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 […]

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...

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...

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...

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.

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...

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 […]

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...

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...

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...

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