When SBNMS was established in 1992 it was charged with the mission to protect all resources within its boundaries, cultural and natural, but also was mandated to permit fishing activities. This situation created a challenge for managers to protect UCH while allowing anthropogenic behavior that puts these resources at risk. There is currently a cooperative initiative between archaeologists, biologists, researchers, and managers from WHOI and SBNMS to address this multiuse and multivocality of stakeholders interacting and impacting the sanctuary’s UCH. This paper examines and discusses the initiatives and policy implications of the current status quo.

Marine Cultural Heritage, including tangible and intangible traces of human interaction with the marine environment, is largely affected by increasing development factors and global challenges. Its study and protection have been influenced by the Cartesian divide between nature and culture, humanities and Sciences, sustained by traditional conservation practices and international heritage frameworks. In the context of the Cultural Heritage Framework Programme of the Ocean Decade Heritage Network, this paper will present the scope, impacts, and outcomes of UN Ocean Decade Endorsed Activities, such as The Rising from the Depths Network or the project Linking Nature and Culture for Sustainable Livelihoods in the Island of Mozambique, which look into harnessing economic, social, and environmental sustainable development by understanding heritage as a community-defined reality, part of the marine ecosystem. The talk will reflect on how the integration of the heritage perspective within marine sciences can contribute to the Ocean Decade Societal Objectives.

Dr. Holly, Project Manager of the Ocean Decade Heritage Network's Cultural Heritage Framework Programme (CHFP), will introduce the primary aims, objectives, and methodologies of the programme.

The CHFP is an official action of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) and seeks to address the role of Marine Cultural Heritage in realising a sustainable ocean.

Led by the Ocean Decade Heritage Network and hosted by Edinburgh Marine Archaeology at the University of Edinburgh, CHFP is the first UN-level global platform bringing marine heritage practitioners together with ocean science and policy stakeholders. To date, it is the only endorsed Ocean Decade programme focused on cultural heritage.

At the core of CHFP is the view that not only can past human interaction with the ocean inform our current situation; it is also a medium through which we can address future challenges, develop resilience, and motivate sustainable adaptation.

While the UN Decade for Ocean Science (2021-2030) has hundreds of endorsed ocean science activities, projects, and programmes relating to natural heritage and ocean biosciences, there are very few endorsements that focus on cultural heritage. The Cultural Heritage Framework Programme, led by the Ocean Decade Heritage Network was the first. This paper will discuss the upcoming book project, Threats to Our Ocean Heritage, which includes three volumes on UCH destruction from bottom trawling, potentially polluting wrecks, and deep seabed mining. The books are an endorsed activity and present a case study in how the UN Decade can be used to bring cultural heritage to the table with natural heritage and bring underwater archaeology to the ocean sciences. Seabed mining in particular is a future threat to focus on as the regulations are still being moulded and there is great advocation for a moratorium on the practice.

In the last 20 years, Mississippi Street in Greenville, Liberia—once a thriving neighborhood—has been completely submerged in the Atlantic. At the current rate, by the end of the United Nations Ocean Decade in 2030, sea level will have risen over 30 millimeters. The world’s wealthiest nations like the US, Canada, UK, and China are responsible for more than 70% of per capita and national contributions to past and present sea level rise, but the effects of sea level rise are felt most by the Global Majority. This paper provides preliminary data from Liberia that document the drastic impacts of sea level rise, coastal erosion, and climate change (writ large) on tangible and intangible coastal heritage, and the role that heritage professionals play in increasing climate and environmental justice. It is an urgent call to action for climate justice and action including coastal archaeology and heritage at risk in southern Liberia.

In 2017 the United Nations General Assembly declared the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). In response, the newly formed Heritage at Risk Committee sponsored its first session in partnership with UNESCO committee in 2018 in New Orleans. In that session Miller and Wright presented a paper with the same title as this presentation that holds as a benchmark of where we were in Florida as we prepared for the Ocean Decade. Some of the programs grew over the six years since the declaration, such as SHA's Heritage at Risk Committee (HARC), Florida Public Archaeology Network's Heritage Monitoring Scouts program, and the newly formed North American Heritage at Risk collaborative. Unforeseen challenges arose, particularly recognition of heritage and past cultures in prioritizing ocean literacy. This paper will provide an update to the 2018 presentation and look forward to what historical archaeology can contribute to the second half of the Ocean Decade.

The transition from understanding climate change vulnerability to developing possible adaptation strategies for coastal and underwater archaeological sites is challenging. Constrained resources, compliance pathways, meaningful stakeholder engagement, and the risk of maladaptation are factors for consideration, as are the needs for urgency, decision-making, and action. Here, we offer a conceptual framework and guide to integrate climate adaptation science and cultural heritage practice to develop and evaluate a range of adaptation strategies for coastal and underwater archaeological sites, categorized as Acclimate, Dislocate, Abandon, Protect, and Tell the Story (ADAPT) approaches. This tool and process is intended to aid archaeologists and cultural resource managers in developing and selecting possible adaptation actions, responding to data revealed by vulnerability assessments, and critically integrating broad management intention and constraints, and stakeholder co-production.