Page 211 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

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Such general goals are to be combined with more specific goals for a region, which may include the targets of regional development or rehabilitation. They need to be specifically applied to the site, considering its challenges and opportunities. The management plan is also formulated to reconcile management goals at different levels. In many ways it is easier to elaborate, implement and apply a strong management plan for sites in zones or areas that have already been declared as protected areas, natural sanctuaries, or reef parks, than it is in the areas of large industrial harbours. In a marine park there are generally more options than in an area with lots of competing spatial interests. Complete, permanent site protection and management in situ is therefore not always the preferred or best option for a number of different reasons. For one thing, there are other interests that need to be accommodated, as for instance those of archaeological study that often requires the taking of a significant amount of samples, removing artefacts or structures and/or excavation. A management plan is obviously targeted at managing over the long-term a site that remains entirely in situ, but also partially excavated sites and what remains thereof, as well as the removed artefacts.
Content of a site management plan
Management of the underwater cultural resource can be defined as taking action to ensure that underwater cultural heritage is dealt with responsibly. This includes responsible action in survey and research, complemented by management at site level.
A management plan for a specific site can take different forms. Nevertheless, if a standardized approach is chosen for the format of such plans, it becomes easy to compare different sites, both within the same management region and across national borders. Due to the often very international significance of underwater cultural heritage, such possibilities are of great value for common understanding. Therefore efforts are being undertaken to structure the way to look at, assess and manage archaeological sites on a global scale. In this way, information gathered will
Conservation and site management