via Radio Free Asia, 27 September 2023: Conservation efforts in Bagan, Myanmar’s ancient city, have been compromised due to the withdrawal of international teams following the 2021 coup. This has led to increased, often unregulated, construction activities, including hotel expansions and office buildings near heritage sites. The junta’s focus on tourism and lack of heritage impact assessments are exacerbating the situation, raising concerns among conservationists and locals alike.
When Chinese conservation teams began working on the That Bin Nyu Temple in Myanmar’s ancient city Bagan, local residents noticed something out of place. Less than 300 meters (yards) away, they also began constructing an office.
“We can only see it but we don’t exactly know what they are doing,” one local, who declined to give their name for fear of reprisals, told Radio Free Asia. “A civilian can’t know that much. We just see the maintenance work there.”
In the last two years, much of the oversight in Bagan’s preservation has slowly fallen away. Teams from nations like France, South Korea and Japan withdrew after the 2021 coup, allowing China and India to take over the conservation of numerous temples.
That’s raised concern among conservation experts about the quality of the work so far and the practices of the teams conducting it.
Source: Construction in ancient city of Bagan goes unchecked under junta — Radio Free Asia
