UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO) THE SAFEGUARDING OF UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES DENİZ ORAY ...
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RESEARCH REPORT
UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC
AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION (UNESCO)
THE SAFEGUARDING OF UNDERWATER
CULTURAL HERITAGE SITES
DENİZ ORAY
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development – Research Report
Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray
Basic Overview of the Issue
The safeguarding of underwater cultural heritage (UCH) sites has been a vital issue of
discussion in the 21st century, as underwater cultural heritage sites can furnish evidence on
how human populations have been influenced by or have adapted to climate change
throughout the past years. Climate Change has been vital in terms on identifying possible
alterations in UCH sites. From the beginning of the 1950s and the evolving of awareness of
prospective cultural distinction of shipwrecks and other incarnations of UCHs, multiple
international enterprises and regulations have been established to bestow these sites with
legal protection.
Throughout 90% of the humankind’s existence, the sea was between 40-130 meters
below the sea level in the past two decades, which has ultimately resulted in the
repercussions of this past sea level rise being prolific. UCH is generally better conserved
compared to land-based cultural heritage and is further known to sustain valuable
information regarding the history of past cultures. As a result of UCH sites, historians and
researchers have been able to inundate a decent amount of prehistoric and historic evidence
concerning our ancestors, which has further contributed as a viable source of information in
the analysis of human civilizations, human origins, in addition to the effect of climate change
on societies.
Figure 1: A photo of a diver at the protection cage in Cavtat,
Croatia
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 1
Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray
In order to safeguard UCH sites found in various locations such as the remnants of
the lighthouse and Cleopatra’s palace in the bay of Alexandria, the city of Pavlopetri,
Jamaica’s Port Royal and the remains of Santa Fe la Vieja in Argentina, development
measures such as the establishment of international laws, have been taken. The adoption of
regulations such as the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural
Heritage Sites in 2001, followed by the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs), have been crucial steps in terms of furnishing possible solutions through the
practice of the marine archaeological theory and developing a global framework in the
process of comprehending the oblique role of culture to sustainable development
Explanation of Important Terms
Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites (UCH)
Underwater Cultural Heritage (UCH) surrounds all traces of human existence that have been
in underwater and have had a historical or cultural identity. This includes known shipwrecks
such as the Titanic and Kublai Khan, followed by the ruins of the Pharos of Alexandria-Egypt
(Cleopatra). In addition to the aforementioned UCH sites, multiple numbers of combined
prehistoric sites and any other culturally significant items preserved under lakes, oceans or
the sea are considered to be UCH sites.
Marine Affairs
The sector of marine affairs includes developing relationships, collecting information and
data from various disciplines, and forming a fundamental overview in order to encourage
communities to protect the seas, oceans and maintain the well-being of humans.
Ocean Governance
Ocean governance concerns the amalgamated conduct of the actions, policy and affairs of
the world’s oceans, in order to conserve the ocean environment, and encourage the
sustainable implementation of both marine and coastal resources. It further ensures the
protection and conservation of marine biodiversity and ecosystems.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Adapted by the United Nations Member States in 2015, the SDGs, also known as the Global
Goals, aim to establish a universal call to end poverty, conserve the planet and ensure that
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 2Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray people live in peace and prosperity by the end of 2030. The 17 SDGs further create a balance between the development of social, economic and environmental sustainability among nations. Climate Change Climate change is defined as a long-term alteration in the average global or regional climate patterns, that have especially resulted in the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels in the late 20th century—alongside many other effects which occur in the long-term. Marine Archaeology Marine archaeology, also known as maritime archaeology, is a regulation under the sector of archaeology as a whole that focuses mainly on the study of human interaction with the lakes, seas, oceans and river through further studies of analogous physical antiquities such as port- related structures, human remains, underwater cultural heritage ad shore-side prerequisites. United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) The UNCLOS is a sub-body of the UN that presents a detailed regime of law and order in the oceans and seas of the world, further instituting rules governing the use of all ocean related resources and the oceans. The Convention has also furnished the basis for further growth of specific areas concerning the laws of sea. Detailed Background of the Issue Throughout earth’s history, a series of historical cities have been surrounded by water, and various ships have disappeared at sea. Despite not being visible from the surface of the water, these underwater cultural remains have outlived in the depths of the lakes, rivers, seas and oceans, further being safely safeguarded by the submarine abode. The vitality of these UCH sites has been observed to reveal profuse time periods and details on our shared history, including the brutality of war, the cruelty of slavery, several effects of natural disasters, followed by traditional methods followed by various cultures, and finally the intercultural dialogue between different provinces of the world. In order to comprehend the significance of protecting UCHs, it is at utmost vitality to review the history of these sites. MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 3
Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray
The History of UCH Sites with a Special Emphasis on World War I and II
As a result of World Wars 1 and 2, crucial historical items and cites has become UCHs.
