Page 58 - Manual for Activities directed at the Underwater Cultural Heritage

 issue and management concern at culturally significant sites. Especially in Oceania, tourism is the main industry of many islands and the leading element of their economies. Understandably, given the picturesque locations and the clear waters, a large part of this tourism is dive-tourism.This is also due to the fact that scuba diving is a rapidly increasing leisure activity with estimates of global growth of 14% per annum in newly certified divers (PADI statistics).
Over the years, many underwater cultural heritage sites in Oceania have become accessible to divers. On certain properly stabilized and protected places, these visits can be encouraged as long as it
is ensured that their integrity is respected. Heritage is an asset that should be enjoyed by all and the magnificence and impression of the authentic locations teaches history much better then any classroom stay could do. However, souvenir collecting, metal recovery and sensation hunting have done great harm
to submerged heritage and the awareness of this threat and
the consequent loss have only dawned in recent years.The UNESCO 2001 Convention encourages responsible public access, as well as opening up promising tourism opportunities. It shows that underwater cultural heritage is a very important
tool for economic development and also stresses that it is very important for the reconstruction of memory and the creation
of intercultural dialogue. Nevertheless, it additionally calls for the effective protection of sites and establishes strict rules for interventions. Access is encouraged, when protection needs are respected.
Zone, the Continental Shelf or the Area (Article 10 & 12 of the Convention).
Even apart from the understanding that each State contributes to a wider goal, sharing through international cooperation is the way forward. The significance of heritage is not limited to one group or one specific country, even though that specific group or country may have a great interest or stake. Verifiable links exist everywhere, as heritage is the result of the complicated and thoroughly intertwined history of humankind.
Cooperation is beneficial, especially in research and in sharing expertise. Of all the levels of international cooperation that exist, it is therefore in particular the exchange of archaeologists and other relevant professionals that is targeted by Rule 8.
A means of improving international cooperation is the participation in the Meeting of States Parties of the 2001 Convention, in its Scientific Advisory Body and in UNESCO regional meetings and training programmes. Another is the engagement of professionals in groups like ICOMOS and its international scientific Committee, ICOMOS – ICUCH, or other organizations that further concern for underwater cultural heritage and help setting standards, like the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology (ACUA), the Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA), the Australasian Institute for Maritime Archaeology (AIMA), the German Society of Underwater Archaeology (DEGUWA), the Joint Nautical Archaeology Policy Committee (JNAPC) in England, or the Nautical Archaeology Society (NAS), depending on the region.
In the domain of underwater archaeology, where the number of well-qualified professionals is still limited and many sites need to be treated and researched in an international comparison, it is advisable to draw up regional or multinational research agendas, setting the priorities for joint-research projects. Such research agendas could for instance address the comparison of prehistoric settlement and use of the submerged continental shelves of different regions.
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General Principles