Page 215 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

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imply an economic perspective in terms of direct or indirect income obtained from a sought after experience. Managing access in the context of regional and touristic development is therefore a central issue to the management plan.
Factors such as economy, tourism and leisure diving could have a positive impact on a site, but also present a possible risk for its management. Some underwater archaeological sites, especially those in coastal waters, can be preserved in situ as underwater museums. This can result in great benefits in terms of education, recreation and income. In such cases, special guidelines should be included in a site’s management plan.
Access to a site is partly a matter of how to get there, but for the management plan it is more important to note what access restrictions should be put in place. The issues to be considered are: Is there an owner of the site that needs to give permission? Is the site located in a park, a nature reserve or a military area, with special rules? Are there limits on motorized navigation, or its speed? Is anchoring allowed? Is access limited to certain hours of the day or certain periods of the year? Or is access subject to other limitations? All facilities and obstructions for access are relevant to the management plan. The plan itself may contain the objective to facilitate access or to implement access restrictions. However, every site should be managed for the best benefit of society.
Accessible sites strongly require periodical monitoring of their conditions. The site should be well-maintained, for example, by checking on site stabilization, corrosion progression, pollution by oil or rubbish, signs of looting, and control of biofouling adherences. This can be done by an underwater archaeologist or by members of an interested community, as for instance diving instructors, local guides, volunteer associations, or fishermen. Under the guidance of professionals and the competent authorities these can become guardians of the
Conservation and site management