

Climate change –health and wellbeing of local communities. Pursuit of the activities described in the opportunities section of both the environment and social portion of this table will lead to improvements in resilience, which will enhance the capacity of the environment and communities to handle the effects of climate change. Targeted projects can address immediate needs, e.g., access to potable water.

CULTURE HERITAGE

Impacts of water use and management on the Angkor Collaborate with the Apsara Authority on the incorporation Archeological Park. of a BS site hydrological plan into a wider ICM strategy for the Siem Reap river catchment.

2.4 Strategic Opportunities and Considerations

2.4.1 Introduction The scale of the BS site means that it could absorb significant resources in an effort to address environment and social concerns. However, in the national and international arena there are opportunities that the developer can draw on to support its environment and social activities. Especially relevant are opportunities offered by the relationship that the Song Saa Collective shares the Ministry of Environment and the National Council for Sustainable Development (NCSD).

Song Saa’s previous collaboration with the CDC has created a positive relationship between the two bodies, and the resulting social capital can be expected to assist with elements in the development of the property. The relationship with the Ministry of Environment is more recent, but offers some unique opportunities for accessing resources and expertise. Specific areas of opportunity include:

2.4.2 Climate Change “Climate change has become one of the greatest risks facing humanity and a high priority of global concern in the twenty-first century. As the earth continues to heat up, the severity of climate change impacts on global socio-economic development and environmental sustainability continue to intensify and amplify, prompting the need to seek urgent solutions.” (Prime Minister Hun Sen, 2013)

“But in the edge-places of the world the catastrophe is happening already. If we listened to those whose lives are being destroyed by floods, deforestation and encroaching deserts, we would better understand what is coming: the total disruption of the world.” (Paul Mason, 2015).

a. Background There has been a growing recognition of the likely and potential consequences of climate change (CC) on the environment and people of Cambodia that has parallel the mounting awareness of its global consequences. Several factors make Cambodia particularly vulnerable to the impacts of CC, with the nation being regularly ranked in the top-ten—and even five—of ‘most at risk’ nations. These include:

• A reliance on rain-based agriculture for the bulk of food supply. • A narrow economic-base, with a limited number of resource/environment oriented industries responsible for the bulk of GDP (i.e., agriculture and tourism). • Limited adaptive capacity and economic resilience across large portions of the kingdom’s population.

Under different climate change scenarios of 2oC temperature increase, the projected consequences for Cambodia include:

• Permanent inundation of 25,000 hectares of coastal Cambodia by 2100. • Projected decline of rice grain yield by 10 percent for each 1o C increase in growing-season minimum night temperature (dry season). • Changing rainfall patterns resulting in the disruption of coffee and rubber production. • The increased negative impacts of natural disasters—drought, storm etc.—on GDP growth. • National health impacts, including a rise in climate sensitive diseases. • More rapid degradation of infrastructure, including roads, bridges and irrigation canals. • Increased marginalization of resource dependent communities.

The implications of this on GDP are expected to range between 1.5 and 3.5 percent, based on a 2o C temperature increase. However, this impact will not be felt equally, with those from the lower socio-economic strata of society likely to be the most vulnerable to the consequences of CC.

Cambodia has been forthright in its response to this situation, participating in both the Paris 2015 (COP21) and Morocco 2016 (COP22) United Nations (UN) climate change conferences. In 2013, meanwhile, the country published the Cambodia Climate Change Strategic Plan 2014 – 2023, followed up by the submission, at the Paris 2015 summit of its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions, which sets out the country’s approaches for reducing carbon emissions and building adaptation to the impacts of CC. Collectively these two documents, together with others currently being drafted by various line-ministries, create an institutional environment that offers promise as a source of potential support for undertakings at the Banteay Srei site.

b. Cambodia Climate Change Strategic Plan (CCCSP) Provides the over-arching Cambodia framework and approach for addressing the consequences of climate change and reducing the contribution that the kingdom makes towards global warming. The component parts of the CCCSP are:

Vision – Cambodia develops towards a green, low-carbon, climate resilient, equitable, sustainable and knowledge-based society.

Goals – Reducing vulnerability to climate change impacts on people, in particular the most vulnerable, and critical systems (natural and societal). - Shifting towards a green development path by promoting low-carbon development and technologies. - Promoting public awareness and participation in climate change response actions.

Strategic Objectives - Promote climate resilience through improving food, water and energy security. - Reduce sectorial, regional, gender vulnerability and health risks to climate change impacts. - Ensure climate resilience of critical ecosystems (Tonle Sap lake, Mekong river, coastal ecosystems, highlands, etc.), biodiversity, protected areas and cultural heritage sites. - Promote low-carbon planning and technologies to support sustainable development. - Improve capacities, knowledge and awareness for climate change responses. - Promote adaptive social protection and participatory approaches in reducing loss and damage due to climate change. - Strengthen institutions and coordination frameworks for national climate change responses. - Strengthen collaboration and active participation in regional and global climate change processes.

c. Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) Under the INDC the Royal Government of Cambodia has pledged to cut green house gas emissions by 27 percent, from projected levels in 2030; and to increase the country’s forest cover from 47 to 60 percent, maintaining this level from 2030 on. Other planning and implementation processes from the INDC that could be weaved into development activities at the Banteay Srei site, include:

• Promoting and improving the adaptive capacity of communities and restoring the natural ecology system to respond to climate change. • Implementing measures of management and protection of areas to adapt to climate change. • Grid connected renewable energy generation and the promotion of off-grid electricity such as solar home systems. • Efficient cook stoves, bio-digesters and water filters.

d. Opportunity For the BS project, climate change finance represents a major opportunity, with a commitment—stated at COP21—for the provision of $US 100 billion annual through the Green Climate Fund to support CC adaptation and mitigation projects within developing countries19. Working with its government partners the developer can explore can explore opportunities to link its environment and social activities at the BS site with Green Climate Fund support and other CC funding avenues. While with a track record of receiving and using CC funds through the Song Saa Foundation’s coastal and marine programme, the Collective is in an ideal position to lobby for support of the activities it undertakes at the BS site.

While there is ample scope to harness support for activities at the BS site through public funds some commentators maintain that the largest opportunities exist in the private quarter. Globally, two-thirds of climate change finance comes from the commercial sector. In 2016 the NCSD, for example, commissioned a mapping of private sector contributions to climate change responses in Cambodia. This study revealed an active search by investors for CC associated projects in Cambodia. This

19 The source of the fund will be developed counties, with the sum amount becoming available from 2020.

30 included the solar energy sector, where the kingdom is considered to have some of the best potential in Southeast Asia.

e. Moving Forward A two-prong strategy is recommended for harnessing climate change funds for the BS site project:

- Close collaboration with the NCSD to identify and mobilise Green Climate Fund support for the BS site. With the Song Saa Collective having completed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with this department in December 2016, the institutional networks are in place to would this to occur.

- The identification of private sector partners for site projects that promote low or zero carbon emissions (e.g., solar farm project), or facilitate climate change adaptation and mitigation (e.g., establishment of a climate change research and education, funded through private enterprise corporate social responsibility funding and based in the proposed ‘heritage hub’, see Project IV).

2.4.3 Biodiversity – Strategies and Plans a. Background Cambodia is a signatory to the 1992 Convention of Biological Diversity, the country ratifying the convention in 1995. Under the agreement each signatory was obliged to develop a biodiversity strategy and action plan for its country, a task that Cambodia completed in 2002. The mission statement, goals and objectives of the strategy and action plan are:

Mission statement: To use, protect and manage biodiversity for sustainable development in Cambodia.

The documents strategic goals include:

“ Maintaining biological diversity and productivity of ecological systems by protecting the various species of living organisms in their natural and manmade environments, especially forests, aquatic ecosystems, wetlands and agricultural land.”

“Managing human activities and utilizing biological resources in a way that preserves for the long term the basic natural resources, which are necessary for human livelihood and development.”

“Ensuring that the benefits coming from the sustainable use of biological resources contribute to poverty reduction and improve quality of life for all Cambodians.”

While the documents main strategic objectives are:

“The strategic objectives listed in each section constitute a reflection of the intentions of the government regarding each sector of activity. They are specific and measurable objectives that will guide the relevant ministries during the implementation phase of the strategy and action plan. Ministries will regularly document and report on the identified indicators attached to each objective.”

The documents describe the following priority actions:

“Priority actions adopted by the government can be grouped in three broad categories: actions promoting awareness and capacity building of government staff and local communities for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use of biological resources; actions promoting the implementation of community-based natural resource management; and actions aimed at clarifying ministerial jurisdictions, reducing responsibility overlap and promoting inter-ministerial coordination and collaboration in a sustainable development perspective.” b. Opportunities Like CC opportunities exist to work with national and local government authorities and the local community to strive for improvements in regional biodiversity. c. Moving Forward The structure and intent of Cambodia’s biodiversity strategy and plan offer a language and framework that can be drawn on to frame an integrated approach to biodiversity improvement in the Banteay Srei district.

31 2.4.4 Sustainable Development Goals a. Background As their name suggests, the SDGs set out a series of goals (17) designed to achieve a sustainable future for humanity by 2030. The concept of the SDGs was born at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, in 2012. Here, the objective was to produce a set of universally applicable goals that would balance the three dimensions of sustainable development: environmental, social, and economy. The 2015 Global Goals replaced the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) (see Figure 2.2).

The new SDGs, launched in 2015, establish new priorities for the accomplishment of sustainable life on the planet. Crucial to each goal are a set of underlying targets, which sets out the aim for each goal. An example is Goal 13, which addresses the concern of climate change. The goal itself states: ‘Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts’. Beneath this goal are the following targets:

• Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

• Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.

• Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

• Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible.

• Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small-island developing states, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities.

In the move from concept to practice the promulgation of the SDGs has come with the expectation that each signatory will develop its own strategy and plans for accomplishing its targets—in short, localize the SDGs for their own context. In Cambodia this task has been assigned to the Ministry of Planning, who has been working at a cross ministry level to develop an overarching set of Cambodian SDGs, which will be mainstreamed to ministerial and national planning processes and budgets.

Figure 2.2: The Sustainable Development Goals (2015)

32 b. Opportunities The way that the SDGs are shaping the priorities, plans and budgets of national authorities and donors in Cambodia is still evolving in the kingdom. Undoubtedly, however, there is still value to be gained in demonstrating how environment and social activities will further the global SDGs to both potential investors and donors.

c. Moving Forward The SDGs offer strategic and promotional value to the development at the BS site, with the developers having the opportunity to highlight ways that specific goals will be promoted by its work.

2.4.5 Social Enterprises a. Background There has been steady growth in social enterprises in Cambodia since 2006, this being attributed to changing patterns of donor support spurring a search for new funding models. The term ‘social enterprise’ itself refers to those businesses that merge together social good with economic returns, seeking to accomplish a profit while achieving certain environment and social goals, with the latter being considered as important as the receipt of economic returns. As Khieng (2014) writes:

“Social enterprises make profits, but the activities they pursue have a social objective. In addition, social enterprises’ earned wealth is distributed beyond the individual entrepreneur and shareholders to wider communities. This social value creation proposition is seen to differentiate social entrepreneurship from traditional entrepreneurshipi.”

b. Opportunities Social enterprises are currently in vogue, offering the promise of generating financial and social returns that had garnered them an impetus from civil society, business and government. Duly, in Cambodia, many NGOs are now looking towards these enterprises as a fresh approach to programme and operational support. Externally, meanwhile, overseas organisations, including the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and the Skoll Foundation are looking at opportunities to promote and fund social enterprise initiatives in Cambodia. Yet, as Cheng and Mohammed write, social enterprises face numerous obstacles to success, particularly when it comes to accomplishing the twin bottom lines of profitability and social good.

Others, such as Martin (2006), have pointed to key conditions that need to be in place for social enterprises to be successful. These include: (a) relative advantage and latent demand; (b) compatibility with values, experience and real needs of the target population and consumers; and, (c) the capacity of the social enterprise to deliver across the twin bottom lines.

