UNESCO Supports Govt Of Thailand In Recovery Of Ayutthaya

Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education

Bangkok, 21 December 2011 – UNESCO affirms its commitment to cooperate closely with the Government of Thailand in restoring the World Heritage site of Ayutthaya after the disastrous 2011 floods. UNESCO is mobilizing world-class expertise and facilitating international collaboration to support the Ministry of Culture’s Fine Arts Department in the recovery effort.

“UNESCO is concerned about the recovery of Ayutthaya both in the short-term and the long-term,” says Gwang-Jo Kim, Director of the UNESCO Bangkok office. “A multi-disciplinary effort will be needed to ensure that the historic site and its larger urban and natural context will be sustainably managed in the future.”

Experts mobilized by UNESCO are formulating recommendations for the restoration of the monuments and decorative features, especially mural paintings, along with the overall conservation of Ayutthaya as a living urban landscape as well as comprehensive water management measures to mitigate future flooding impacts.

UNESCO’s international experts include Mr Carlo Giantomassi (mural painting specialist from Italy) and Dr Zoran Vojinovic (water management specialist from the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands). In addition, experts from Germany, Japan, Portugal and the United States of America supported by their respective governments have also surveyed the site.

The international expertise is designed to complement advice from Thai specialists from the Asian Institute of Technology, Association of Siamese Architects, Department of Public Works and Town Planning, Engineering Institute of Thailand, Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute and ICOMOS Thailand who have also been cooperating with UNESCO and the Fine Arts Department.

The entire historic island of Ayutthaya and its surrounding area was submerged by water for over a month starting in early October 2011. A total of 157 historic monuments in and around Ayutthaya World Heritage Site have been affected by the floods. Ayutthaya was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1991. Founded c. 1350, the historic city was the second Siamese capital after Sukhothai.

ENDS

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