These include shipwrecks, submerged aircrafts, and war-related material at the bottom of the
seas and oceans. UCH is known to comprise of more historical evidence compared to all
historical museums globally, and as stated by UNESCO, subsuming immersed cultural sites,
buildings, formations, ruins, in addition to submerged aircrafts and incorporating these into
their archaeological or national environment has been vital to identify these multiple cultural
remnants. Furthermore, previously observed underwater metal wrecks have been converted
into historical fossil excerpts and marine micro-ecosystems from substantial pieces of naval
and near-shore disputes, as a result of World War I (WW I) and World War II (WW II). The
necessity of sustainably in collecting and utilizing these vital traces, and the viability of
diarizing personal attestations have been pivotal in terms of integrating adaptable and
sustainable heritage-based developmental plans of the localities, among the surroundings of
the UCH. In 2020, the elevated recognition of the significance of WW I and II UCH sites, has
been affiliated closely with social, cultural, environmental, economic, technical and
technological perspectives.
Figure 2: A chart on the number of shipwrecks in Europe and the
Mediterranean region, resulting from WW II
UCH in the Mediterranean as a result of WW I and WW II
Being dependent on its geographical location and economic vitality, Europe has been highly
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 4Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray
involved with the First World War, sustaining remarkable UCHs. Understanding, protecting,
and handling these UCH sites through sustainable means is necessary in order to preserve
European identities and prosper future generations through education. Several issues such
as urbanization, climate change, the polluting of marine ecosystems have proved that the
steps taken, in order to maintain these UCH’s by region to region, must be more sustainable.
A central reason in which the Mediterranean has been an important region as a part of the
issue is its pivotal function in the First and Second World War, in addition to being
considered as a vital sea-route and a region in which the necessary raw materials for war
have been transported to and from. Having intervened land, naval and air campaigns, the
Mediterranean encompasses ruins and pieces of sunken shipwrecks, as well as materials
representing these historic eras. The underwater cultural heritage in Europe has played a
crucial role in the saluting of maritime quarrels, including the HMHS Britannic, The Battle of
Leros, S/S Oria and Operation Dragoon. Nevertheless, many of these naval tragedies are
not well-known globally, as a result of the lack of archaeological research of UHC sites
compared to cultural heritage sites found in Portugal, Italy, and Cyprus. Despite being
historically critical underwater remnants, the scarcity of systematic efforts to chronicle these
UCH sites may result in a decline in their value. Due to the high vulnerability of the UCH in
the Mediterranean, the issue of climate change having resulted in the detriment of the
construction of these sites, and the presence of anthropogenic factors such as fishing, which
has put WW I and II UCHs at risk, these UCH sites are required to be conserved diligently.