In summary, the opportunity for social enterprise development offers several possibilities for environment and human improvement, with the development at BS offering the possibility of a key necessity for success: a latent market for products and services.

The development of the site, for example, is expected to involve activities, such as the development of permaculture edges and forest gardens (see Project 1), which could incorporate a social enterprise element. One example could be the harvesting, processing and marketing of items from the forest garden fringes, with the sale of products being used to cover production and salary costs, with surplus funds being allocated to specific social projects (e.g., support for local schools, water purification schemes etc.). An example of a model for this approach is provided in Box 1. Another example could be a social enterprise that focuses on the transformation of the site’s organic waste into compost, which could then be on-sold to businesses in Siem Reap and even to commercial enterprises on the site itself.

Box 1. Planting Promise (plantingpromise.com) Planting Promise is a project operating in Sierra Leone that uses profits derived from a social enterprise to fund three schools in this West African country. The enterprise is based on the growing and processing of different agricultural crops, with cassava being the most important— the root being turned into a fortified product that is marketed as welbodi gari. The returns on this enterprise are used to support the suppliers and processes of the root, with the reminder of the revenue being used to cover the running costs of the schools supported by the programme.

Currently, there are numerous foundations investing in the kingdom’s social enterprise sector. One prominent example is the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship, which works in close collaboration with the World Economic Forum.

One Cambodian-based enterprise supported by Schwab is 1001 fontaines pour demain. This enterprise has established water purification and distribution networks in rural villages, delivering water at the affordable price of US$ .01 per litre, based on the use of solar-powered ultraviolet (UV) technology. At each production site 1001 fontaines pour demain provides the initial capital investment, while training village operators in purification technologies and distribution methods. The result has been the establishment of micro-franchise enterprises across the region, with the creation of 100 jobs across 58 different village sites.

With the identification of viable social enterprises there is the opportunity to approach organisations, such as the aforementioned Schwab Foundation, for opportunities to support programmes associated with the BS site. The outcome of this would not only be the provision of businesses that support local peoples but—as in the case of the 1001 fontaines pour demain—improvements in an important social variables (and the accomplishment of certain SDGs).

c. Moving Forward The development of an effective social enterprise programme at the BS site would have the greatest likelihood of success if it occurs in tandem with the commercial development of the property. The reasons are:

- The need for the existence of readily available markets, which social enterprise activities can link with. - There is a need for time to identify areas that are the best fit between economic opportunity and social need in the Banteay Srei vicinity, including the development site itself. - Time is required to identify and develop the entrepreneurial capacity of budding social enterprise participants.

After the accomplishment of the above points, some time will need to be devoted to the development of business plans and the securing of start-up capital for the social enterprise businesses. As a consequence it may not be until year two or three of development that a trial social enterprise programme can be put in place at BS.

2.5 Projects for the Banteay Srei Site

2.5.1 Introduction

The Banteay Srei site offer opportunities for a range of environment, social and cultural heritage projects, supported by the developer and those invest in the BS site. The presence of environmental refugia, a lake and wetland margins, and the presence of a nearby national park mean that any project interventions could generate substantial environment and social improvements, while also addressing the challenges noted on the site in Part 1.

Concurrently, experience with the development of Song Saa Private Island has demonstrated the value of ‘anchor’ projects— high return, low cost and visible activities, which can raise the profile of the site and demonstrate the commitment of the developer. Such projects need not be strictly philanthropic, but can integrate with the environment or social outcomes that the developer seeks to accomplish. In the early development of Song Saa Private Island, for example, support for the establishment of a solid waste management centre, in the village of Prek Svay, had an immediate social and environment impact (less rubbish and improved hygiene), while also making the village a more pleasant location for prospective investors and creating a media story that the developers could share.

The sections that follow sets-out four projects that are designed to contribute to the environment and social 3R development of the BS site by seeking to address the matters summarised in Table 2.

A final point of note: language is important when naming and describing projects in the context of Siem Reap and the Angkor Archeological Park area. In this environment the term ‘heritage’ carries status and recognition above phrases like ‘conservation’ and ‘sustainability’. For this reason the word is applied liberally in the descriptions of the projects that follow.

- Implementation - The Song Saa Foundation

The success of the environment and social proposals for the BS site will be contingent on the capacity and abilities of the executing agency and its personnel. As the intended primary implementing body for environment and social plan for the BS site, the Song Saa Foundation brings a diverse set of strengths to this role. They include:

• Institutional legacy – The Foundation brings six-plus years of collaboration and executive across the sectors of commerce, environment and society. This includes the role of the Foundation and its antecedents in the development and operation of the award winning Song Saa Private Island. The experience garnered from this work informs and empowers the work that the Foundation undertakes today.

• Human capital – The Foundation’s staff bring an enviable store of individual capacity and experience to the BS project, including 20+ years living and working in the Kingdom, across a diverse range of environmental media and programmes. With a commitment to values of Song Saa and a ‘beyond sustainability’ philosophy, the Foundation has the personnel to deliver on the projects set out in this plan.

• Song Saa Collective – The capacity and strength of the Foundation is empowered by its home within the Song Saa Collective, which brings to its work legal, human resource, financial and media capacities beyond organisations of similar scope and size.

• National networks – Since 2013 the Song Saa Foundation has developed a strong set of ties across government, civil society and commercial sectors in Cambodia. This base has recently been extended across the Siem Reap region, with new relationships developing between the School for Field Studies (academic), the Apsara Authority (heritage management authority), Wildlife Conservation Society (international conservation organisation) and the Sam Vesna Centre (conservation enterprise).

• International ties – As part of the Song Saa Collective the Foundation enjoys connections across a diverse array of international networks, including within the conservation, investment and research/academic sectors. These include the Young Global Leaders network, the Asian Development Bank, Fauna and Flora International, the Wildlife Conservation Society, Stanford University and the Harvard Business School.

• Reputation – The Foundation’s work with Song Saa Private Island has garnered it a reputation as a leader and innovator in the interface between business and sustainability. Since 2016 it has also developed a reputation as a standard bearer in the field of climate change mitigation and disaster preparedness, via its partnership with the Asian Development Bank.

• Governance and transparency– The work of the Foundation is underpinned by a commitment to strong governance and ‘radical transparency’, with a professional board, international standard accounting procedures, and monthly and annual audits.

• Willingness to evolve – In an age of change and ‘disruption’ organisations must adapt to survive and succeed. The evolution of the Foundation, from a department within a resort, to its own national entity and now, as a registered charity in Hong Kong, illustrates a capacity to change and move that is unique within the non-government organisation sector in Cambodia.

35 Project 1 The Heritage Forest Garden Initiative

Rationale: The development of a ‘heritage forest garden’ fringe around the external and internal boundaries of the property represents a potentially low cost, high return activity, which could yield a range of benefits that would grow over the evolution of the site. These include aesthetic improvements, increases in local biodiversity, and commercial and practical benefits (e.g., fire breaks), as well as the opportunity for social enterprise development. They will also provide a low-cost, environmentally sensitive means of property demarcation.

• The project should be considered an ‘anchor’ project for the site.

Strategic Opportunity: The Heritage Forest Garden Initiative (HFGI) aligns with several strategic opportunities that could be leveraged for support. These include:

a. Climate Change Under its commitment to combat climate change, described in the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) the kingdom has pledged to increase its forest cover to 60 percent (from an existing figure of 47 percent) across total land area. Through national and internationally funding mechanisms, such as the Green Climate Fund, the developers could seek support for the HFGI initiative. One opportunity to broach support could be through the presentation of the project as a pilot area—to showcase to other developments—and as a training, education and interpretative site.

b. Biodiversity Any restoration of forest cover, especially if it follows the ‘eco-sourcing’ approach, will result in an improvement in local biodiversity. This will happen across all three of the elements that make up the terms ‘biodiversity’, namely: habitat diversity, species diversity and genetic diversity. Whether this will translate in support from biodiversity funds is difficult to determine, as the funding available is dispersed and generally linked to large-scale protection projects. However, there is likely to be educational and livelihood benefits, that can be promoted to funding agencies.

c. Social enterprises An opportunity exists to weave a range of social enterprises into the HFGI project. Opportunities exist to create luxury wood pockets, which could be periodically coppiced to supply wood for high-end carving such as rosewood chess pieces, other areas could be developed to support a market for cultural medicines or the rearing of pupae for local butterfly gardens (including gardens developed on the property).

Description:

Introduction A relatively simple project for the site, offering ecological, social and economic returns, as well as contributing to its aesthetic value, would be the propagation of a forest garden fringe around the external and internal boundaries of the property. This initiative could entail a combination of passive and active restoration of the vegetative cover on the boundaries of the property, allowing remaining pockets of native vegetation to naturally regenerate, while propagating and replanting vegetation in locations where it is presently absent.

Key project points.

What is a ‘forest garden’? A forest garden is a low-maintenance, sustainable, plant-based restoration, food production and agroforestry system based on the reproduction and adaptation of natural forest cover. With an emphasis on succession layers (see Figure 2.3 and 2.4) and interspersed planting, it is frequently recognised as the world’s oldest form of land use, and one of its most resilient productive systems. Most often, a forest garden system is characterised by poly-culture growing patterns—featuring multiple layers of diverse production, which contrast to the monoculture systems of industrial agriculture. Alongside this is an emphasis on the encouragement of natural reforesting patterns, the use of eco-sourced species and the active management of sectors to create social-ecological and economic productive zones.

36 Figure 2.3 & 2.4: Forest garden zones, replicate the zones found in traditional rain forest, creating areas that yield different benefits, ranging from shade to fruit and animal habitat (Source: Elliot, Blakesley & Hardwick, 2013).

b. What benefits can a forest garden provide?

The benefits of the project would include:

- The ‘heritage’ edge would provide a natural boundary around the property. Dense rattan, prickly pear cactus and bamboo, on the external edges of the forest/property, would dissuade intrusion by people and livestock, while avoiding the non-inviting aesthetic of a wire fence. Alternatively, vegetative cover could offer camouflage for a fence located a few metres inside the forest fringe.

- The forest garden could align with other ecological and social imperatives, including carbon capture and biodiversity zones, areas that provide for social enterprise opportunities (e.g., the propagation and sale of butterfly pupae), and as education areas (see Project IV).

- With a propagation of the correct species, including numerous fruiting trees and shrubs, one would anticipate the forest garden becoming a popular site for local bird species, including the Alexandrine and rose ringed parakeets, which can be found in the nearby forests of Banteay Srei, as well as numerous other species, including bee-eaters, drongos, and even the possibility of hornbills (oriental-pied). Beneath the trees, elongated tortoises, snakes, skinks, lizards and insects would colonise the undergrowth and edge margins.

- The forest garden has the capacity to offer a range of aesthetic and recreational values, including a pathway for bicycles and walking. While bird watching and ‘fire-fly evening safaris’ could offer a unique ‘rainforest’ experience for visitors.

- Ecosystem services – a well-planned forest garden plan would yield a range of ecosystem services that would create savings and benefits to the operation of the site. These include: (1) allowing vegetation to regenerate along the margins of the gullies and streams and thereby providing protection against fluvial erosion; (2) forest gardens are ideal habitats for predatory insects, providing a natural control agent against harmful insect pests; (3) a variety of pollinators—bees, wasps and beetles—would also be encouraged by the presence of diverse vegetative cover; (4) the sheltering effect of the forest garden fringe would reduce the amount of evaporation caused by wind, and provide an effective break against dust and noise (including laterite particles from the roadway); and (5) green vegetation can provide an effective break against fire, which is unable to progress through the moist understory of the forest garden.

