FRI team to embark on mission to save trees at Cambodia’s ancient Ta Prohm temple

via CAAI

Gautam Dheer

Tags : Forest Research Institute, Cambodia

Posted: Fri Sep 10 2010

A team from the Forest Research Institute (FRI), the country’s premier forest research organisation, will soon travel to Cambodia, to save one of the major attractions of that country. Its task will be to save the Speung trees, many of which stand over 60 metres tall and are over 100 years old, at the ancient Ta Prohm temple in Siem Reap province.

The trees, which add to the charm of the 800-year-old temple, are currently facing a serious threat and it is up to the FRI team now to save them. There are 33 such trees which have been classified in high risk category after field surveys and need urgent treatment and restoration.

The team of experts from the FRI will be visiting Cambodia in November to deliver the prescription for treating these trees.

Director FRI Dr S S Negi told The Indian Express that an expert team of the FRI had carried out an assessment of the trees in the temple complex and concluded that the trees, some with 13-metre girth at the base, are unhealthy and need urgent intervention. “It’s a prestigious project for us,” he said. “These massive trees bear the risk of extreme hollowness (heart rot), which could even uproot it, and suffer from exposed roots, fungal infections and surface decay,” Negi said.

Head of the Forest Pathology Division, FRI, Dr N S K Harsh, said some of these Speung trees are leaning at a critical angle and require support to avoid further damage. “Since it is a major tourist destination, our task is also to suggest ways that could minimise damage to the site by humans,” Harsh said, adding that a lot of damage has already been caused by tourists stepping on exposed roots of these trees. “The IIT Chennai has developed metal props that are being erected to lift the leaning trees. Other trees will also be covered with metal props,” he said.

Ta Prohm temple, where parts of the Hollywood blockbuster Tomb Raider was shot — attracts thousands of tourists from across the world every year. A Sanskrit inscription on a stone found inside the temple states that the temple was built by Jayavarman VII of the Khmer empire in honour of his mother in 1186 AD.

There are 150 trees of 30 species in the temple complex.

The project to save the trees is being supervised by an International Coordination Committee under the aegis of UNESCO. “We have already done some restoration work there. But there are 33 rare trees which need urgent care. Our interventions will essentially include protection of exposed roots, checking of soil compaction, supporting the leaning trees and treatment by filling trees after application of eco-friendly local material,” Negi said.