Regional Collaboration in the Governance of WW II UCHs
The governance of UCHs resulting from the Second World War has distinct concerns, such
as the repatriation of human relics, unexploded ordnances (UXO), and possible oil spill
related pollution. These disputes have been undertaken by the Pacific through various
research, emphasizing on certain geographic and regional regions. As an example,
concerning the request of the Government of the Solomon Islands, in 1999, the Pacific
Islands implemented Geoscience Commission (SOPAC), in which the possible risks of WW II
in Iron Bottom Sound in the Solomon Islands, concerning the UCH, was carefully observed.
As these coastal and shallow-near shore areas were the sites of increased biological activity
alongside the high concentrations of marine biota, the study further indicated that more
research had to be conducted on the UCH in which this site has. Furthermore, shipwrecks
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 5Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray
left as remnants from the Second World War, such as USS Mississinewa in the Federated
States of Micronesia (a Pacific Island) that had further caused oil spills such as the one in
1999, were responded to by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the Pacific
Ocean Pollution Prevention Programme (PACPOL), with the aim of safeguarding the quality
of coastal and marine ecosystems, through the combatting of ship-based marine pollution.
Moreover, the SDGs 11 (Sustainable cities and communities), SDG 4 (Quality education)
and SDG 14 (Life below water) has aimed to conserve at least 10% of the marine areas by
2020, through international law. Furthermore, Target 14.7 under the SDGs mentions that the
economic convenience to less economically developed countries (LEDCs) via the
sustainable maneuver of marine necessities are to be intensified. These include the
supervision of fisheries, further covering aquaculture and tourism.
Climate Change and UCHs
Underwater cultural heritage can furnish significant evidence on the adaptation of humans,
following the influence of climate change on them in the past. The immersed prehistoric
terrain under the North Sea, situated on a region called Doggerbank, may be provided as an
example to UCH sites. This specific UCH indicates that the rise of sea levels in the past have
feigned migration and adaptation through Mesolithic human residents, and further bestows
us with evidence in the form of human stories in a climate-impacted lost culture. Other
prehistoric UCH sites in which the impacts of climate change can be traced are the port and
harbor formations in the Mediterranean (as explained in Sub-sub-section 1 and 2 above), the
Persian Gulf, as well as the Black Sea and Baltic Sea.
UNESCO’s Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
UNESCO and the Secretariat of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater
Cultural Heritage has regulated and conserved international research conducted on UCHs.
More importantly, this research has imparted to the comprehension of climate change.
Furthermore, the amenities of the 2001 Convention expedite viable international cooperation
in heritage conservation, including in international waters. The impacts of climate change sea
level rise on human life have been furnished through the advancement of underwater
archaeology and underwater cultural heritage research. Moreover, in order to emphasize the
effects of climate change on the oceans, UNESCO has called upon all countries to embrace
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 6Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray
the research conducted on UCH sites, as a part of the convention, to furnish evidence of
formerly occurred climate change, while also succoring as an indicator for erosion, changing
currents and alternating environmental conditions. The convention has further called upon
nations to enable close collaboration among the multiple researchers participating in studies
on climate change, including its effects on the past and present, further incorporating
underwater archaeologists which have been involved in the Unitwin Network for Underwater
Archeology, established by UNESCO.
