Page 216 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

cultural heritage with which they associate. Coastguards can become a supportive element as well, especially for notifying relevant authorities regarding suspicious ships or boats around sites.
Management structure
a. Legal status of the bodies
The legal status of the different individuals and entities that are mentioned in the management plan, and especially those that figure under ‘administrative details and management structure’ is an aspect that needs to be listed, as it has a bearing on the way their different interests and policy objectives can be addressed. The entities involved can be:
• professional organizations,
• governments and government
departments,
• academic institutions,
• non-profit organizations,
• museums,
• vocational groups,
• individuals, and/or
• partnerships of the above.
The legal status of such entities is closely related to their competences and responsibilities.
b. Competences and responsibilities
The management plan for a cultural heritage
site will not change the general competences
and responsibilities of agencies and authorities involved. When a site is in a military area,
for instance, the plan will not change the competences of the military. Nor will it change
the competences of the heritage authority (the competent authority according to Article 22 of
the Convention). But the management plan can address the specific way these competences
will be used to realize the objectives of the plan.
In other words, specific responsibilities can
be agreed upon in the context of the specific management plan, for the purpose of its objectives. The site management plan should contain a description of all these entities as well
as a binding agreement of their competences
and responsibilities in the context of the plan. 215
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Conservation and site management