- Economic and Heritage opportunities – A forest garden is seldom just a vegetative area that is ‘left alone’; instead a productive forest garden requires actively managed across its ‘zones’. Zones, in a forest garden sense, are locations where particular assemblages of vegetation are favoured, in order to provide particular services and opportunities. An example would be the creation of a forest garden zone dedicated to traditional medicine, incorporating plants used by local healers, Kru Khmer, as remedies and curatives for sickness and health concerns. Other areas could be planted as coppicing and harvesting sites, where trees are grown and sold on for commercial purposes. Each of these activities could be linked to locally-based social enterprises, which provide long-term and sustainable livelihoods for

37 local community members, who could be enrolled into the regeneration, restoration and resilience projects underway at the BS site.

c. Design Imperatives The design and creation of a ‘heritage’ forest garden fringe around the boundaries of the BS property represents a significant undertaking, which would be best accomplished through a 1-15 year implementation plan. However, it is also a project that can start immediately, through a zoning process that identifies areas to be included in the project, through a mapping and zoning process, along with an initial focus on existing remnant vegetated areas.

What follows is a list of stages that are recommended for the evolution of the HFGI project.

Year 1 – 2

In year 1-2 areas supporting vegetation remnants would be assessed, mapped and zoned as ‘forest garden’ pioneer areas set aside from other development.

The assessment process would focus on identifying the environmental values of a particular remnant, including the biodiversity values of the area, its hydrological regime and pathways, and an evaluation of what is required to protect and enhance the zone. A plan for each remnant area could then be developed, featuring a combination of passive and active activities promoting the health and well being of the zone. This information would then be entered into a GIS layer that would set out the management and development protocols for that zone over the course of the site’s development and operation.

Year 3 – 10 The next period would entire a more ‘hands-on’ management regime, with an emphasis on identifying sites where active restoration—the planting of native species—could occur. Preference in this process would be given to areas that: (a) are adjacent to existing forest garden areas (the proximity will provide numerous spill-over benefits to the restoration areas, including access to seed sources, pollinators and the sheltering and hydrological benefits offered by nearby vegetation); and (b) that provide amenity or other benefits to the commercial activities underway on the site (e.g., shelter or fire protection) (see Chazdon, 2014).

This would also be the period when specialized zones, such as cultural gardens, commercial coppicing and other utility-based areas could be identified and established, integrating with opportunities already created in the zones set aside during Year 1-2.

Year 10 – 15 This period would entail ‘plugging the gaps’—extending the forest garden to cover the areas that remain non-vegetated. As in Year 2 – 10, priority should be given to those zones that meet the preference criteria of the developer (e.g., commercial opportunities and fire protection etc.).

d. Design Considerations In designing and establishing the HFGI there are a number of design considerations that can be incorporated into the site. These include:

- While the nature of stage 1 suggests a passive process of restoration, this is more complex than it sounds. Active management will still required to manage, for: (a) invasive plant and animal species (including domestic livestock); (b) fire prevention and protection; (c) illegal poaching and extraction; and, (d) the management of water flow paths20.

- Use of locally sourced seed and plants – All plants are not alike but, rather, reflect particular genetic traits of the area where there parent stock originate. In this way a sugar palm from outside Phnom Penh, for example, will have a different genetic composition from one found in Siem Reap, even though, outwardly, they appear the same tree. Restoration ecologists appreciate the importance of this distinction and now adopt approaches whereby the trees and shrubs that they plant are sourced from seed and cuttings that come from the replanting locality. This practice, referred to as ‘eco-sourcing’, is a key strategy in ensuring the maintenance of genetic diversity—one of the core forms encapsulated in the broader term: ‘biodiversity’—allowing for local genetic stock to be conserved and past on.

This emphasis is not only a sound means for promoting biodiversity, it also ensures that the plants introduced to the site are those best adapted to it, thereby increasing the likelihood that they will survive and thrive. A plant of the same species, but sourced from elsewhere–sometimes only from a few kilometers away—may not be able to grow

20 In some situations, vegetation that is allowed to grow in streams and gullies can give rise to flooding issues; simultaneously, vegetation can act to reduce erosion of gullies and berms. While the first factor is undesirable, the latter is, so attention needs to be paid to water flow paths in order to minimize the problems that vegetation can cause, while maximizing the benefits it may afford.

38 successfully in the same location. In other circumstances, it may out compete with local plants, with the resulting loss of the genetic diversity associated with the original floras.

d. How Does Project I. Address Issues Arising at the Site? Table 2.2, below, sets out the numerous ways that the HFGI would contribute to the amelioration of the issues at the BS site:

Table 2.2: How Project I. Address Environmental and Social Issues at the BS site.

ENVIRONMENT

Issue HOW IS THE ISSUE ADDRESSED?

Lake, wetland and terrestrial habitat – opportunity Will restore lost rainforest habitat and provide refugia for improvement to the benefit of human and for the regeneration of local flora and fauna; conserve natural communities. and restore the biodiversity of the Banteay Srei area.

Reduced populations of native flora and fauna Will restore lost rainforest habitat and provide refugia for the regeneration of local flora and fauna; conserve and restore the biodiversity of the Banteay Srei area.

Decline of surrounding forest remnants As the Heritage Forest Garden fringe matures it will surrounding the Banteay Srei site. provide seed stock for the re-vegetation of the surrounding countryside. Provide a protected and nursery area for the re-wilding of forest remnant areas beyond the BS site.

Seasonal danger of fires A green and moist forest fringe will provide an effective break against grass fires, the most comment source of fire in the area.

Hydrological issues Returning the original vegetation cover of the BS site will assist in restoring the natural hydrological patters of the site. This includes reducing the erosive capacity of surface flows along stream-beds and other preferential flow paths.

Climate change – implications for water, As the project develops and matures it will contribute biodiversity and local wellbeing positively to the ecological resilience of the site. This improvement will, in turn, enhance the capacity of the site to handle the disruption caused by climate disruption (e.g., flood events, increased risk of fires caused by unseasonal dry periods etc.).

SOCIAL

Limited livelihood opportunities Capacity to weave social enterprise initiatives into zones of the Heritage Forest Garden Fridge (e.g., areas devoted to cultural gardens that provide items for sale under a social enterprise initiative).

Access to Non-timber Forest Products Through commune agreements managed access to the Heritage Forest Garden Fridge could be provided

39 for the community harvest of NTFP (e.g., honey). Rules and protocols could be established to ensure that harvesting is sustainable.

OTHER

Managing access and security of the site, while The Forest fringe can ben developed to manage maintaining visual harmony with the surrounding human movement or, alternatively, used to landscape camouflage a fence that sits inside the forest area.

e. Potential Partnerships There are several opportunities for this project. They are:

• Apsara Authority – As part of its tasks the agency operates a tree nursery, which provides plants free of charge to people and organisations undertaking reforestation projects in the area of the Angkor Archeological Park. Although the need may be greater than the capacity of the Authority’s nursery, if does offer the opportunity to access plants for little or no cost.

• Ministry of Environment – The project is consistent with the Royal Government of Cambodia’s CC commitment to increase forest cover to 60 percent by 2030. Working with the Ministry of Environment there is an opportunity to draft a joint proposal of support for the project to the Green Climate Fund. This partnership would be consistent with the terms of a recent MoU signed between the National Council of Sustainable Development (of the Ministry of Environment) and the Song Saa Collective.

• School for Field Studies – This US-based institution operates as an academic provider for fee-paying students seeking field experience in different regions of the world. There is an opportunity for student research to be undertaken at the site, including projects that address specific information needs for the development and implementation of the HFGI. This could include, for example, zoning plans and planting schedules for specific portions of the site. Also, because of the on-going presence of the School, its students could provide year-by-year monitoring data on the condition and resilience of the HFGI restoration zones.

f. Alignment with ‘Tool Kit’ principles The ’tool kit’ principles can support the Project I. in the following ways:

• The land management principles of permaculture can provide a methodology for zoning, site development, plant preparation, planting strategies and reforestation site management.

• The practice of reforestation, based on the concepts presented in this section, are consistent with the principles of ecological restoration.

• Over the long-term, changes in forest cover can be expected to make a positive contribution to the health and well being of the Siem Reap River catchment and the basin’s sub-surface aquifers (ICM). Increasing the proportion of woody cover, for example, will reduce rates of evapotranspiration and the speed with which water moves through the BS property, while also filtering contaminants. The result of these effects will include localised improvements in water quantity and quality.

• The reforestation of the BS site has the capacity to make an indirect and positive contribution to several of the Sustainable Development Goals, including ‘No Poverty’ (#1), ‘Clean Water & Sanitation’ (#2) and ‘Climate Action’ (#13). Directly, it will make a positive contribution to Goal 15, ‘Life on Land’, which states (in full): “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainability manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.”

Going deeper into the Goal, the project aligns well with the directives under this goal, namely: 15.1 – “By 2020 ensure conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.”

40 And

15.2 – “By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and increase afforestation and reforestation.

41 Project II

The Trapaing Chamboak Heritage Management Plan

Rationale: Trapaing Chamboak lake is a centre point of the BS site landscape—a unique feature that differentiates the property from other locations in the Angkor basin. In this context, working to conserve and improve the environment of the lake will ensure, not only the protection of the property investment, but improvements in its environment and social value. Simultaneously, it is apparent that water use and management is becoming a growing area of concern in the Angkor basin. The emergence of large-scale agriculture enterprises and issues over the role of groundwater in the long-term protection of the temple sites of the Angkor Archeological Park mean that the developer should be proactive in demonstrating a commitment to sustainable water use and management.

Moreover, given the position of the lake in the landscape of the site, it can be anticipated to incur the downstream consequences of development on the property (e.g., sediment inflows caused by earthworks). The implementation of the activities incorporated into the proposed Trapaing Chamboak Heritage Management Plan (TCHMP) will assist to ensure that such effects are recognised and managed for (e.g., creation of reed habit buffers as sediment traps)21.

It should be emphasised that the lake is owned and managed by the Cambodia state; as such it has the ultimate responsibility for the management and future development of the lake and its margins. Any actions by the developer must respect this and be compatible with state law and authority for the management of water bodies and edge areas.

Strategic Opportunity: The water conservation department of the Apsara Authority plays a pivotal role in the use and management of all hydrological resources in the Angkor basin catchment. And the department can be anticipated to take a measured interest in any activities at the BS site that have implications for the movement and quantity of ground and surface water. The department is supportive of integrated catchment management initiatives and conserving waters levels in this zone, so undertaking a project that contributes positive to these endeavours can be anticipated to provide the benefit of raised social capital—between the developer and the authority—and the potential mobilisation of technical and physical support for the project.

Description a. Introduction Globally, the estimated value of shallow water systems, including lakes and wetlands, has been estimated at 40 percent of the planet’s renewable ecosystem services (US $33 trillion per year). This is despite the fact that such systems only cover 1.5 percent of the earth’s surface. In Cambodia, meanwhile, it is frequently stated that the Khmer are a ‘riparian’ people, sustained by the rivers, streams, lakes and wetlands of the lower Mekong (the home of the national crop—rice—is grown in a human- made wetland: the paddy field). The use and management of lakes and wetlands is therefore of significance to the people of the kingdom. However, like Cambodia’s rainforests, these systems face numerous threats, with a combination of climate change and changing water quality dramatically reducing the size and quality of shallow water habitats such as Trapaing Chamboak.

Simultaneously, over the last 20 years there has been a growing awareness of the role that water plays in the integrity of the temples of Angkor. A key concern here is the role that sub-surface water plays in the maintenance of a moist sand layer beneath the archaeological park (this layer is considered crucial in the prevention of temple subsidence). Declining water levels, caused by climate change and increased levels of water extraction mean there is mounting need to carefully manage water use in the Angkor basin, an impetus that the proposed TCHMP might benefit from.

b. Key Project Considerations • Importance of hydrology – Hydrological conditions are the main controlling factor in wetland structure and function, making it the centre concern for restoration planning. In this regard, water depth and hydro-periods are particularly important. The depth of water is significant because of the role it plays in habitat zonation and the associated links to biodiversity (e.g., where and what plants can grow in different places). Hydro-periods are related to depth, and are associated with periodic changes in water level caused by hydrological events (e.g., storm pulses and wet season water changes).

