Ocean Decade Heritage Network

Advancing Ocean Sustainability for Climate-Resilient Change <p id="p1">The United Nations (UN) Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development spans from 2021 to 2030 as a global call to action for marine scientists and Early Career Ocean Professionals (ECOPs) to collaboratively create, implement, and communicate science-based solutions to the critical challenges faced by our shared Ocean. The Decade integrates science, policy, and international engagement of a broad base of civil society stakeholders through interdisciplinary research challenges aimed at establishing sustainable marine practices to confront issues related to climate change. This chapter presents a synopsis of the UN-led initiatives that culminated in the launch of the Ocean Decade and describes the global vision articulated in the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, focusing on Sustainable Development Goal 14, <em><italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">Life Below Water</italic></em>. The critical need for multidisciplinary Ocean research and innovation, collaborative sharing of findings grounded in data, and recommendations for global mitigation and policy development are discussed. The Global Ocean Ship-based Hydrographic Investigations Program (GO-SHIP) is recognized as an exemplary Ocean Decade endorsed action, offering collaborative research experiences and opportunities to contribute to data-driven recommendations influencing policy development on an international scale. Enhancing Ocean literacy through the dissemination of precise, data-driven information is essential for advancing Ocean sustainability for climate-resilient change and safe-guarding the well-being of our Ocean.</p>

#SundayRead: #OpenAccess chapter on the UN #OceanDecade, SDG 14, and collaborative ocean science. Highlights endorsed action GO-SHIP and emphasises the importance of #OceanLiteracy in advancing climate-resilient policy and sustainability. 

Home - Under the Mediterranean III HomeNicholas2026-01-15T16:22:21+00:00 FIND OUT ABOUT THE PROGRAMLearn more about the six sessions in program READ MORE UNDER SICILYArchaeology, Heritage, and the Legacy of Honor Frost READ MORE CONTRIBUTE WITH YOUR RESEARCHSubmit your abstract for paper or poster consideration. READ MORE Nov 5th, 20...

The Call for Papers for the 3rd International Congress Under the Mediterranean is open! Submit your abstract now.

📍 Palermo & Marsala, Italy
📅 21-26 September 2026
⏰ #CfP deadline: 14 March 2026

Exploring ocean literacy at the French Mediterranean coast: Information seeking, knowledge, awareness and concern about threats among residents and visitors in Port-Cros National Park | ERDKUNDE

#SundayRead | New ERDKUNDE study explores #OceanLiteracy at Port-Cros National Park, comparing how residents and visitors understand marine threats and access information, with implications for education and conservation in marine protected areas (#MPAs).

The Call for Side Events and Exhibitions is open for the 11th Our Ocean Conference (OOC11), taking place in Mombasa and Kilifi Counties, Kenya, 16–18 June 2026.

Deadlines:
- Side events: 3 March 2026
- Exhibitions: 29 May 2026

🔗 https://f.mtr.cool/yjittdmvue

#OurOceanKenya

Taking Stock at IKUWA8: Underwater Cultural Heritage and the UN Ocean Decade - Ocean Decade Heritage Network By Kiki Kuijjer, ODHN Digital Engagement Manager From 13 to 18 October 2025, the underwater archaeology and heritage community came together in Oostende, Belgium, to attend IKUWA8: Telling the Exciting Tales of Our Past. IKUWA (Internationaler Kongreß für Unterwasserarchäologie) is a global network that organises congresses on underwater archaeology to raise awareness of the importance […]

Take a look at ODHN's reflection on #IKUWA8, the 8th International Congress on Underwater Archaeology in Ostend, Belgium, sharing highlights and key moments from the conference 👇

Underwater Cultural Heritage at Risk? Global Insights into Deep-Sea Mining and Trawling Impacts Deep-sea mining for technology-critical minerals and expanding bottom-contact fishing threaten underwater cultural heritage (UCH). This study evaluates global exposure of UCH to these activities by...

#SundayRead | Quinn et al (2026) evaluate global exposure of #UCH to deep-sea mining and trawling impacts. Read now in the Journal of Nautical Archaeology 👇

Live now | 29–31 January

The AMU UNESCO Chair International Conference 2026, “New Challenges for Underwater Nature and Cultural Heritage Tourism during the Ocean Decade” is being streamed live to support global participation.

Live stream 🎥
unescochair-mca.org/internationa...

#OceanDecade #UCH

#SundayRead: Elkin & Delaere’s Underwater and Coastal Archaeology in Latin America (2023) highlights the richness and complexity of submerged and coastal heritage across Latin America and the Caribbean, setting an important benchmark for current and future scholarship.
www.jstor.org/stable/jj.10...

ODHN and our Regional Representatives (RR) Network featured in MAHSNews - Ocean Decade Heritage Network In the latest edition of MAHSNews, the official publication of the Maritime Archaeological and Historical Society (MAHS), Charlotte Jarvis, Early Career Ocean Professional at ODHN, highlights ODHN’s R...

