Why should we protect underwater cultural heritage?

It is vulnerable yet essential shared heritage, a witness of our collective memory, and source of our understanding of history and science.

Learn more about the threats against underwater cultural heritage: looting, commercial exploitation, climate change and trawling can damage our precious cultural heritage.

The UNESCO 2001 Convention is a tool to protect, study and promote underwater cultural heritage. It provides a concrete legal framework and is supported by a network of committed international experts and partners.