21 Sediment inflows are a long term risk to the integrity of Trapaing Chamboak as indicated by Nee (2017), with the current lake having once incorporated a much larger area, which has been dramatic reduced, through time, by the inputs of eroded soil from other parts of the catchment.

42 • Scale – The ICM approach highlights the importance of spatial scale in lake and wetland restoration, by emphasising the need to consider impacts and changes that occur up and down stream of a water body as well as within it (e.g., water extraction and forest removal). Because of this the spatial planning scale of the TCHMP should not be limited to the lake and its edges, but needs to accommodate the consequences of activities occurring elsewhere on the site and even beyond its boundaries. This whole system approach should incorporate:

- The lake itself - The outlet stream - Springs - Wetlands and riparian margins - Ground and surface water in and out flows. - Significant off-boundary changes (e.g., a proposed livestock farm to the west of the development site could have implications for water quality)

• Stakeholder engagement and collaboration – The significance of the lake and its margins to a range of stakeholders means that working together with local and national authorities and representatives of the local community will be crucial in the development of a successful long-term management regime, which improves the well-being and health of the human and natural environment.

• Relevance of monitoring and adaptive design – The research on lake and wetland restoration shows that it is often more art than science. For this reason the TCHP will need to be adaptive and able to change as information gathered from the site shows unanticipated changes and consequences. For this to occur monitoring will be crucial, and a set of appropriate indicators should be established at the start of the project to provide feedback on environment and social change.

c. Steps The TCHMP project, like the first project, represents a significant undertaking that could unfold over a similar timescale (i.e., 1 – 15 years).

• Hydrological study - The completion of a comprehensive hydrological profile of the site is a key starting point for the development. This profile should include:

- Comprehensive understanding of water movement and retention through the property (sub-surface and surface). - Consultation of state held data to assist with the identification of flow paths and land profiles - Active participation of representatives from the water conservation department of the Apsara Authority. - Groundwater levels and estimated recharge rates for both confined and unconfined aquifers. - Water quality analysis (surface and ground).

• Zoning – A comprehensive zoning of the lake and wetland margins, based on water depth (including hydro-period influences), vegetation type and habitat/species observations, community use and current ecological health of the lake’s sections. This information can be built into a series of GIS layers, which can be used as a management tool for the project.

• Scenario modeling – The capacity to effect positive change on the lake, its margins and connected wetlands will be influenced, most markedly, by different water regimes in Trapaing Chamboak. There is the opportunity to create tubular grasslands (Khmer, ‘plung’) along portions of the lakefront, which could bring feeding Sarus crane to the property. Because water depths will have different scenarios, running these alongside ecological and social data will yield details on how the flows of the lake can be managed to create desired effects (or avoid undesirable ones).

• Community-use profiling– Following the environment and social studies, completed in January 2017, there is a clearer understanding of how the community engages and uses Trapaing Chamboak and its wetlands. Improving the depth of this understanding, through village mapping exercises and further interviews, would raise the quality of this information and help to ensure any management plan drafted for the lake suitably caters for community values and need. Such information will improve the capacity for drafting a management plan that improves the health and well being of the communities surrounding the lake.

• Stakeholder mapping and consultation – Complementing steps 1–4 should be an active process of stakeholder engagement, with information gathering, sharing and feedback components. This process will play a key role in building a consensus for the on-going management of the lake.

43 • Preliminary plan and consultation workshops – The desired outcome of the previous steps is support for a state- sponsored management plan for the lake and its margins, which is drafted in collaboration with relevant stakeholders through a formal consultation process. The objective of this stage should be three fold: (a) to ensure all views and concerns are catered for in the management plan; (b) to identify any opportunities or errors in the management plan; and (b) to build support for the management plan. At the end of this process the ultimate goal would be a signed approval for the plan that can be tabled with the lake’s state management authority.

The anticipated result of the above processes is a plan that is:

• Is ecologically, socially and financially feasible. • Enjoys the support of relevant stakeholders. • Integrates with the wider Master Plan for the site. • Has the possibility of resource and funding support from external agencies.

Note: The Project III, in the next section, sets out some physical activities that can be incorporated into the restoration of the lake and its margins.

d. How Does Project II. Address Issues Arising at the Site? The process-focused nature of this project means that its immediate impact on the issues arising at the site is difficult to quantify. However, it can be expected that the matters set out in Table 2.3 will be addressed if the initiative proceeds as described. e. Potential Partnerships Partnerships are a key part of this project and will have a deciding roll in how effective the management planning process unfolds. Key partners are anticipated including Banteay Srei district authority, Ministry of Environment (provincial and national), community and village representatives and civil society groups working in the area. Others include:

Table 2.3: How Project II. Addresses the Environment and Social Issues at the BS site.

ENVIRONMENT

ISSUE HOW IS THE ISSUE ADDRESSED?

Lake, wetland and terrestrial habitat – Management plan provides for the conservation and opportunity for improvement to the benefit of restoration of the ecological values of Trapaing human and natural communities. Chamboak.

Low populations of native flora and fauna Management plan includes conservation and restoration initiatives that contribute to increased biodiversity.

Hydrological issues The hydrological dynamics of the BS site are understood and accommodated for in the Master Planning and development process.

Climate change – implications for water, Management plan provides for climate change biodiversity and local wellbeing resilience, including flooding and drought scenarios.

SOCIAL

Limited livelihood opportunities Contribution of Trapaing Chamboak to local livelihoods is maintained and improved as part of the management planning process.

Access to Non-timber Forest Products (NTFP) The NTFP values of Trapaing Chamboak are improved and community access is codified and managed to ensure sustainable use (including fish).

OTHER

Lake and wetland management is imprecise and Opportunity to integrate rainforest, wetland and lake difficult to manage. restoration initiatives into a dedicated learning facility, as possible part of an on-site learning hub (see Project lV).

• Apsara Authority (Water Conservation Department) – The Apsara Authority will take a decisive interest in water management undertakings on the BS site. As a proponent of ICM and a supporter of any project that promotes the sustainable management of local water resources, the Authority’s plays an important role in the management of the water body.

• School of Field Studies – This US-based learning institution has expressed an interest in undertaking research on the BS site, including the lake and margins. With each of the school’s students completing a directed research project there is an opportunity to have elementary base-line research completed by the institution as part of these studies. Further, the School has indicated an interested in setting up baseline indicators, which could be used to monitor changes in the health and wellbeing of the lake.

• Khnar Sanday Commune Council – As the legal arbiter of local voices the Khnar Sanday commune council will be at the forefront of articulating community aspirations and concerns about any proposals for the lake.

f. Alignment with ‘Tool Kit’ principles The ’tool kit’ principles can support the Project II in the following ways:

• The water management principles of permaculture can provide a methodology for zoning, site development, plant preparation, planting strategies and reforestation site management.

• The collaborative processes described in Project II are consistent with ‘best practice’ procedures of ecological restoration

• The process of drafting the TCHMP has the capacity to offer an exemplary to how development synthesises positively with the priorities for integrated catchment management (ICM). In particular, the consideration hydrological dynamics, scale and stakeholder participation are consistent with ‘best practice’ notions ascribed to ICM in other parts of the world.

• Project II aligns most strongly with Sustainable Development Goal15, ‘Life on Land’, in particular its target clause 15.1: “By 2020 ensure conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.” The emphasis on stakeholder inclusion on the management planning process, meanwhile, aligns with Goal 16: “Inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.

45 Project III

The Wildways and Flyways Heritage Project

Rationale: The report by the SVC (2017) has highlighted how rich the forests of the BS site once were, with primates, large cats, elephant and wild cattle previously filling its forests. Today this mélange has been consigned to history, with refugia populations of a few species residing in nearby protected areas. These include Phnom Kulen Park, 25 kilometres northeast of the site, which provides the last home for remnant populations of pileated gibbons, pig-tailed macaques, leopard cat, binturong, red muntjac and a larger range of bird species To the east, the Angkor Archeological Park contains a variety of small mammals, including palm civet and squirrels, as well as a healthy number of forest birds. To the south the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve (45 km) is home to globally important populations of several large water birds, including spot-billed pelicans, lesser and greater adjutants, and woolly-necked and painted storks. Eighty kilometres northwest, the Ang Trapeang Thmor wetland is home to the largest dry season population of Sarus crane in Southeast Asia. The presence of the remnant populations means that there is the opportunity to implement a ‘re-wilding’ project on the BS property whereby focus species are encouraged, either through passive or active means, to re-occupy the land, water and skies of the site.

This is a stage II project and should follow the accomplishment of Project I and 11.

Strategic Opportunity: The return of native species to the BS site would contribute to improvements in local biodiversity and differentiate it from other commercial enterprises in the province.

Description a. Introduction ‘Rewilding’ is an approach to ecological restoration that focuses on regenerating natural processes in collaboration with the conservation of wilderness areas. Within this method an emphasis is placed on connectivity and species repatriation. Practically, at the forefront of rewilding strategies is an emphasis on creating conditions that allow focal species—a particular animal—to return to an ecosystem that it once occupied. For scientific reasons the emphasis is most often placed on animals that fulfill the category of apex predator or keystone species.

The broad themes of rewilding are not practical at the BS site, where it would be challenging to have elephants (a keystone species) or Indochinese tigers (a apex predator) reintroduced to the property. What is suggested, instead, is an approach that is appropriate to the site, with an emphasis on the preservation, modification and creation of habitats, in order to create the pre-conditions for the successful reintroduction of animal populations. To determine which animals are most appropriate for reintroduction a decision-making matrix has been drafted and setout in (c). Assessing a species against this checklist to generate a ‘rewilding score’ is considered an optimal way of aligning the needs and opportunities offered by a species against the wider development imperatives for the site. b. Key Project Considerations In order to determine the species to be returned to the site it is necessary to consider a number of variables. These include:

• Has the species been historically recorded at the site – Prior records of a species at the site will suggest that it is ecological feasible to re-introduce it to the location.

• Habitat needs – An assessment of the habitat needs of an animal will provide a measure of how resource demanding the effort to rewild a particular species will be. An animal that can be reintroduced based on the current habitat of the property will be less resource demanding that requires the modification of habitat or, even more resource expensive, the creation of new habitat.

• Susceptibility to disturbance – As a site that will always feature human activity it is necessary to consider how a species will respond to human interaction. Large water birds, for example, are susceptible to disturbance by dogs and approaching humans. Other creatures, such as tortoises, are less vulnerable. A low score on this variable does not necessary mean it should be avoided, but it does offer an insight into the type of habitat manipulation and management strategies that will be required for the reintroduction of an animal

• Passive or active rewilding – In some circumstances, particularly with birds, the creation of favorable conditions will see them return to the property naturally—this is an example of passive rewilding. In other cases it will be necessary to physically relocate an animal to the site (active rewilding). This may be necessary, for example, because there are no nearby populations that can naturally reoccupy the property. Generally, passive rewilding will be less resource demanding, and have greater chance of success because it occurs within the natural limits of the property. Active

46 rewilding, alternatively, carries the possibility of reintroducing some charismatic animals, such as small ungulates and large reptiles.

• Connectivity – Connectivity links closely to the opportunities for passive restoration and emphasises the importance of links between ecosystems, edges and refugia to the movement of wildlife and plants. In particular, rewilding research has emphasized the importance of ‘wildway’ corridors—links between areas of forest and other ecosystem remnants—play in restoring indigenous flora and fauna to new or previously populated habitats. The ability of birds to traverse between feeding, roosting and nesting areas is a further example, with forest and wetland pockets offering habitation points for the transit of species from one population to another.

• Will the species conflict with other imperatives for the site – A species that conflicts with the Master Plan objectives or other restoration initiatives needs to be considered carefully before it is reintroduced. The reintroduction of reticulated pythons, for example, might conflict with certain tourism objectives, while the re-introduction of ungulates could conflict with efforts to reforest the boundaries of the property.

