The Third United Nations Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) took place in Samoa from 1 to 4 September 2014. During this event, UNESCO, the only UN specialized Agency for issues concerning science, education and culture, organized several events on underwater cultural heritage, which includes sunken cities, ancient shipwrecks and submerged prehistoric sites. The reason for these events is that Small Island States have, by nature, a strong historical connection to the sea and possess vast ocean territories. Their extremely rich submerged heritage therefore presents an immense potential for education, the gaining of knowledge, and also tourism development.

Among the events organized in Apia were a special training day in underwater archaeology for young culture specialists and State representatives, conducted by the famous underwater archaeologist Bill Jeffery, a youth event on underwater cultural heritage conducted by the specialist Jun Kimura and lead by UNESCO’s Director General Ms Irina Bokova, and a special event entitled “Researching, protecting and managing Underwater Cultural Heritage in Small Island Developing States”. Moreover, the issue of underwater cultural heritage was presented in two side-events during the SIDS Conference, the first on invitation by the Pacific Island Forum by Ulrike Guerin from the Secretariat of the 2001 Convention, and the second during a UNESCO event on culture and sustainable development by the expert Hans van Tilburg.

All events were well attended by high-level representatives of SIDS, NGOs delegations, government officials and experts, and the importance of submerged cultural heritage to SIDS sustainable development and to their cultural identities was repeatedly underlined. A festive reception on the seaside offered by the UNESCO Apia office and opened by its Director Mr Etienne Clément closed the circle of events. 

The results and the impetus given by these events are very important for SIDS since many States face challenges to improve the legal and operational protection and preservation of their underwater cultural heritage and to foster public access as a component of sustainable tourism development. Many States also wish to learn in more detail about the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, UNESCO’s standard-setting instrument that is recognized worldwide as centerpiece of the protection of underwater cultural heritage against pillage, commercial exploitation and industrial impacts, which provides valuable scientific guidance.

In addition to the significance of submerged heritage as a witness to the formation of their present day island communities, SIDS delegates were strongly motivated by its potential to be, if appropriately managed, a factor for positive change in various aspects of local communities and in sustainable development.

All participants and SIDS representatives stressed the capital importance to have the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage universally ratified by SIDS States, and a roadmap and new Pacific region partnership were set up to improve underwater cultural heritage management as follow up of the conference. The roadmap underlined the need to develop regional and national capacities in SIDS, as well as to harmonize national laws with the 2001 Convention or to even begin to elaborate new laws, as SIDS often lack crucially important national legislation protecting cultural heritage. At a national level, Samoa decided to call a national meeting on the UNESCO 2001 Convention and the protection of Samoa’s underwater cultural heritage, and to push for the development of a national heritage law based on UNESCO’s Model Law on the Protection of Cultural Heritage, which takes its origin in the 2001 Convention.