ENVIRONMENT
© M. Spencer
Coral encrusted stern of a shipwreck of World War II off Madang, Papa New Guinea. Time has changed the wreck into a large artificial reef, providing home for an abundance of marine life and many species of scorpion fish, which can be found camouflaged against the hulls.
One of the pillars of the management of underwater cultural heritage is the integration of heritage protection in spatial planning and in marine policies. This integration ensures that the cultural environment is respected whenever developments with a great impact take place. Conversely, archaeological policies should also respect other interests. For these reasons, the Rules concerning activities directed at underwater cultural heritage explicitly mention respect for the environment in any action that is undertaken.
Example of an Environmental Impact Assessment and an Environmental Impact Statement method
Flow chart depicting the stages of the Environmental Impact Assessment
The arguments of this chapter are:
- Environmental policy - Rule 29
- Marine life, archaeological sites, site management and environmental policies
- Sidebar: The Impact of offshore activities and fishing on underwater cultural heritage