Figure 3: Photos depicting damages on UCH
Following the International Law Association’s (ILA) Draft on the convention, the actual
convention has been modified as the ILA draft only aimed to protect UCH which had been
abandoned or lost. Contradictory to the ILA’s draft, the UNESCO 2001 Convention has been
applied to sunken warships alongside various state vessels and aircraft and has further
implemented certain facilities for them based off of their maritime zone in which they are
positioned at. Furthermore, non-destructive methods and survey techniques are encouraged
to be used in order to recover remnants that are considered to be UCH sites. Once the UCH
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 7Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray is recovered, it is aimed to be left to precipitate, protected ad regulated in such a way that it maintains long-term safeguarding. Finally, the convention has aimed to maintain these conserved and recovered UCH sites to public and professional access, in order to encourage project archives. Major Parties Involved United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) UNESCO, together with the UNDP, has contributed significantly to the safeguarding of UCH sites in various countries and islands. With the establishment of the 2001 Convention, UNESCO has progressed two different processes, with a special emphasis on the international law: one being at a global, and the other being at a regional basis. Furthermore, in the mid-1980’s, UNESCO has collaborated in the discovery of significant UCH sites, such as the Titanic in 1985, and the continuous recovery of large remnants from the site. The UNESCO initiative was therefore involved in the discovery of critical evidence through the application of submersibles competent of reaching great depths. With this initiative, researchers were able to comprehend that any UCH positioned at the continental shelf or on the deep seabed was unfortified to conscious human intervention. The implementation of the SDGs with a special emphasis on the 14th. The 7th target has enabled the sustainable management of UCH sites which are prone to underwater tourism. Palau Located in Oceania, Palau has implemented a national framework and policy for the maintenance of UCH sites, through the UXO Strategy and Action Plan. Under the Palau National Code, Title 19 safeguards underwater and historical cultural heritage, including those that have been destructed or damaged. Palau’s Historic Preservation Office (HPO) is further in charge of the conservation of Palau’s UCH. The Government of Palau has further instituted a UXO Working Group in which a UXO Strategy Plan has been worked on. The plan has the aim of focusing on the development of measures to safely clear UXO’s from the underwater. Furthermore, in 2015, the implementation of the HPO has offered services with regards to the protection and maintenance of WW II wreck sites in Pacific countries, with the help of UNESCO. MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 8
Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray Hawaii Hawaii has been a major State involved in the sustainable management of UCH preservation, with a special emphasis on WW1 and 2 sites. The Pacific Theatre, also known as the battlegrounds of the second world war, includes evidence with regards to the bombing of Pearl Harbour. These sites have been significantly researched and UCH sites such as the battleship of USS Arizona, in Hawaii, have been discovered. Protecting other crucial sites such as Chuuk Lagoon, caused by the conflict between America and Japan in 1944, and further having resulted in 4000 Japanese casualties, the Arizona (an archaeological site retrogression maritime program), led by the US National Park Service (NPS) Submerged Resources Centre has conducted studies on the site of detriment and its impacts on the environment. Having more than 1485 aircrafts sunken during second world war, NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) has implemented the Maritime Heritage Program in 2002, which has been directed to research, understand and conserve America’s engulfed heritage sites. Furthermore, submerged military resources in Hawaii are conserved by the Sunken Military Craft Act 2004 (SMCA). Saipan An island in the Northern Mariana Islands, Saipan has established UCH tourism through the Heritage Trail. This act has been established through the contribution of the local community, academia, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and government agencies. Implemented in 2009, the Heritage Trail aims to conserve WWII regarded UCH sites against the negative impacts of tourism. Australia Australia has been one of the limited countries to provide the best methods for maintenance plans for shipwrecks. Having 8000 documented shipwrecks from both the first and second World War, Australia, alongside Viduka (2017) Community Group has played an important function in the process of protecting UCH sites in Australia, further supporting the research initiatives conducted to the conservation of these sites. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, followed by the Historic Shipwreck Program in Australia have contributed significantly to the safeguarding of UCH sites, through Resource Management Activities in the Pacific region. MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 9
Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray
International Maritime Organization (IMO)
As a specialized agency under the UN, the IMO has also contributed to the safeguarding of
UCH sites, as it already aims to protect ships and maintain the atmospheric pollution emitted
through ships. Working with regards to the Sustainable Development Goals, the IMO has
further aimed to protect marine biodiversity in places such as the Philippines.