• Are sources of the species available – In situations where active rewilding is being contemplated, a legally available source of the animals will be required.

• Ease of management – How easy from a resource and cost perspective is it to manage the species being contemplated. This includes the ability to monitor the species and maintain its ecosystem needs.

• Uncertainty – Like other aspects of ecological restoration there comes a level of uncertainty to each re-introduction. A high level of uncertainty indicates the need for caution.

• Social value – Species can carry different social values (cultural, intrinsic or economic) that maybe greater than for others. The iconic nature of Sarus crane, for example, means that its presence on the property would carry more social value than the reintroduction, for example, of a reptile or a fish.

c. Steps Moving from concept to a practical rewilding strategy will require the assessment of each species being considered. To allow this a decision-making matrix is provided in this section, which includes a theoretical evaluation comparing the rewilding attributes relevant to Sarus crane, elongated tortoise and the Siamese crocodile. Assessing each animal against the variables in the matrix provides a ‘rewilding score’ that can be used to evaluate the worth of re-introducing one species against another. A description of the animals consider in this example is provided below.

Elongated tortoise:

A native of Cambodia, the elongated tortoise (Indotestudo elongate) is found throughout Southeast Asia and South Asia. Despite its range, the species is listed as Endangered and is in rapid decline, with the reptiles being sought for food and for the Chinese traditional medicine. With the removal of human pressure and the implementation of Project 1, the tortoise would be expected to successfully return to the site. However, the likely lack of any wild populations mean that it would need to be actively re-introduced. With a large population of the reptile in its facility, tortoises could be sourced from the Angkor Centre for Conservation Biodiversity.

Sarus Crane An iconic bird of Cambodia, the Sarus crane (Grus antigone)—the world’s tallest flying bird—is classified as Vulnerable and appears in the Angkor basin during the dry season, when it feeds on grass tubers, frogs and other small aquatic creatures along the margins of lakes and wetlands. During the wet season the bird migrates to the flooded forests of the northeast plain, where is nests and raises its young. Appearances of the crane on the property would occur naturally, and would be dependent on the minimisation of human and animal disturbance, especially dogs, and the provision of suitable feeding and roosting habitats.

47 Siamese crocodile

A native reptile found in low populations across Southeast Asia, the Critically endangered Siamese crocodile (Crocodylus siamensis) was once common throughout the Angkor basin, with habitat destruction and poaching accounting for the reptile’s decline. A shy creature, the crocodile is rarely seen, favouring shaded spots, well away from human disturbance.

Table 2.4: SPECIES Sarus Crane Elongated Tortoise Siamese crocodile The rewilding REWILDING decision-matrix VARIABLE provides a guide to determining how appropriate it could Historic Record (Yes-3 / No-1) 3 3 3 be to reintroduce certain species to the BS site. Applying the Ease of Reintroduction (High-3, Medium 3 2 1 matrix, in a scenario 2, Low – 1) where Sarus crane, elongated tortoises Susceptibility to disturbance (High-1, 2 1 1 and Siamese Medium 2, Low – 3) crocodiles were compared, the crane emerges with the Habitat needs: Compatible with existing 2 2 1 highest rewilding habitat – 3; Requires habitat modification - score, suggesting it 2; Requires habitat creation – 1 would be a priority

for re-introductions, Passive rewilding (Yes – 3 / No – 1) 3 1 1 followed by the elongated tortoise. The low score of Ecosystem connectivity supports rewilding 3 1 1 Siamese crocodile (High – 3, Medium – 2, Low – 1) indicates that it would be inappropriate for Compatibility with other plans for the site: 2 2 1 reintroduction to the (High – 1, Medium – 2, Low – 3) site.

Ease of accessing populations of the 2 2 1 The matrix can be species (High – 3, Medium – 2, Low – 1) adjusted—by giving higher numerical figures to certain Uncertainty (High – 1, Medium – 2, Low – 3 2 1 values—if the 3) developer wishes to prioritise certain

Social Value (High – 3, Medium – 2, Low 3 1 2 values over others. – 1)

Anticipated costs (> $5000 -3, $5001 - 2 3 1 $10,000 - 2, $10,000 + – 1)

REWILDING SCORE (Total) 28 20 16

48 Case Example – Rewilding Sarus Crane The decision-matrix serves as not only a scoring system for evaluating species re-introductions, but as an indicator of where planning and resources would need to be focused for the reintroduction of a particular species. It also provides key information that can inform considerations of the Master Planning process. Using the Sarus crane as an example, a rewilding strategy for the bird would need to focus:

• Creating zones of low disturbance compatible with the species needs of the bird. As the bird favours wetland margins and shorelines, where it seeks food, sufficient large areas around the margins of Trapaing Chamboak would need to be identified and marked off as low-disturbance zones. Buffers, in the form of raised areas and trees could be used to screen-off areas of potential disturbance.

• Portions of the BS site are suitable for passive crane rewilding, however modification would enhance this possibility. In particular the creation of a plung field (> 0.5 ha), featuring a grassy tuber favoured by the species, would encourage the bird’s use of the site. The modification of existing wetland margins and the seasonal adjustment of water levels in the lake—the tubers need to be periodically covered by water—would be the key components of tis habitat modification activity.

• With all of these actions consideration needs to be given to how the rewilding plan for the Sarus crane would integrate with the other environment and social projects proposed for the site, as well as the broader requirements of the Master Plan. Integration across these fields will be fundamental to the success or not the rewilding strategy for a particular species.

Creation of ‘Bird Islands’ Rewilding is not a precise science and there is the opportunity to contemplate low cost, high ecological return activities, without intensive ecological or financial investment. One such example is the addition of small (20 m2) ‘bird islands’ to the surface of Trapaing Chamboak. If these islands were to include roosting platforms, painted and woolly-necked storks (see Image 1), along with lesser and greater adjutants, could be anticipated to appear at the site (Note: considering the variables in the rewilding matrix, protection from disturbance would be a key factor in guaranteeing the continued presence of this birds). The planning and management regime for these islands is the example of an activity that would feature in the TCHMP drafting process (see Project II).

Note: Given the process focus nature of this project it is not possible to ascribe costs. Certain factors, such as how rewilding integrates with other environment and social activities at the site will change the sums involved as will the extent of on-going monitoring and the species involved.

f. How Does Project II. Address Issues Arising at the Site?

Strategies to rewild the BS site will address the issue of low populations of native flora and fauna, while the potential for habitat modification and creation that accompany rewilding activity will create improvements in the aquatic and terrestrial environment of the site.

Table 2.5: How Project III. Addresses Environment and Social Issues at the BS site.

ENVIRONMENT

ISSUE HOW IS THE ISSUE ADDRESSED

Low populations of native flora and fauna Management of human access and pressure would permit the return of numerous species (esp. birds). Opportunity to re-introduce vulnerable and threatened species once safety can be assured.

Reduced health of Trapaing Chamboak (lake) Collaborate with relevant stakeholders to develop a conservation and restoration plan for the lake, including habitat creation.

49 g. Potential Partnerships

• Angkor Centre for Biodiversity Conservation - The Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity (ACCB), located 25 kilometers to the north of the property was the first nature conservation centre in Cambodia. The ACCB aims to contribute to the conservation of wildlife and biodiversity in Cambodia, through a culmination of restoration, rehabilitation and release programmes. There is a possibility, with the correct conditions in place, for ACCB to collaborate in the return of specified animals to the property. ACCB also has expert experience in wetland creation and modification. ACCB could provide species and expertise to re-wilding activities at the BS site, including the re-introduction of small mammals (e.g., civets) and reptiles (e.g., elongated tortoises and temple turtles).

• Sam Veasna Centre - The Sam Veasna Centre (SVC) is a Siem Reap-based bird conservation and ecotourism organisation, which partners with the New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society to promote bird conservation in the Tonle Sap/Siem Reap area. They are particularly promising as a project partner for any ‘re- birding’ initiatives at the BS site. Under a partnership agreement SVC could use the property as an education and training area, as well as a client viewing location (birding tours). In return, the project could draw on the Centre’s experience in bird conservation and interpretative experiences.

• Wildlife Conservation Society - A US-based organisation, the Wildlife Conservation Society works in 65 countries on 500+ field projects across the planet. In Cambodia, where WCS has worked since the late 1990s, its projects include partnering with the Cambodian government to provide technical support for the management of the Tonle Sap Biosphere Reserve. The Society has a strong base in scientific research and has actively expressed an interested in ecological restoration activities on the BS property.

h. Alignment with ‘Tool Kit’ principles The ’tool kit’ principles can support the Project IIl. in the following ways:

• The landscaping principles of permaculture could be applied to habitat modification and creation activities.

• Rewilding is an active field within the discipline of ecological restoration and can draw on the principles and field examples from the field, with contributions from such organisations at SVS, WCS and the SFS.

• Habitat modification exists as a sub-field in the integrated catchment management field.

• As an approach rewilding touches of the Goal 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals: ‘Life on Land’, in particular its target clause 15.1: “By 2020 ensure conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements.”

50 Project lV

The Banteay Srei Heritage Hub

Rationale: The scale of social issues and opportunities in the Banteay Srei area are complex and significant, and efforts to improve the health and well being of the community through off-site initiatives could absorb an enormous amount of resources for negligible return. Moreover, with a large number of non-government organisations (NGOs) already working in the area, there are agencies in a better position to deliver on social needs. In contrast, a sector where the BS development could show effect is in the area of education, training and skills development, with a particular focus on archaeological conservation.

Strategic Opportunities: The Song Saa Collective and its individual staff have developed strong networks across a range of sectors, both within Cambodia and abroad. This includes Cambodian authorities (e.g., the Ministry of Environment and the Council for the Development of Cambodia), international NGOs (e.g., WCS and Fauna and Flora International, and International Heritage Project) and academic institutions (Harvard Business School and Stanford). With the knowledge, experience and capacities inherent in these organisations there is an opportunity to engineer a coalition of support for a learning-based initiative on the site.

Description a. Introduction Siem Reap province is home to the Angkor Archaeological Park, the UNESCO World Heritage site that encompasses the temples of Angkor. It is an area steeped in history and cultural, of which Cambodia’s are justly proud. Under Project IV it is the intention to work alongside appropriate civil society groups, the Apsara Authority and UNESCO to create a dedicated ‘heritage’ centre that will encompass both cultural and environmental conservation concerns. The focus for this centre will be on be on knowledge sharing, education and training, targeted specifically at Cambodians. This will include a dedicated archaeological preservation programme that will incorporate a facility that includes training spaces, practical workshop areas, and venues where visitors can view and interact with the restoration work (e.g., from any hospitality facilities developed on the BS site).

Concurrently, during the process of land profiling undertaken by Sarus Properties Development Limited in 2015, several unprotected Angkor-era sites were identified in the Banteay Srei area. These locations, outside the Angkor Archaeological Park, have not been subject to heritage conservation at this time. As part of the heritage hub programme the Foundation and partners will liaise with the Apsara Authority and UNESCO about opportunities for ‘adopting’ one or two of these sites in order to implement a heritage conservation programme, which integrates with the activities of the heritage hub.

Image 2.5: Angkor-era ruins (likely a library), 8 kilometres south of the Banteay Srei site. The entire area of these remains, which include an ancient baray (moat), could be a suitable candidate for a Heritage Hub restoration project.

There is the opportunity to build on this learning focus by collaborating with state and non-state sector partners to incorporate into the heritage hub a Southeast Asian regional biodiversity and climate change-learning institute (this would be a first for the region). It is a concept that other parties, notably the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), have indicated an interest in supporting through a joint proposal to external funding agencies. This centre has the capacity to link with the archaeological initiative, as well as the restoration activities proposed for the site, to create a hub that is unique in scale and form for Southeast Asia, with the ultimate aspiration being a ‘learning ecosystem’ that inspires and nurtures.

