REGIONAL WORKSHOP

THE PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT OF MARITIME, COASTAL AND UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE

United Arab Emirates, 28 – 31 January 2019

Duration: 2019

Status: Complete

Partners: UNESCO,  ICCROM-Athar, New York University Abu Dhabi Institute (NYUAD) and the UNESCO Accredited NGO Centre for International Heritage Activities (CIE).

 

INTRODUCTION

In 2001, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage was adopted, setting the internationally recognized standard for the protection and research of underwater cultural heritage (UCH), with a view to preventing it being looted or destroyed. The 2001 Convention contains minimum requirements and standards however each State Party, if it so wishes, may choose to develop even higher standards of protection. This Convention complements and strengthens previous international legal frameworks already protecting cultural heritage found on land and in the territorial waters of Member States (i.e. UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property or the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, among others). The standard of the 2001 Convention is comparable to that granted by other UNESCO Conventions or national legislation on cultural heritage on land, yet is specific to archaeological sites underwater, in international waters or in coastal areas that are partially or temporarily submerged. The heritage found underwater cannot be understood without putting it in a wider context in which land and sea are in constant interaction.

 

The goal of the 2001 Convention is to ensure the effective protection of underwater cultural heritage and its preservation for future generations. It also aims to enable States to effectively provide such protection. Seventeen years after its adoption, only 11 out of 21 Arab States have ratified the 2001 Convention, while the other 10, all possessing historic coastlines and an extremely rich maritime, coastal and underwater cultural heritage, have not. Moreover, while those 11 Arab States have indeed ratified, they have not yet all adapted and implemented national legislation to align it with the tenets of the Convention, and do not yet all follow the high standards needed to comprehensively protect and research said heritage. The main reason is a lack of technical and professional capacity, and of awareness of the immense importance of protecting underwater cultural heritage. This heritage is a vital part of the identity of all Arab States, reflecting their rich maritime past and cultural importance. However, sites continue to be lost to looting or to industrial activities impacting on the seabed - a challenge that is especially relevant in light of high impact coastal urban development in important areas of the Mediterranean and the Gulf Region. Therefore, the maritime, coastal and underwater cultural heritage is in dire need of legal and operational protection. This can only be effectively achieved through universal ratification of the UNESCO 2001 Convention, adaptation and implementation of national legislation in harmony with the 2001 and other UNESCO Cultural Conventions, the building of research and protection capacity, and the creation of a firm cooperation network.

 

So what is "Underwater Cultural Heritage"? The UNESCO 2001 Convention defines it as "all traces of human existence having a cultural, historical or archaeological character which have been partially or totally under water, periodically or continuously, for at least 100 years."

 

UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE IN THE ARAB REGION

The Arab region has, throughout history, been the cross roads of civilizations. Exchange and human development linked to maritime culture have emerged, flourished and converged in the region. The Arab states form the hub of an extensive network held together by the traders and travellers that have originated from- and passed through- the territory, either in the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea or linking the shores of the Mediterranean. Deep connections and shared cultures have been formed out of this network. Today, this expansive maritime past links the Region to Asia, Africa and Europe and is embodied in the cultural landscapes, coastal and submerged archaeological sites, trade links and shared heritage that connects a global network of great importance to many countries and communities.

 

There is a wealth of underwater archaeological sites, including an estimated 3 million undiscovered shipwrecks spread across the planet’s oceans and countless ancient buildings and relics submerged underwater. Ancient wrecks and sunken city and port structures, such as Sabratha, Libya, Bahrain or the famous light house of Alexandria, Egypt, are particularly abundant in the Arab region. At the same time research into the Gulf region’s prehistoric sunken landscapes is certainly one of the most exciting challenges for underwater archaeology today.

 

As stated however, this heritage cannot be regarded in isolation from the heritage found on land and along the coasts. It has to be understood and managed in an integral way as part of a maritime cultural landscape. This entire heritage is threatened by a consistent pattern of deliberate vandalism, incidental destruction, climate change and unsustainable coastal development and use of maritime resources - putting this significant part of humanity's heritage in peril.

