124 enable the school people to see the point of the ISO standards. Prizes were awarded to those who were first, and this inspired the students. We approached the monks as well for their assistance, and explained in the Cambodian language the situation of the ISO environmental crises to village people who were gathered in the main temple. Each day was a struggle, and in December 2005 a review team paid us a visit us from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in Geneva, and conducted an on-site inspection. It was for us a continuous state of tension. In March 2006, three years after having applied for it, we finally received the “ISO 14001 certification.” It was the first in the world granted for World Heritage Sites, and it gave the people of the APSARA National Authority a great deal of confidence with regard to protecting the ruins from garbage. The words “ISO 14001 acquired” can be seen proudly featured on the admission tickets to the archaeological sites. We see here again a display of the spirit of “by the Cambodians, for the Cambodians,” and it appears to have endowed the people with a conviction that if they really tried they could do it. Also, this certification was highly evaluated by the UNESCO. Concerning Dr. Lao Kim Leang About this “ISO 14001 (Environmental Management)” Acquisition Project, Dr. Lao Kim Leang, the Chief Environmental Editor of the Quality Assurance Organization of Japan (who did his graduate school studies at the Tokyo Institute of Technology), performed a lion’s task, as a result of which he as a Cambodian saved the Angkor monuments from an environmental crisis. Dr. Lao was at first a Cambodian government-sponsored international student, but due to his inability to return to Japan during the Pol Pot regime he acquired Japanese nationality. Since 1989 he had always joined our survey team as an interpreter on our trips to Cambodia, and over a period of 12 years from 1991, he
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