The hub could be located at any site on the property, however the eastern side of Trapaing Chamboak is especially attractive because it will demarcate the hub from the commercial development scheduled to occur on the western / Plot 38 portion of the property.

There is also the opportunity to incorporate into the hub an outdoor accommodation component, featuring safari-style tents and raised platform/huts. This experiential stay facility—of which no similar options exist elsewhere in the Siem Reap area—could be aligned with the operation of the Heritage Hub or operated as a separate entity.

b. Key Project Considerations The key considerations for this project are:

• Approvals - An essential pre-requisite for the development of the heritage hub is the participation and approval of the organisation managing the conservation of the Angkor Archaeological Park—the Apsara Authority22. Preliminary consultation has already been undertaken with the authority and there is the opportunity to build on this should the project be approved for further investigation.

• Partnerships – The Song Saa Foundation has limited experience in heritage conservation, so partnerships with appropriately experienced agencies will be crucial to moving forward with this project. In 2016 the Foundation commenced discussion with the Integrated Heritage Project (IHP), a US-based organisation, on the possibilities of a BS site-based collaboration. With IHP aspiring to develop a heritage conservation and education programme in Cambodia, the organisation would be an ideal partner in the practical development and operation of the archaeological element of the hub. This includes not only implementing the archaeological programme, but also seeking Apsara Authority approvals and the securing of financial and resource support.

• Site selection – A suitable location for the hub needs to be incorporated into the site Master Plan, which harmonises with the needs for the facility, the commercial considerations for the site and the overall aspirations for the property.

• The regional biodiversity / climate change element of the project requires a full assessment and remains conceptual at this point. Engaging with major stakeholders and supporters will be a fundamental step in deciding if this aspect of the project is feasible. c. Steps In contrast to the other projects in this plan, the heritage hub activity is largely contingent on the support and efforts of outside partners, notably the aforementioned IHP and supporters for the biodiversity / climate change centre. This means that the timeframe on this project could move at a slower rate, which will be determined fundamentally by the capacity and effectiveness of the partners. A ten-year time frame, from concept to operation is not unanticipated, with the projected steps as follows:

• Confirmation of partners (archaeological heritage); identification of partners (biodiversity heritage). • Zoning of potential site(s). • Development of proposals for respective hub (archaeological and biodiversity / climate change) centres, integrate into a single site project. • Development of a heritage hub plan and budget. Create supporting materials (e.g., formal approvals and communication materials). • Feasibility and proposal for outdoor accommodation zone assessed for incorporation into the heritage hub plan. • Collaborate with partners to promote the heritage hub and secure necessary resource and funding support. • Draft and implement a work plan based on resource availability and capacity of partners and supporters. This should include the capacity of incorporating the conservation of a local archaeological site(s) into a hub directed programme.

Because this project will be funded externally, the expected cost to the BS development will be limited to the opportunity costs on any land dedicated to the heritage hub and the expense of staff time. The costs beyond this, for the partners, will be significant (US $500-100,000k start-up and annual operating budget of $50k)), but will be covered through sponsorship and grants from external agencies (e.g., the Asian Development Bank for the environment portion of the hub).

22 APSARA is the Cambodian management authority responsible for protecting the archaeological park of Angkor. Founded in 1995, it is in charge of the research, protection, and conservation as well as the urban and tourist development of the park.

52 d. Design Considerations

The key design considerations of this project are:

• Site location – A site will need to be zoned that meets the respective needs of the hub project and the site’s commercial development.

• Integration with wider BS development activities – The development of the heritage hub could synthesise efficiently with potential resort activities on the site. A discovery-style centre—where visitors could interact with the archaeological restoration work—could be an example. Similarly, visitors could be enrolled into the experience of the off-property restoration project, with the opportunity for a sponsorship programme, similar to the Song Saa Private Island ‘Wall of Hope’, being created as a complementary activity.

• Community participation – The education and training element of the archaeological programme would provide a skills development and income earning opportunity for villagers living in proximity to the BS site, thereby addressing some of the income and poverty issues observed in the vicinity of the site.

e. How Does Project IV. Address Issues Arising at the Site?

The heritage hub has the opportunity to indirectly address some of the social issues arising in the villages that surround the property.

Table 2.6: How Project III Addresses Environment and Social Issues at the BS site.

SOCIAL

Outward migration of family members for economic Provision of education and training services would reasons. offer an alternative economic pathway for local community members, removing the need for outward migration.

g. Potential Partnerships

• Integrated Heritage Project – A potential partner in the development of the archaeological component of the heritage hub.

• Apsara Authority - The support of the Apsara Authority is a pre-requisite for the creation of the archaeological portion of the heritage hub project.

• Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts – As the government ministry with a mandate to promote, encourage and support the conservation of Cambodia’s cultural heritage, its approval for the project will be an important element in building momentum for the archaeological component of the heritage project. The Ministry will also have approval authority over any off-site restoration initiatives that occur outside the conservation zones of the Angkor Archaeological Park.

• UNESCO – The organisation mobilises international support, via the United Nations framework, for cultural heritage projects in Cambodia. A potential source of funding and other resources for the archaeological component of the hub project.

• Ministry of Environment (Cambodia) – As the line ministry responsible for the implementation of Cambodia’s biodiversity commitments, its support—with or without resources—will be essential in building momentum for the environment portion of this project

• Asian Development Bank – A lead funder of biodiversity programmes in the region, the Asian Development Bank offers a potential source of financial support for the environment component of the heritage hub project.

53 • International conservation organisations operating in Cambodia – A range of international conservation organisations—including WCS, Conservation International and WWF—offer potential arenas of support for the financing and resourcing of the biodiversity / climate change education and training aspect of the hub.

h. Alignment with ‘Tool Kit’ principles The heritage hub project does not readily fit with any one of the ‘tool kits’. However, efforts to promote the conservation and protection of cultural heritage would be a foundation element in any attempts to promote sustainability and environment : social wellbeing. As such it could be assisted by the philosophies, principles and approaches inherent in all four of the tool kits.

54 2.5.2 Other Environmental and Social Planning Considerations for the Site

a. Smaller scale Activities

In addition to the larger-scale projects setout in this plan, there are a number of smaller scale activities that can be accommodated in the management of the BS site. These are summarised in Table 2.7, below:

Table 2.7: Other Environment and Social Matters for Consideration

ISSUE MANAGEMENT RESPONSE

Environment: Presence of several groundwater springs Springs should be mapped, ground-truthed and a on the property development free buffer zone established in proximity to their locations.

Environment: Presence of a high-value agar wood Removal of agar wood plantation from development plantation on the property plan or the relocation of trees to an alternative growing site.

Environmental and social: How do we answering the Establish and implement a monitoring programme for question, “How do we know if we are being effective the site, featuring annually assessed baseline bio- and in our environment and social work?” social- indicators (the School for Field Studies can assist with this project).

Environment and social: How to promote ‘radical Publication of a bi-annual ‘State of the Site’ report. transparency’ in the site’s environmental and social activities.

b. Monitoring and Reporting

Protecting and improving the physical and social environment of the BS requires the adoption of ‘best practice’ monitoring and reporting. Through the establishment of appropriate baseline indicators, the developers will be able to identify how the environment and social plan, and the general re-development of the BS site, is impacting on the property.

Such a monitoring regime should cover terrestrial and water environments and selected social demographics. This includes ground and surface water quality, variables that show biodiversity change, habitat integrity, carbon footprint and ground cover change. The emphasis should be on indicators that are both cost effective and that demonstrate change.

Within the next stages of the project there is an opportunity to establish a set of baseline indicators that will be appropriate of the property. The selection and monitoring of these before development commences will ensure the capacity to track impact and change as the site develops.

Monitoring, however, is not an end point and a process of regular reporting should be put in place wherein the results from the indicator programme are documented and evaluated. This information would provide the basis for adaptive management of the different initiatives underway at the site. Further, in-line with the Song Saa Collective’s commitment to ‘radical transparency’, this information could be shared through a bi-annual ‘State of the Site’ report, which could be distributed widely (e.g., through the Collective’s website). Such a document would constitute a unique contribution to sustainability reporting in the region, and a standard that like-minded developments can aspire to.

c. Synthesis Between the Environment and Social Plan and Other Site Activities

The full development of the Banteay Srei site will entail a range of commercial and infrastructure activities that will impact on the physical and social environment of the property. Consideration needs to be given to how the impacts of particular

55 activities, such as road construction, vegetation removal and replanting strategies etc. will be evaluated and managed. Figure 2.7 sets out a process that will ensure the effective effects-based management of activities undertaken on the site.

Figure 2.7: Controlling Environmental Impacts – A Management Process

New Activity (e.g., road Construction)

Assessment of anticipated impacts

Are they positive or negative for the site?

What are the consequences for the environment Positive Negative and social projects? Are there Establish & ways to implement improve the strategies for impact? If so, avoiding or can it be remedying Environment & Social Monitoring implemented negative - Baseline indicators - as part of the effects activity?

Biannual ‘State of the Site’ Reporting

56 The component parts of the process are:

• The impacts of an activity are evaluated and assessed for impacts on environment and social wellbeing of the site and surrounding areas. • An evaluation is made: (1) Do these impacts affect the physical and social well-being of the site positively or negatively? (2) Do these impacts have consequences for the environment and social projects being undertaken on the site and surrounding areas. • An impact management plan is prepared for the activity. The emphasis in this plan will be on the avoidance or remedying of any negative impacts. And where they arise, maximising any positive effects. • Baseline monitoring is used to assess the net environment and social well being of the site. Excessive negative impacts will be demonstrated through negative changes in the numerical status of the indicators. • Bi-annual ‘State of the Site’ report is prepared, where the records of environment and social change are shared with the site managers, investors and the general public.

d. Corporate Alignment

Current proposals for the property include the inclusion of other corporate entities on the site that will be expected to align their activities with the mission and vision of the Song Saa Collective. To ensure this alignment there are three strategies that should be implemented:

• The development and approval of standard operating procedures for activities that could have significant adverse impact on the physical and social environment of the BS property. This would include: (a) the management of harmful chemicals; (b) child safety policies; (c) flora and fauna management/encounter protocols; (d) labour protection rules; and (e) management of carbon footprint.

• The establishment and commitment by developers to building design and environmental codes.

• As the proposed environmental and social manager for the BS site, the Song Saa Foundation will oversee the implementation of this plan and the wider environmental and social wellbeing of the property. This will incur positive benefits to other corporate entities occupying the site, from an ecosystem and social benefits, services and branding perspective. In order to fund the Foundation’s activities a sustainable funding model will be developed into land sales contracts, including an one-off donation to the Foundation (based on per metre2 of land purchased) and an on-going annual service fee to the organisation.

e. Environment Impact Assessment

Under the 1996 Law on Environmental Protection and Natural Resource Management, the 1999 Anukret on Environmental Impact Assessment Process (EIA Sub-Decree) and the 2009 Prakas on General Guidelines for Initial and Final Environmental Impact Assessment Reports, projects are required to complete and submit an environment impact assessment on the impacts of their project. Generally speaking, the current EIA process requires project proponents to submit an Initial Environmental Impact Assessment (IEIA) to the Ministry of Environment (MoE) for review, after which the MoE may determine that a full EIA report is required, if the project may “have serious impact to the natural resources, ecosystem, heath or public welfare.” The current EIA law also provides for public participation and gives some monitoring authority to the MoE. It can be anticipated that the development of the BS site will require a full EIA to be prepared, subject to a decision by the MoE. Technically this will entail the hiring of a MOE approved consultant to complete a full assessment of the development on the environment of the site—an EIA cannot be prepared by the developer nor can they chose their own consultant to prepare the assessment.