 

THE WORKSHOP

In light of the significance of this heritage, ICCROM-Athar and UNESCO wish, in collaboration with New York University Abu Dhabi, to stimulate and support the region in further developing Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage programs and management frameworks that are regionally relevant and centered on the rich and important maritime heritage of the Arab Region. The meeting will be built on the outcomes and recommendations of the sub-regional meeting on the 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage held in Bahrain in 2012.

With this purpose, UNESCO and ICCROM-Athar join forces to improve the protection of the submerged cultural heritage found in the region by organizing a Regional Workshop on the Protection and Management of the Maritime, Coastal and Underwater Cultural Heritage in cooperation with New York University Abu Dhabi Institute (NYUAD) and the UNESCO Accredited NGO Centre for International Heritage Activities (CIE).

 

The Workshop, aimed at professionals and representatives of the competent cultural authorities of the Arab Region States, will be organized in January 2019 and will have as focus the discussion on:

 

• Raising awareness of maritime, coastal and underwater cultural heritage

• Maritime, coastal and underwater cultural heritage management strategies –including the development of specific inventories and protection survey methods, notably in rapidly growing coastal urban areas;

• Adaptation of national laws to protect submerged heritage;

• Cooperation mechanisms among national and regional stakeholders in the framework of the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage; and

• Infrastructure development needs.

 

It is intended that the UNESCO and ICCROM-Athar, together with the NYUAD and the CIE will co-facilitate conference discussions and develop a strategy to establish a Regional Working Group as well as a network of experts.

 

Prior activities in the Arab region include two UNESCO sub-regional meetings on underwater cultural heritage in Rabat (2006 and 2016), a recent national meeting in Egypt (2018), as well as a UNESCO sub-regional meeting for the Gulf in Bahrain (2012). The Bahrain and Rabat Action Plan are attached to this document.

 

At the same time, (Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (ALECSO) organized the 21st Congress of Archaeology & Cultural Heritage in the Arab World, dedicated exclusively to the protection of the underwater cultural heritage of the region in Mahdia, Tunisia, in 2012. This Congress resulted in the adoption of a series of Recommendations

 

The present meeting shall build on the adopted action plans and recommendations and bring these to the wider attention and consideration of the Ministers of Culture in the Arab region. It will also raise awareness of the importance of culture as a driver and enabler for sustainable development in the region and the need to include culture in coastal urban development plans and in the Gulf’s Marine Spatial Planning policies.

 

OBJECTIVES

The workshop will be organized at two different venues. ICCROM-Athar Headquarters, in the Emirate of Sharjah, will host the first two days dedicated to presenting Maritime, Coastal and Underwater Cultural Heritage challenges in the region, and debating the current legal frameworks in the Region to protect underwater cultural heritage. Case studies of current technological methods for mitigating threats to underwater cultural heritage will be discussed.

The second part of the workshop will take place on the New York University in Abu Dhabi campus. It will present ways forward to identify, evaluate, protect, preserve and manage the Maritime, Coastal and Underwater Cultural Heritage found in the region, and several cases studies will be presented. Participants will also determine the main issues and infrastructure needs concerning management, protection, research and training for submerged cultural heritage.

The main aims of the workshop are to:

• Establish a “consortium” or “regional working group” for the management and development of maritime, coastal and underwater cultural heritage in the region composed of relevant stakeholders and experts. States will compete to host various responsibilities;

• Create awareness and invite buy-in and participation of relevant regional institutes and authorities;

• Initiate the development of an inventory of capacity and the current status quo and, at the same time, approve a strategy to develop capacities in the Gulf Region;

• Establish a legislative and policy framework that is relevant to the realities of the region;

• Increase awareness of the need to include culture in coastal urban development plans, Heritage Impacts Assessment of World Heritage Sites (e.g. Qal’at al-Bahrain – capital of the Dilmun civilization, in Bahrain) and in the Gulf’s Marine Spatial Planning policies;

• Increase the awareness of policy makers on the need to protect the underwater cultural heritage and to ratify and apply the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage;

 

The Regional Working Group will support the implementation of pilot activities aimed at capacity and infrastructure development that will, in turn, inform strategies for developing best practice.