New newsletter article📄

Charlotte Jarvis highlights the ODHN’s Regional Representatives (RR) Network in the latest issue of MAHSNews.

Read the article and download the full PDF 👇

Today the #BBNJ Agreement enters into force, a major milestone for the high seas. While focused on biodiversity, it offers opportunities to recognise and safeguard ocean heritage beyond national boundaries. More on this from the Ocean Decade Heritage Network soon.

#HighSeasTreaty #OceanHeritage

A timely article on how deep sea mining threatens New Zealand’s underwater cultural heritage #UCH, highlighting urgent policy gaps and calling for greater investment in maritime archaeology and public education before irreversible loss occurs.

🔗 tinyurl.com/2mevkwve

#SundayRead

The Ilulissat Icefjord: Local Stewardship and Global Responsibility in a Changing Climate | Blue Papers The Ilulissat Icefjord: Local Stewardship and Global Responsibility in a Changing Climate Authors Bo Albrechtsen Avannaata Kommunia Downloads PDF DOI: https://doi.org/10.58981/bluepapers.2025.2.01 Keywords: UNESCO World Heritage, Sermermiut, permafrost, erosion, cultural heritage Abstract The Sermer...

#SundayRead: New Blue Paper highlights how climate change is affecting both cultural heritage and contemporary life at the Ilulissat Icefjord 

Our deadline for Abstracts & ECR Funding Award submissions for the OPI XI Conference has been EXTENDED!

New closing date: 15th January 2026

Visit oceanspast.org/2026-opi-xi/ to submit!

📍 OPI XI University of Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
📅 15-19 June, 2026

"It’s Not Just One Place I’ve Fallen in Love With": A Participatory Place-Based Approach to Mapping Heritage | Journal of Maritime Archaeology Traditional Cultural Places (TCPs) are historic properties recognized for their cultural significance. Cultural value is determined by living communities and is not dependent on the presence of human-made or human-modified site features. Although eligible for consideration in federal decision-making, TCPs are often absent from state and federal heritage inventories due to challenges in their identification. Given the relationship between people and place, community-based inventory efforts offer opportunities to both document this heritage and support longer-term relationship building. Using an interdisciplinary methodology, we held participatory place-based mapping workshops in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to document TCPs and maritime archaeological sites. While ultimately successful, the workshops and our shared experiences were shaped by political tensions in the U.S. Pacific Island territories. This paper shares preliminary results on the use of participatory geographic information systems to inventory heritage, including TCPs. Our experiences, and those of our collaborators, are further contextualized within broader themes of Pacific militarization and critical minerals mining.

#OpenAccess #SundayRead: Roth et al. (2025) a share participatory place-based approach to mapping Traditional Cultural Places (TCPs) and maritime archaeological sites in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

#SundayRead 📖 At the midpoint of the UN Ocean Decade, the Ocean Decade Progress Report (July 2024–June 2025) offers a stocktake of global achievements and accelerating momentum as the Decade enters its most important period. Read the report 👇
https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000396626

Re-imagining the Future of UNESCO and what this means for Ocean Heritage. Notes from Samarkand 43rd General Conference. - Ocean Decade Heritage Network Written by Arturo Rey da Silva, co-chair ODHN UNESCO gathered in Samarkand for its 43rd General Conference (30 October – 13 November 2025), in a world vastly different from the one that existed when t...

How can UNESCO bring its mandate forward to meet the challenges of the years ahead? This was the focus of a high-level discussion at UNESCO's 43rd General Conference. In a new post on our website, ODHN co-chair Arturo Rey da Silva explores what this means for Ocean Heritage.

Read the full piece ⬇️

#SundayRead: "Sea-Blind Institutions: How Colonial Legacies Weaken Maritimity in India" argues that India's ocean ambitions depend on integrating maritime heritage and indigenous knowledge into legal and institutional frameworks.
🔗 tinyurl.com/nsw6v7x5

The Deep Currents Collective calls us to imagine, think and act differently about deep-seabed governance. They stress the need for inclusive, ethical stewardship and see culture and imagination as essential to shaping the ocean’s future. Read the full paper 👇
🔗 tinyurl.com/43ef5eve

#SundayRead

The 2025 East African Ocean Festival (TEAOF) - Ocean Decade Heritage Network Written by Jentrix Chochy Sakwa, ODHN Regional Representative – Western Indian Ocean/East African Region. Featured image: Photo captured by Jentrix Chochy showcasing the main stage of the TEAOF celebration, where performances and cultural presentations took center stage. The East African Ocean Festival (TEAOF) returned for its second year in vibrant style, running from 9–11 October […]

New on our website: Ms Jentrix Chochy Sakwa, ODHN Regional Representative for the Western Indian Ocean/East Africa, shares her reflections on the 2025 East African Ocean Festival (TEAOF), highlighting maritime heritage, culture and community.