Creating uncertain is the current reform of the EIA law, the existing regulations having proved insufficient at protecting the environmental. This means that there is no clarity over the extent of the assessment process and the protocols to be followed for the completion and approval of an EIA. While the law is in draft form, the old regulations still apply. However, there are still a number of steps to pass in the overall project before an EIA will be required, with assurance of what the development of the property will fully entail still to be decided. This timeframe is not undesirable, as it will help to provide more certainty in the form and nature of the legal EIA process that the developer will be required to comply with.

57 Part Ill. A Community for Banteay Srei - A Concept Note -

3.1 Background

The development of the Banteay Srei sites creates an opportunity to go beyond existing notions of property development to consider the form and nature of the community that occupies and evolves on the site. Further, given the scale of the property, there exists the capacity to fashion a living and lifestyle environment that recognizes the reality and opportunities of a post-carbon age. The opportunities of following this trajectory are enormous, ranging from increased stores of social and environmental resilience, through to a physical and human environment that fosters human health, wellbeing, spirit and innovation. In short, it offers a human centre accomplishment of this management plan’s 3Rs— regeneration, restoration and resilience.

To fashion this requires us to go beyond conventional notions of community—aggregates of people living in a shared geographic space, with similarities aligned to wealth, race and education—to harness new thinking and realities. To accomplish this requires us to think about how we act and perceive the world around us, towards each other and, as importantly, our own being. In short, it requires a truly holistic approach to what a healthy, prosperous and a sustainable community should entail in the environs of the Mekong basin in a post carbon age.

3.2 Why is this important?

Today the world is buffered by unparalleled global disruption—migration, demographic aging, climate change, growing inequality, the decline of the western middle class and rise of the east—have conspired to mean that conventional notions of growth, progress and opportunity are being reshaped, sometimes dramatically. The result has been the ironic situation whereby large swathes of society are retreating inwards, igniting old prejudices and asserting nationalist values in lieu of collaborative responses to the challenges they face.

Yet it is also an age of possibility: new technology, improvements in health care and a greater understanding of who we are and our place on the planet, represent an enormous opportunity for innovation and the development of new, sustainable, paths for a human future. What is required to create this possibility are models of community that can nurture and direct this hope, underpinned by community will-power, confidence and an understanding and respect for the place and the people where we live and work.

3.3 What Could a Banteay Srei Community Comprise

There are numerous examples that can provide inspiration to that the shape and form of such communities might take on. Some examples include:

Case Study: Village Homes, Davis, California When Village Homes was built in the 1970s, real estate agents refused to show anyone round the 40 hectare, 240 home development because they did not think anyone would want to live there. There were no front roads, no storm drains, and the houses all faced the same way—for solar gain. Today, it is one of the most sought-after subdivisions in Davis, and Coldwell Banker Residential identified Village Homes as "Davis’s most desirable subdivision". The crime rate is 10th that of Davis as whole, and in 1995 the homes sold for 13% more than the equivalent-sized homes in a traditional post WWII subdivision located across the road.

Design Features

• Ecological protection: 7 hectares of greenbelt & open space; 7 hectares of common agricultural land. • Density and urban design: A whole-systems approach to design. The houses are clustered into groups of 8 and are surrounded by common space. The early residents were responsible for the landscaping and design of the green space in front of their housing clusters. 25% of the hectarage is open space (agricultural and recreational). • Local economy: 2000 square metres of commercial office space. Thanks to the agricultural space, by 1989, much of the Village Homes residents’ food was being grown in the neighbourhood. The agricultural areas include commercial fruit and nut orchards, a commercial organic produce farm, home-scale garden plots and edible landscaping along pathways and roads. • Transportation: Vehicle access is by the back lanes only, with pedestrian lanes for walking and cycling. The "front streets" are designed by the residents as grassy areas, gardens with shrubs, etc. Pedestrian paths and traffic

58 calming designs with narrow streets encourage a strong sense of community and high property values. The compact design encourages residents to walk rather than drive for their daily needs. The grocery store is 10 minutes walk away, and the largest employer - the university—is nearby. • Affordable housing: A ‘sweat equity’ programme allowed several low-income construction workers to buy homes. • Livable communities: The local homeowners association owns and manages the household commons, greenbelt commons, agricultural lands and the community center, and handles the revenues from office space and some of the development’s rental units. There are frequent community events, and 80% of the residents participate in community activities. Community barbecue pits encourage spontaneous evening gatherings. The turnover rate is very low, with most residents preferring to remodel and add on, rather than move on to a larger home. • Sewage and stormwater: The narrower streets produce less stormwater run-off, which is handled by simple infiltration swales and on-site detention basins instead of storm drains, saving nearly $200,000. These savings have been invested into public parks, walkways, gardens and other amenities. • Energy: All the houses are passive solar designed, with natural cooling and solar hot water. The overall design, with reduced pavement and more space for trees, lowers ambient air temperature and reduces the need for air-conditioning. Annual household bills are 1/2 to 1/3rd less than those of surrounding neighbourhoods, because of the locally grown food and the energy savings.

Case Study: Transition Towns: The Transition Movement is comprised of vibrant, grassroots community initiatives that seek to build community resilience in the face of climate change and economic disruption. Transition Initiatives differentiate themselves from other sustainability and "environmental" groups by seeking to mitigate these converging global crises by engaging their communities in home-grown, citizen-led education, action, and multi-stakeholder planning, to increase local self reliance and resilience. They succeed by restoring and regenerating their local assets, innovating, networking, collaborating, replicating proven strategies, and respecting the deep patterns of nature and diverse cultures in their place. The transition approach works with deliberation and community spirit to create a fulfilling and inspiring local-based way of life that can withstand the shocks of rapidly shifting global systems.

It all starts off when a small collection of motivated individuals within a community come together with a shared concern: “How can our community respond to the challenges and opportunities of climate change and the economic crisis?” This team forms an initiating group that adopts the Transition Model, with the idea of engaging a significant proportion of the people in their community to instigate a Transition Initiative. Underway, they start working together to address one BIG question: "For all those aspects of life that our community needs in order to sustainitself and thrive, how do we significantly increase resilience (in a post-carbon age), drastically reduce carbon emissions (in response to climate change) and greatly strengthen our local economy (in response to economic instability)?”

During the process the community recognizes these two crucial points:

• Human society used immense amounts of creativity, ingenuity and adaptability on the way up the energy upslope, and there's no reason for us not to do the same on the downslope. • If we collectively plan and act today, we can create a way of living that's significantly more connected, more vibrant and more fulfilling than the one we find ourselves in today.

Transition Initiatives do not claim to have all the answers, but by building on the wisdom of the past and unlocking the creative genius, skills and determination in our communities, solutions can evolve through increased emphasis on localized food, sustainable energy sources, resilient local economies and an enlivened sense of community well-being.

Case Study: The Green Village The famed ‘Green School’ in Bali, Indonesia, has inspired the creation of the Green Village, which has been constructed with the same principles of sustainability as its educational cousin. Through design and construction, by utilizing sustainable materials and artisan craftsmanship mixed with social responsibility, the Green Village developers have created a unique development concept. Owners of new village homes also have children that attend school the Green School, thereby generating a holistic link between the village and the development of its resident offspring.

59 3.4 Concepts to Practice - Foundations for a Banteay Srei Community

Underpinning the design of any sustainable post-carbon community for the Banteay Srei site should be five themed approaches:

a. Accomplishment and exceeding of the sustainable development goals in the design, construction and operation of all facilities, activities and outputs emanating from the community, be they social, environmental or economic.

b. Adaptability: Construction, facilities and activities on the site are able to adjust and respond positively in the face of environment, social and economic change.

c. Embracing the possibility of ‘now’, while acknowledging the past: Development is able to response to the opportunities provided by technological change and innovation, while acknowledging that there are lessons and opportunities from the past that will improve life today.

d. Acknowledgement that the notion of ‘community’ varies between ethic groups and race, meaning that there is no one model that fits all. Instead, a strong and resilient community is one that can embrace and build on diversity to create something bigger than the sum of its parts.

e. The notion of community is not static; rather, communities adapt and change according to time, opportunity and the creative response to perturbations and disruptions. A resilient community is one that can cope, grow and prosper in the face of change and stress.

3.5 Design Principles for ‘Project Community’

- A GOAL -

A development that nurtures a community that can live and prosper in a post carbon age, while improving the health and wellbeing of the environment and the people around it, and of the families and individuals that comprise it.

A trawl through the extensive literature on the design and function of post carbon communities point to the following ‘design principles’ as key ingredients for success.

a. An emphasis on regenerative and sustainable design. Elements of this include: - Close-loop design – the design of energy and material use flows that retain externalities with the system (e.g., recycling water so no contaminants are released into the environment). - Constructive principles that emphasis the use of sustainable materials (e.g., bamboo), the use of natural processes (e.g., water features as natural air conditioning systems, positioning of structures to utilize natural air flows), the reuse and recycling of materials, and the utilization of new and old ideas of design and construction, to maximize the habitation value to human occupants and minimize the level of negative externalities. - Resilience capacity – design and construction that has the capacity to adapt and respond to change, stress and opportunities (e.g., landscape design that promotes hydraulic connectivity across the property).

b. Enabling environment – An enabling environment is one that provides the capacity of the environment and people to operate and function in a way that maximizes their potential, while reducing those elements that erode this capacity. At a physical level, this includes designs that are sensitive to the movement of water, the migratory passage of animals and the seasonal shifts in air movement. From a human perspective it can include the creation of spaces where people can engage (e.g., hubs and campuses), designs that encourage unstructured exercise (e.g., cycle and walkways), and events and activities that offer engagement and creativity (e.g., themed festivals, workshops and symposiums).

c. Localisation—Working with a variety of environmental management service platforms (B-corp, Green Globe) it is clear that sourcing staff, contractors and goods from the local area is an essential ingredient in the operationalizing of sustainability. At the heart of this lies the recognition that the negative externalities from non-local sourced resources (e.g., carbon cost of fuel) and lost opportunities for local communities (e.g., economic) are sufficiently to jeopardise the sustainability credentials of an enterprise. ‘Going local’ does not come without issues and problems, but as one commentator summarised the situation: “localization stands, at best, at the limits of practical possibility, but it has the decisive argument in its favour that there will be

60 [ultimately] no alternative.”

d. Recognition of place/respect of need – To be sustainable any development must have regard with the world beyond its borders, for ultimately the success or otherwise of what occurs on the property will be linked to how it interacts with the communities and environments that surround it. Moreover, such pathways offer the opportunity to create a much more enriched and unique experience for those who engage with the site. The principles of Satoyama offer design ideas that are useful to consider here, including: - Consolidation of wisdom on securing ecosystem services and values. - Integration of traditional knowledge and modern science to promote innovation and responses to challenges. - The exploration of place and culturally relevant ‘commons’ (e.g., the BS lake and wetland as a community commons, managed under a set of co-management arrangements).

3.6 Opportunity

There is no textbook that can setout, exactly, what a post-carbon community might look like at Banteay Srei. Meanwhile, in the past, efforts to decree ‘community by dictate’ have failed spectacularly However, by embracing a set of principles and being response to opportunity there is the capacity to be innovative and creative, forming something that balances need and aspiration, with the realities of existing and changing environment and human context. Balancing this with the identification a will community of investors will be a challenge, yet as the example below suggests, there are opportunities—even in the heart of crisis—that can propel this project.

A Third Age Hub In his 2015 book, Post-Capitalism, Paul Mason remonstrates over the ‘hidden crisis’ of demographic change, driven by an aging population in the developed ‘north’ and a rising wave of young ‘hope seekers’ from the developing ‘south’. As examples, the author points to the ageing population issue in Japan and the migration crisis in the Mediterranean as harbingers of the disruption to come:

“Now though, we have a new problem: demographic ageing . . . it is potentially as big an external shock as climate change—and its impact will be much more immediately economic” (pp.253).

