TEHRAN – The board of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage in their ninth session in Paris on June 13 elected Iran as vice chair, IRNA reported on Wednesday. 

 The convection, adopted in November 2001, is designed to create a legal framework to regulate interference with underwater cultural heritage in international waters.

Recognizing that underwater cultural heritage is largely undervalued, the convention provides a common legally binding framework for States Parties on how to better identify, research, and protect their underwater heritage while ensuring its preservation and sustainability.

According to UNESCO, underwater cultural heritage is defined as all traces of human existence of a cultural, historical, or archaeological nature which, for at least 100 years, have been partially or totally immersed, periodically or permanently, under the oceans and in lakes and rivers.

The protection and preservation of underwater cultural heritage as historical relics allow for better knowledge and appreciation of past culture, history, and science. Understanding and conserving underwater cultural heritage, a particularly vulnerable heritage, also helps us understand climate change and rising sea levels. Educational and recreational, heritage and its responsible access contribute to the construction of peaceful and united societies.

Underwater cultural heritage faces multiple threats such as treasure hunts, looting, and commercial exploitation. Environmental degradation also endangers its preservation in addition to technological advances that drive coastal development and exploitation of marine resources.

ABU/AM