Deep Sea Mining vs. Underwater Cultural Heritage This chapter seeks to provide an overview of the legal framework surrounding the protection of UCH as a part of the Marine Environment within the context of Law of the Sea, focusing particularly on th...

#SundayRead | In 'Deep Sea Mining vs. Underwater Cultural Heritage', Maria Pena Ermida explores the legal framework surrounding the protection of #UCH as a part of the Marine Environment within the context of Law of the Sea, focusing particularly on the rules regarding #DeepSeaMining.

International conference – New challenges for UW nature and cultural heritage tourism during the Ocean Decade - UNESCO chair on maritime and coastal archaeology 29 January - 01 February 2026 Aix-Marseille University - Aix-en-Provence - Le Cube (Schuman Campus) General Information: The UNESCO UNITWIN Network for Underwater Archaeology and the UNESCO Chair in m...

The Call for Papers for the international conference "New challenges for UW nature and cultural heritage tourism during the Ocean Decade" closes soon!

📅 Conference dates: 29 January - 1 February 2026
📍 Le Cube, Aix-Marseille Université, Aix-en-Provence, France
⏰#CfP deadline: 10 November 2025

Promotional graphic for the first BBNJ COP, urging to ratify the High Seas Treaty with the hashtag #60toGlobal, set against a blue oceanic background with decorative swirls resembling sea creatures.

No ratification = no seat at the table.

Only countries that ratify will have a say at the first CoP. Don’t miss the chance to shape the #HighSeasTreaty. #60ToGlobal https://highseasalliance.org/2025/10/09/from-60-to-global-what-happens-next-for-the-high-seas-treaty/

Negotiating Human Cultural Relations with the Sea in South Africa and Namibia Along the African coast are a diversity of peoples, many of whom hold a unique cultural relationship with the sea. In the last few decades, Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA), a legal requirement in many African countries, are, in some instances, now...

#SundayRead: Rosabelle Boswell examines cultural ties to the ocean in South Africa and Namibia, the impacts of proposed development, and why diverse knowledge forms are vital for democratic, sustainable ocean care for future generations.

Climate change and human activity are placing increasing pressure on underwater cultural heritage (#UCH). This UNESCO White Paper proposes a policy and capacity building response centred on adaptation and mitigation planning, alongside global efforts in communication and engagement. #SundayRead

Citizen Science in Maritime Archaeology: Terminology, Theory, and Infrastructure explores the changing meanings and future directions of public engagement in maritime heritage, highlighting ethics, inclusivity & community impact. #SundayRead #CitizenScience
https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.32448811

decadeheritage on Instagram: "Preserving heritage is ocean action 🌊💙At the Ocean Decade Heritage Network (ODHN), we believe cultural heritage is not just a too…" Preserving heritage is ocean action 🌊💙At the Ocean Decade Heritage Network (ODHN), we believe cultural heritage is not just a tool to support the @unoceandecade—it is essential to its success. The Ocean Decade cannot achieve its goals without the knowledge, values, and lived experiences embedded in heritage.From Indigenous stewardship to maritime archaeology, heritage provides the foundation for "the science we need for the ocean we want".Join us in bringing heritage to the heart of ocean action.📸 Photo by Athena Trakadas

📣 We're now on Instagram!

Follow us to stay in the loop and connect with our network in a more visual way 🌊📸

🔗 www.instagram.com/decadeherita...

#OceanHeritage #UNOceanDecade

The ODHN booth at IKUWA8: our table with flyers, seaweed paper bookmarks, buttons, and a video screen, with a large poster display behind us.

At #IKUWA8? Come find us on Level 4 (Panorama Room)! We’re here all conference long. Drop by for a chat and grab one of our seaweed paper bookmarks 📖💙

💡 New on the DSCC Knowledge Hub: Charlotte Jarvis explores how #DeepSeaMining threatens underwater cultural heritage.

Her new book, Threats to Our Ocean Heritage, is out today.

👉 Read more: https://bit.ly/4nIRIL5
📖 Book: https://bit.ly/3IoIsgh

#DefendTheDeep

#ikuwa8 We are coming to IKUWA 8 the 8th International Congress for Underwater Archaeology, Oostende (Belgium) from October 13th/17th, 2025!
www.vliz.be/ikuwa8/en/th...
Session F2. Tales of the Tide: the archaeology and cultural heritage of fish weir traditions. #coastalhistory #maritimememory

Jon Henderson speaks animatedly on the IKUWA8 stage, gesturing toward a large screen displaying the main aims of the Ocean Decade Heritage Network.

"If marine archaeology disappeared off the global agenda, would anyone notice?" Jon Henderson starts off #IKUWA8 with the evocative keynote "Is Marine Archaeology even a thing? Ocean Heritage and the Sustainable Development Agenda."