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Underwater cultural heritage and the challenges of climate change
Link to watch the conference on the webcast
On the occasion of the 10th session of the Meeting of the States Parties and the 16th Meeting of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Body of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, a Scientific Conference is organized on 19 June 2025, in partnership with Drassm (Ministry of Culture, France).
The Conference aims to serve as a dynamic platform, where participants can actively engage in dialogue, share best practices, and delve into innovative strategies for the protection of underwater cultural heritage. Specifically, this year the presentations will focus on “Underwater cultural heritage and the challenges of climate change”. The scientific conference is open to representatives of States Parties to the Convention, to Observers Member States, accredited NGOs, university partner networks, and experts, as well as the press and the public.
The conference is an integral part of a global effort to link climate issues to culture, in line with initiatives such as the “UNESCO Reflection Meeting on Culture and Climate Action: Towards MONDIACULT 2025 and COP30” (March 2025), the United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3, June 2025) and prepares tangible projects, such as the “International Conference on Climate Action at the Intersection of Water, Culture, and Heritage in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea Region” soon to be organized by UNESCO.
HOW DO WE BETTER INTEGRATE UNDERWATER CULTURAL HERITAGE IN CLIMATE ACTION?
Climate change and anthropogenic activities are placing significant pressures on underwater cultural heritage. Yet, there is currently limited preparedness for how these pressures are managed. This scientific conference proposes to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change on coastal and underwater cultural heritage, to foster dialogue among experts, decision-makers, heritage professionals, archaeologists and the general public, and to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and international cooperation.
On this occasion, about twenty experts from all over the world have been invited to speak in four sessions dealing respectively with understanding threats, inventories and documentation, safeguarding and adaptation issues, and synergies and interdisciplinarity for emergency response. It is structured around four thematic sessions:
Understanding the Threats: Analysing the effects of rising sea levels, extreme weather events, and environmental changes on coastal and underwater cultural heritage.
Inventory and Documentation: Highlighting methodologies for inventorying, documenting, and mapping heritage sites threatened by climate change.
Loss or preservation by adaptation? Exploring adaptive strategies and resilience-building initiatives for heritage preservation.
Synergies and Interdisciplinarity: Showcasing how cross-sector collaboration can enhance heritage protection.
The event will take place in English and French, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, with both in-person attendance and online access.
Registration
Please register for in-person attendance