Chronology of Important Events
24-27 April, 1958 UN Conference on the Law of the Sea was held in Geneva UN
16 November, 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention
28 September, 1978 The Roper Report and Recommendation 848 was implemented
10 December, 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea (LOSC) was implemented
16 January, 1992 The Valletta Convention was adopted
2 November, 2001 The implementation of the UNESCO Convention of the Protection
of Underwater Cultural Heritage
2003 Convention on “Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage”
was adopted by UNESCO
1 January, 2016 The SDGs were enforced by the UNDP
26 November, 2020 The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) met
online to discuss the UN Decade of Oceans Sciences for
Sustainable Development (2021-2030)
Relevant International Documents
- The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, adopted on December 10th, 1982
- Adopted by the General Assembly at its 73rd session, 13 December 2018 (A/RES/73/130)
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 10Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray - The UNESCO Convention of the Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites, on November 2, 2001 -Adopted by the General Assembly on 23 December 2016, (A/RES/71/257) -Adopted by UNESCO on 12 January 2009, Convention on the protection of the UCH. -Adopted by the General Assembly on 10 December 2019, (A/74/L.22) -Written by the Secretary-General, documents (A/74/70 and A/74/350) Past Attempts to Resolve the Issue Draft European Convention The Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers planned to undertake the recommendation of the Parliamentary Assembly to form a European treaty on UCH and implement an Ad Hoc Committee including experts (CAHAQ) to complete the task, in 1979. Between 1980-1985, 6 CAHAQ plenary meetings were conducted. The draft European Convention on the Protection of UCH was completed in March 1985 and yielded to the Committee of Ministers, in order to be approved. Nevertheless, as a result of Turkey’s objections to the amenities in regard to the territorial extent of the Convention, the draft was not adopted. Therefore, the final version and all related documents were to be settled as confidential and out of public reach. On the contrary, a prior version of the draft was declassified to enable feedback by interested countries or parties. The draft Convention mentioned the vitality of the underwater cultural heritage as a fundamental section of the cultural heritage belonging to humans. The draft further brought light upon the utilization of scientific techniques and the use of highly professional staff in order to treat UCH and its surrounding environment properly. Underwater cultural remnants which were older than 100 years were, as stated in Recommendation 848, was essential to be protected, as further stated in the draft Convention. The United Nations Development Program’s SDGs The UN Sustainable Development Goals have been an important step in safeguarding underwater cultural heritage sites. The UHC conservation accords to “SDG 4.7 (Improving education on the cultural heritage of the oceans and lakes); SDG 11.4 (Strengthening efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s underwater cultural heritage); 14.4 (Regulating MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 11
Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray destructive fishing practices impacting negatively underwater cultural heritage;) SDG 14.5 (Conserve coastal and marine areas and their cultural heritage); and SDG 14.7 (Increase the economic benefits from the sustainable use of underwater cultural heritage through tourism, especially for SIDS and LDCs) Especially Target 14.7 has been viable in terms of embracing sustainable underwater cultural tourism, in places such as Barbados This has further indicated the implementation of these underwater cultural heritage tourism sites by Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and their impact on the facilitation of sustainable tourism through the means of using afore-existing resources and materials. The institution of the cultural tourism further enables to strengthen the link between sustainable development and UCH preservation methods. The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission’s (IOC) Online Meeting The UN decade for Ocean Sciences aims to institute the role of science for the oceans. The online meeting, held on the 26th of November 2020, discussed the link between ocean sciences and sustainable development, through the experts of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body (STAB) and the 2001 UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the UCH, followed by the IOC’s contribution. The significance of social sciences, with a special emphasis on archeology was discussed by Mr. Ariel Troisi, Chairperson of the IOC. The reachability of the Decade’s objectives, and the collaboration of marine scientists with underwater archaeologists, after the release of the Implementation Plan of the IOC, was further explained by Mr. Troisi. The Executive Secretary of the IOC, Mr. Vladimir Ryabinin, further underscored the dependence of both marine science and marine archaeology on each other, while further addressing the necessity for the contribution of both scientists and archaeologists, in the execution process of the Decade. Professor Toufik Hamoum, Chairperson of the STAB, additionally discussed the capability of both majors in the comprehension of the oceans and their historical value, which would eventually contribute to the safeguarding of underwater cultural heritage sites. He also mentioned the vitality of these steps for ocean sustainability and encouraged the IOC and STAB professionals to collaborate in the implementation process of the Decade. Alongside the 2001 Convention (described in the Detailed Background of the issue), STAB professionals have decided to collaborate with UNESCO to inaugurate a plan-based substructure on the central goals of the UCH community, which would further influence “Decade Actions”, specifically among the MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 12
Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray
2001 Convention’s State Parties, which number 66. On October 15, 2020, the first “Call for
Decade Actions”, was implemented, which further called upon expertise working on oceans
to suggest transformative and sustainable broad programs further advancing the Ocean
Decade vision.
