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UNESCO and Cambodia foster regional dialogue on Emergency Preparedness and Underwater Cultural Heritage protection in Southeast Asia
UNESCO and the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts organized a Workshop on Emergency Preparedness and Underwater Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia from 25-28 October 2023 in Siem Reap, Cambodia, with the support of the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) and the UNESCO Secretariat of the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
The event was attended by 61 policymakers, heritage professionals, and underwater cultural heritage practitioners from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam, and benefitted from the experience and expertise of experts from Australia, Guam, Hungary, and Japan.
Presided by Mr. Sardar Umar Alam, UNESCO Representative to Cambodia, and H.E. Prak Sonnara, Secretary of State of the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts, the workshop provided a platform for regional dialogue on current challenges affecting underwater cultural heritage in Southeast Asia notably related to natural and human-induced hazards and climate change and strengthened cooperation and knowledge exchange between professionals of the region.
“The escalating challenges that we face today, including climate change, emphasize the critical need to enhance our "preparedness" for the protection of cultural heritage in our region. It is necessary that we strengthen our policy framework, invest in resources, enhance operational capabilities, foster coordination, and promote regional cooperation to enhance the overall protection of all heritage, and in particular underwater cultural heritage” highlighted Mr. Sardar Umar Alam, in his opening remarks.
H.E. Prak Sonnara stated: “This workshop is an opportunity to reflect on the creation of a sub-regional and regional model for enhancing the protection of cultural heritage, and in particular underwater cultural heritage, with the support of the UNESCO Conventions. The uniqueness of the Southeast Asian heritage and the difficult reality of the growing threats impacting this heritage, underline the need for regional collaboration and disaster risk reduction plans.”
Fostering dialogue for Emergency Preparedness and UCH protection in Southeast Asia
The workshop provided an overview of UNESCO’s work for culture in emergencies and encouraged peer-to-peer exchange between participating countries on challenges, lessons learned, and best practices for cultural heritage protection in emergencies. The workshop focused on the 2001 Convention and explored major threats to underwater cultural heritage such as human-induced and natural hazards and climate change. The presenters also elaborated on the management of underwater cultural heritage sites for sustainable development, paying special attention to community engagement.
Southeast Asia is home to a rich cultural heritage and many underwater archaeological sites, which constitute invaluable resources for researchers, and allow for a better appreciation of past culture, history, and science. However, these sites are at particular risk of destruction and looting. The workshop was therefore designed to support policymakers and experts in the protection of this special heritage.
The second day of the workshop was devoted to international cooperation mechanisms for protecting maritime, coastal, and underwater archaeological sites. Major capacity-building initiatives and international technical assistance provided by UNESCO on safeguarding cultural heritage in emergencies were also introduced.
With a view to identifying needs and partnership opportunities, participants were encouraged to reflect on the legal frameworks, capacity-building needs, and awareness-raising, education, and community engagement in their respective countries during group discussions.
As a result, a roadmap including 16 actionable recommendations was reviewed by the workshop participants and updated to reflect their inputs. Recognizing the frequent importance of underwater cultural heritage as living heritage of peoples in Southeast Asia, the roadmap includes a call to integrate and mainstream cultural heritage, including underwater cultural heritage, into regional and national disaster risk reduction frameworks, facilitate capacity-building for Southeast Asia to establish and enhance the implementation of legal instruments, actively engage and inform the public, and strengthen dedicated educational programs.
The document will serve as the basis for the realization of the next steps and guide further discussions on the protection of underwater cultural heritage and emergency preparedness in their respective countries.
Addressing the challenges associated with preserving waterlogged archaeological wood
Led by renowned experts from Tokai University, Nara University, and Tohoku University of Arts and Design in Japan as well as the National Museum of Hungary, in cooperation with fellows of the Japan Consortium for International Cooperation in Cultural Heritage (JCIC-Heritage), the workshop was followed by a two-day technical session which introduced the latest methodology for the conservation of waterlogged wooden artifacts, particularly wood-iron composite objects, including the Trehalose conservation method.
The workshop also hosted the exhibition titled “Mystery of Maritime Silk Road: Discovery of 15th-century shipwreck cargos in Cambodia” organized by the Cambodian Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and showcasing artifacts recently recovered from Koh Ta Kiev and Koh Sdech shipwrecks, including wooden artifacts.
Ms. Monchalus Pitisinchoochai, a Thai conservator, spoke about the benefits of joining this regional workshop, and in particular of discussing the impacts caused by climate change on cultural heritage: “the objects that were recently retrieved and are now under the care of my department will require innovative techniques, and further exchange with experts, to prevent damages caused by climate change.”
Mr. Francisco Urbano Dos Santos, from the National Commission for UNESCO of Timor-Leste, shared his views on the importance of promoting UNESCO’s legal frameworks: “This workshop is an important opportunity to raise awareness about the UNESCO Conventions, in particular the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, and evaluate the benefits of the ratification and multilateral cooperation. This will help us raise our voices and solicit the awareness of the policymakers and entities in charge of cultural heritage in our countries”.
As an outcome of the workshop, participants gained a better understanding of the UNESCO Cultural Conventions and increased their awareness about the current threats facing underwater cultural heritage, such as natural and human-induced hazards, climate change, and the illegal trade of underwater artifacts. This knowledge will be instrumental in shaping preparedness and response strategies, and in advocating for the integration of culture into national disaster risk plans and policies. Additionally, the workshop also played a key role in enhancing sub-regional cooperation and partnership, in particular through the design of the roadmap including concrete actions and recommendations for the protection of underwater cultural heritage and emergency preparedness.
These activities received financial support from the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, and the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF). We wish to thank HEF donors for their generous support: the Qatar Fund for Development, the Government of Canada, the Kingdom of Norway, the French Republic, the Principality of Monaco, ANA Holdings INC, the Republic of Estonia, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Principality of Andorra, and the Republic of Serbia. The workshop for preserving waterlogged archaeological wood was supported by the KAKENHI program of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.
More information about the workshop agenda, speakers, and abstracts can be found here
To learn more about the UNESCO 2001 Convention and Heritage Emergency Fund:
