Study Exchange between UNESCO World Heritage Site Angkor and Borobudur on Waste Management and Sustainable Tourism
Waste management is a complex challenge for developing cities in Southeast Asian countries, and particularly severe heritage tourism areas where unmanaged waste can affect the aesthetics and image of historic places. Listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, both Angkor in Cambodia and Borobudur Temple Compounds in Indonesia face similar challenges with an increased amount of waste in the areas surrounding the sites from tourism development.
Integrating waste management strategy and practices in heritage tourism destinations is crucial to minimize the environmental impact, attractiveness of tourism destinations to enhance visitor experiences, ensure the long-term and to contribute to the overall goal of sustainability.
InJourney Destination Management (IDM) and APSARA National Authority therefore join forces with GIZ that undertakes the project of AMUSE (ASEAN Municipal Solid Waste Management Enhancement) to collaborate further on environmental management including on waste management in sustainable tourism initiatives, given the highly relevancy of the AMUSE project that focus on waste management in sustainable tourism.
Study Exchange between UNESCO World Heritage Site Angkor and Borobudur on Waste Management and Sustainable Tourism was held by GIZ AMUSE on June 25-29, 2024 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The speakers were IDM, APSARA and GIZ-AMUSE facilitated by the DESMA Center. The participants of the Study Exchange include representatives from APSARA, Angkor Enterprise, and IDM as well as GIZ AMUSE (from Cambodia and Regional team).
Topics raised in this activity include Innovative Waste Management Practices and Solutions at UNESCO World Heritage Sites; Multi Stakeholders Engagement and Capacity Building Initiatives; Preserving Heritage through Sustainable Practices: Alternatives for Plastic Packaging; Sustainable tourism initiatives in UNESCO World Heritage Sites; Discussion on Future Collaboration for UNESCO World Heritage Site .
During the study exchange, IDM dan APSARA National Authority also discussed the follow up of MoU between Angkor dan Borobudur that has been signed in 2019 and will be extended in 2024. Both parties discuss the concrete implementation within the context of collaboration between both UNESCO World Heritage Site Angkor and Borobudur. The DESMA Center will elaborate on the entire process by compiling a knowledge product in the form of an implementation case study that can be studied by all relevant stakeholders.