On the one hand, the specter of a pending demographic crisis Mason portrays—a straining global system and models of democracy under threat—is a cause for deep concern However, it also comes with niche opportunities—including a cohort of ‘third age’ professionals, financially secure and well educated—who are searching for a rewarding way to navigate their future. This segment, rejecting traditional models of ‘retirement’, are searching, instead, for alternative pathways that will draw on their abilities while creating a relevancy in a post carbon, post millennial age. Such a population represents a unique opportunity for the BS site. Financially strong and personally motivated, they represent a customer for a very special form of development—one that supports the living environment and lifestyle they seek, which also connecting with the knowledge, experience and networks they bring—less a ‘retirement village’, and more a hub for innovative and enterprising ‘third agers’.

References

Chazdon, R. (2014) Second growth. The promise of tropical forest regeneration in an age of deforestation, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.

Cheng, W. & Mohammed, S. (2012). Social enterprises: Fulfilling the promise of social enterprises, In: Huggett, J. The World that Changes the World: How Philanthropy, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship are Transforming the Social Ecosystem, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken (NJ).

Elliot, S.D., Blakesley, D. and Hardwick, K. (2013). Restoring Tropical Forests: Practical Guide, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (UK).

Gaughan, A., Binford, M., and Southworth, J. (2009) Tourism, forest conversion, and land transformation in the Angkor basin, Cambodia, Applied Geography, 29. pp. 212 – 223.

Hofstad, O. (1997) Woodland deforestation by charcoal supply to Dar es Salaam. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 33, 17–32.

Khieng, S. (2014). The dawn of social enterprise? NGOs balancing between social value creation and profit-making in Cambodia. Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam.

Martin, M. (2006). Seizing the promise of social entrepreneurship. Social Science Research Network. pp. 33 – 44.

Mason, P. (2016) Postcapitalism. A guide to our future. Penguin, St Ives (UK).

Nee, M. (2017) Community profile and assessment: A study and assessment of a Site in Proximity to Banteay Srei, Siem Reap, Consultant’s Report, Phnom Penh.

Sam Vesna Centre. (2017) A rapid biodiversity and environment assessment of Banteay Srei, Banteay Srei District, Siem Reap, with Recommendations for Management. Consultant’s Report, Siem Reap

Appendices

Species identified at the Banteay Srei Site from Surveys Completed Between November 2016 and January 2017 (SVC, 2017).

APPENDIX 1 - Birds No Scientific name Common Name IUCN Red List Status Insect-Eating (Insectivorous) 1 Francolinus pintadeanus Chinese Francolin Least concern 2 Turnix sp. Buttonquail sp. 3 Eudynamys scolopaceus Western Koel Least concern 4 Centropus sinensis Greater Coucal Least concern 5 Cypsiurus balasiensis Asian Palm-swift, Asian Palm Swift Least concern 6 Dicrurus macrocercus Black Drongo Least concern 7 Dicrurus leucophaeus Ashy Drongo Least concern 8 Crypsirina temia Racquet-tailed Treepie, Racket-tailed Treepie Least concern 9 Aegithina tiphia Common Iora Least concern 10 Lanius cristatus Brown Shrike Least concern 11 Anthus rufulus Paddyfield Pipit Least concern 12 Saxicola maura Eastern Stonechat Not yet assessed 13 Saxicola caprata Pied Bushchat, Pied Bush Chat, Pied Stonechat Least concern 14 Cyornis hainanus Hainan Blue-flycatcher, Hainan Blue Flycatcher, Least concern 15 Ficedula albicilla Red-throated Flycatcher, Taiga Flycatcher Least concern 16 Hirundo rustica Barn Swallow, Swallow, European Swallow Least concern 17 Acrocephalus orientalis Oriental Reed-warbler Least concern Phylloscopus 18 Two-barred Warbler Least concern plumbeitarsus 19 Timalia pileata Chestnut-capped Babbler Least concern 20 Mixornis gularis Pin-striped Tit-babbler Least concern 21 Garrulax leucolophus White-crested Laughingthrush Least concern 22 Cisticola exilis Golden-headed Cisticola Least concern 23 Orthotomus atrogularis Dark-necked Tailorbird Least concern 24 Prinia polychroa Brown Prinia Least concern 25 Prinia inornata Plain Prinia Least concern 26 Dicaeum cruentatum Scarlet-backed Flowerpecker Least concern 27 Copsychus malabaricus White-rumped Shama Not yet assessed 28 Calliope calliope Siberian Rubythroat Least concern 29 Phylloscopus tenellipes Pale-legged Leaf-warbler, Pale-legged Leaf Warbler Least concern 30 Pellorneum ruficeps Puff-throated Babbler Least concern 31 Cecropis daurica Red-rumped Swallow Least concern 32 Riparia riparia Collared Sand Martin, Bank Swallow, Sand Martin Least concern 33 Muscicapa dauurica Asian Brown Flycatcher, Brown Flycatcher Least concern Fruit-Eating( frugivorous ) 34 Treron bicinctus Orange-breasted Green-pigeon, Least concern 35 Pycnonotus goiavier Yellow-vented Bulbul Least concern 36 Pycnonotus blanfordi Streak-eared Bulbul Least concern Flower-Eating( nectarivorous 37 Cinnyris jugularis Olive-backed Sunbird Least concern Meat-Eating( carnivorous 38 Elanus caeruleus Black-shouldered Kite Least concern 39 Butastur liventer English: Rufous-winged Buzzard, Rufous-winged Buzzard-eagle Least concern 40 Pernis ptilorhynchus Oriental Honey-buzzard, Crested Honey Buzzard Least concern Fish-Eating(piscivorous) 41 Ardea purpurea Purple Heron Least concern 42 Bubulcus coromandus Eastern Cattle Egret Not yet assessed

63 43 Egretta garzetta Little Egret Least concern 44 Ardeola sp. Pond-heron SP Least concern 45 Halcyon smyrnensis White-breasted Kingfisher, White-throated Kingfisher Least concern 46 Alcedo atthis English: Common Kingfisher, Kingfisher, European Kingfisher Least concern 47 Gallicrex cinerea Watercock Least concern English:Pheasant-tailed Jacana 48 Hydrophasianus chirurgus Least concern

49 Ixobrychus cinnamomeus Cinnamon Bittern Least concern Nettapus Cotton Pygmy-goose, Cotton Pygmy Goose, Cotton Pygmy- 50 Least concern coromandelianus Goose Shell-Eating(granivorous) 51 Gallinago gallinago Common Snipe Least concern 52 Gallinago stenura Pintail Snipe, Pin-tailed Snipe Least concern Seed-Eating(granivorous) 53 Columba livia Rock Dove Least concern 54 Spilopelia chinensis Eastern Spotted Dove, Spotted Dove Least concern 55 Geopelia striata Zebra Dove, Barred Ground Dove, Peaceful Dove Least concern All-Eating(omnivorous) 56 Acridotheres tristis Common Myna Least concern 57 Acridotheres grandis Great Myna Least concern 58 Gracupica nigricollis Black-collared Starling Least concern APPENDIX 2 - Amphibians No Scientific name Common Name IUCN Red List Status 1 Ingerophrynus macrotis Least concern 2 Fejervarya cancrivora Mangrove Frog Least concern 3 Fejervarya limnocharis Asian Grass Frog Least concern 4 Hoplobatrachus rugulosus East Asian Bullfrog Least concern 5 Polypedates leucomystax Common Tree Frog Least concern 6 Hylarana erythraea Red-eared Frog Least concern 7 Hylarana macrodactyla Least concern 8 Microhyla fissipes Least concern APPENDIX 3 - Fish Common Name Scientific name IUCN Red List Status English Khmer 1 Datnioides microlepis Finescale tigerfish Trey khlar Not yet assessed 2 Parambassis wolffii Duskyfin glassy perchlet Trey kantrang preng Least concern 3 Barbonymus gonionotus Silver Barb Trey chhpin brak Least concern 4 Pseudomystus stenomus Trey chhlang Least concern 5 Notopterus notopterus Asiatic knifefish Trey slat Least concern 6 Trey reil 7 Channa striata Chevron Snakehead Trey raws Least concern 8 Anabas testudineus Trey kranhsrai Data deficient 9 Pristolepis fasciata Malayan leaffish Trey kantrawb Least concern 10 Ompok bimaculatus Butter Catfish Trey kromorm Near threatened 11 Clarias meladerma Blackskin catfish Trey andaing toun Least concern 12 Hampala macrolepidota Hampala Barb Trey klmann Least concern 13 Catfish sp. Trey kanchoskdaugn 14 Monopterus albus Asian swamp eel Antong Least concern 15 Xenentodon canciloides Indochinese Needlefish Trey phtoung Least concern 16 Mastacembelus favus Tire Track Eel Trey kchoeng Least concern 17 Systomus rubripinnis Red cheek barb Trey ampil tum Not yet assessed 18 Macrognathus siamensis Spotfin Spiny Eel Trey chlaunh Not yet assessed 19 Hypsibarbus malcolmi Goldfin Tinfoil Barb Trey chhpin Least concern 20 Clarias batrachus Walking catfish Trey andaing roueng Not yet assessed 21 Mystus sp. 22 Osteochilus vittatus Silver Sharkminnow Trey kros Least concern

64 23 Mystus mysticetus Trey kanchoschhnoht Least concern 24 Mystus sp. Trey kanchos 25 Glossogobius giuris Gangetic Tank Goby Trey ksan Least concern 26 Macrognathus sp Trey kcheugn 27 Trichopodus trichopterus Trey kawmphleanh samrai Least concern 28 Ompok hypophthalmus Trey ta aun Not yet assessed 29 Rasbora dusonensis Myer's silver rasbora Trey changwar muol Not yet assessed APPENDIX 4 - Insects No Scientific name Common Name IUCN Red List Status Dragonflies 2 Acisoma panorpoides Grizzled Pintail Least concern 3 Neurothemis fluctuans Least concern 4 Neurothemis tullia Least concern 5 Trithemis pallidinervis Dancing Dropwing, Long Legged Marsh Glidder Least concern 6 Orthetrum sabina Slender Skimmer Least concern 7 Orthetrum testaceum Least concern 8 Diplacodes nebulosa Charcoal-winged Percher Least concern Brachythemis 9 Not yet assessed contaminate 10 Lathrecista asiatica Scarlet Grenadier Least concern 11 Pseudagrion spencei Least concern Butterflies 1 Pachliopta aristolochiae Common Rose Not yet assessed 2 Troides helena Common Birdwing Not yet assessed 3 Leptosia mina The Psyche Not yet assessed Papiliodemoleus 4 The Lime Butterfly Not yet assessed malayanus 5 Eurema hecabe Common Grass Yellow Not yet assessed 6 Ictinogomphus ferox Common Tigertail Least concern 7 Appias libythea Striped Albatross Not yet assessed 8 Tanaecia julii Not yet assessed 9 Spindasis lohita Not yet assessed 10 Catochrysops strabo Forget-me-not Not yet assessed APPENDIX 5 - Plants Common Name Scientific name IUCN Red List Status English Khmer 1 Shorea roxburghii White Meranti Popel Endangered 2 Dipterocarpus intricatus Trach Least concern 3 Rhizophora mucronata Mangrove Kong kaang Least concern 4 Peltophorum dasyrrhachis Trosek Not yet assessed 5 Melaleuca leucadendra Smach Not yet assessed 6 Lagerstroemia floribunda Trabek prey Not yet assessed 7 Calamus sp. Pdav 8 Azadirachta indica Sdav Not yet assessed 9 Artocarpus rigidus Khnor Not yet assessed 10 Aquilaria sp. Agar Wood sp. Chan Krasna 11 Aporusa filicifolia Krong Not yet assessed 12 Bauhinia pulla Khlengpor Not yet assessed 13 Carallia brachiata Tromeng Not yet assessed 14 Carallia brachiata Angkatkhmao Not yet assessed 15 Fibraurea tinctoria Voro-miet Not yet assessed 16 Hubera cerasoides Kray Not yet assessed 17 Nepenthes gracilis Pitcher Plant Least concern