Solution Alternatives
As seen through the research report, many solutions may be established in order to
safeguard UCH sites. One solution regarding the issue is to research and encourage studies
conducted in regions such as the Pacific and East Asia in which thousands of underwater
cultural heritage remnants, including shipwrecks and cities, may be found. In highly touristic
places such as Barbados, the visits of recreational and cultural tourists would yield a
significant impact to the economy, as well as contributing to the local economy in terms of
sustainably administering fisheries and tourism.
A main step that should be taken in order to raise awareness on the issue is to
embrace the knowledge of UCH sites globally, through various stakeholder collaborations to
provide technical aid in the regions. This has been seen through STAB’s action plan on
furnishing education to Madagascar through the implementation of expertise, knowledge,
technology and financial aid. Technical interventions may be prepared by the help of
UNESCO, in order to ratify new conventions on the protection of specific UCH site regions.
Another possible solution would be the inauguration of a protection and management
plan under the UCH, through the North-South triangular cooperation, starting from a local-
regional-international basis. Furthermore, the elimination of unsustainable fishing or
eliminating means of water pollution such as oil spills may result in drastic changes to
decrease environmental pressures, which would then contribute to the combatting of climate
change, further protecting the UCH sites from deterioration. Moreover, more economically
developed countries (MEDCs) may support less economically developed countries (LEDCs)
and LDCs to initiate adaptation and climate mitigation plans, in order to increase the pliability
of marine protected regions on the UNESCO World Heritage and UCH list.
Finally, in order to conserve shipwrecks and other UCH sites, the heritage or
remnants may be covered with several meters of muddy sediment to conserve them for more
than 400 years. In addition to this, national legislations and jurisdictions may be established
to encourage legal protection for these UCH sites, further calling upon all nations for
MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 13Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray
international cooperation.
Bibliography
- Argyropoulos, Vasilike Argyropoulos, and Anastasia Stratigea. Sustainable Management
of Underwater Cultural Heritage: The Route from Discovery to Engagement—Open
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- Dromgoole, Sarah. Underwater Cultural Heritage and Law, Cambridge University Press,
2013, files.pca-cpa.org/pcadocs/ua-
ru/02.%20UA%20Observations%20on%20Jurisdiction/02.%20Legal%20Authorities/UAL-
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on Good Practice in the Protection and Management of World War II-Related Underwater
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MUNDP 2021 – Commitment to Development 14Committee Name: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Agenda Item: The Safeguarding of Underwater Cultural Heritage Sites
Student Officer & Role: President Chair, Deniz Oray
sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/12582UNESCO_Heritage.pdf.https://
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Useful Links
1. UNESCO Report on Underwater Cultural Heritage
http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/UNDERWATER/pdf/Info
kit_en_Final.pdf
2. Report on the Titanic as a Vital UCH
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/263716146_The_Titanic_as_Underwater_C
ultural_Heritage_Challenges_to_its_Legal_International_Protection
3. Document on the UK’s Measures on Safeguarding UCH
http://honorfrostfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/UK-Safeguarding-UCH-
Facutal-Background-Paper-April-2014.pdf
4. UNESCO’s Final Report on the Safeguarding of UCH
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337509725_UNESCO_Final_Safeguarding_
UCH
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