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UNESCO’s Regional Office of Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean presented on April 14 a publication on Underwater Cultural Heritage |
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The publication aims at promoting the Convention of Underwater Cultural Heritage approved on November 2001
UNESCO/Havana
UNESCO’s Regional Office of Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean presented on Wednesday April 14 the publication Underwater Cultural Heritage, Latin America and the Caribbean. The ceremony took place at 4.00 p.m at the Museum San Salvador de la Punta, Havana, with the presence of the Director of UNESCO’s Regional Office of Culture, Francisco J. Lacayo, and the Director of the Historian of the City of Havana, Eusebio Leal.
UNESCO, in its efforts to contribute to the protection of the cultural heritage, edited in March this 140-page publication in full color, in English and in Spanish. The objective is the promotion of the Convention on the Underwater Cultural Heritage adopted on November 2, 2001, so that member stated in the region know about and ratify it.
Likewise, the presentation took the opportunity to celebrate International Monument Day (April 18) and to observe the permanent collection of underwater heritage exhibited in the Museum at the Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta, on the second anniversary of its opening.
A quick ratification of the Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage could facilitate the development of new jobs and sources of employment, the development of best practices in the cultural and economic use of the country’s resources through tourism, the creation of museums and underwater parks, as well as of new schools and other similar centers that would contribute to the reinforcement of the country’s identity and culture and at the same time would prevent plundering of the underwater history and identity.
UNESCO’s Regional Office of Culture in Havana, Cuba, has counted on the cooperation of experts in the matter. The work carried out by these experts identifies the main topics to study and presents interesting experiences in the areas most at risk that should be therefore protected sooner, and at the same time facilitates the most adequate forms of management and training for specialists and officials and recommends the best legal and custody measures for such resources through the Convention.
Contents
In this publication, UNESCO’s Regional Office of Culture has decided to include nine articles by well-known experts from several countries. Likewise, ICOMOS and its International Committee for the Underwater Cultural Heritage (ICUCH), has granted its cooperation and support to the publication presenting, immediately after a brief Editorial by the Office, an interview with its President, archeologist Robert Grenier, experienced researcher from Parcs Canada.
The publication also includes articles by Dr. Margaret Leshikar-Denton, from the National Museum of the Cayman Islands, Archeologist Pilar Luna Erreguerena from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico and Dra. Dolores Elkin, from the Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Pensamiento Latinoamericano, Argentina whose teamwork was extremely successful and encouraged the participation of other collaborators on a voluntary basis. The publication includes also a relevant article about Port Royal by Dr. Donny Hamilton, President of the Institute of Nautical Archeology of the University of Texas A&M, to have an example of various actions from different geographical areas.
Also very valuable has been the section devoted to the Vision from classrooms and Museums that includes articles by Mónica Patricia Valentini, from the University of Rosario in Argentina; Michael Pateman from the national Museum of the Bahamas; Carlos del Cairo, Catalina García and Clara Fuquen, from the ARGOS Foundation of Colombia; Jorge Echeverría, Director of the Museum of San Salvador de la Punta in Cuba followed by a compilation of useful documents that includes the full text of the Convention, the Declaration of the Kingston Conference and the Declaration of Saint Lucia.
On behalf of the Regional Office, the Specialist of Heritage and Editor of the publication, Víctor Marín, expressed the appreciation to all cooperators consulted in several moments along the preparation of the publication, “among those to which we express our appreciation for their kind cooperation are Tatiana Villegas, from ICUCH; the directors of Cultural Heritage in their respective countries, Dr. Marta Arjona, in Cuba and Dr. Carlos Fitzgerald, in Panama; Mark Staniforth, from Australia; Joan M. Gero, from the US, Gilson Rambelli, from Brazil; Diego Carabias, from Chile; Elianne Martínez, Alejo Cordero from Uruguay and many other colleagues, experts, researchers and students, all with the common interest of protecting the Underwater Cultural Heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean.”
“Together with other representatives authorities -added Marín- these authors make, from their respective viewpoints, a collective call to the cultural authorities of the region, and therefore we thank them in advance for their undoubted support and their most active response in the ratification of this normative instrument.”
Background
According to a Press Release from UNESCO dated on June 13 2002, “it is estimated that the remains of more than three million ships together with their shipments lie on the bottom of the oceans all around the world. Historic monuments like the Pharos of Alexandria (Egypt) or whole cities like Port Royal (Jamaica), have disappeared under the water. These underwater treasures attract professional salvagers who, using techniques more and more sophisticated, carry out a systematic pillage of such underwater heritage.” “In the Montevideo bay (Uruguay), there were more than 200 important shipwrecks between 1772 and 1930. Among the sunken ships there are frigates, brigantines, corvettes, steamships and barges that were used to connect the estuary of the Río de la Plata with North America or simply transported passengers between Uruguay and Argentina.”
In our region, throughout history and due to the geographical characteristics of the area, a rich heritage lies on the bottom of the sea and close to the shores of our countries. All kinds of wreckages, accidents caused by climate conditions of the Caribbean, volcanoes and earthquakes in other areas of America have been buried under the sands of the oceans or the slit of the rivers, or have been corroded by the waters of the sea or the cenotes or caves. Uncountable artifacts reclaimed from the waters are waiting for preservation treatments together with the stories of naval events occurred between pre-Hispanic civilizations and battles or wars even greater occurred after the Spanish conquest, embellished by stories about pirates and the struggles of independence fighters or modern shipwrecks. They all make a rich history where underwater archeology, the finding of wrecks and the control and preservation of such evidences is important for the preservation of all that underwater history.
Beside the traditional maritime trade with the resulting accidents, incidents and smuggling or looting, there appears today al around Latin America, vestiges from the past that are the prey of modern pirates or are enjoyed by uncontrolled visitors, while some partially submerged constructions, washed or destroyed by hurricanes and other phenomena, are being destroyed by environmental conditions or evidences of the actions of material culture are being washed away or dragged by the waves. Facilities, port machinery, shipyards, parts of ships and other elements for navigation that are important and worth preserving are linked with underwater stories of the physical, or the intangible de heritage, the history of civilization and the industrial heritage.
The relationship between different areas of the heritage that are barely appreciated in the few articles and stories presented in film or television, are generally related to spectacular events which take them out of their real context; or the scope is limited only to the analysis of the great routes of navigation or to important battles that mark the American history. There is still built heritage underwater, like the above mentioned town of Port Royal in Jamaica, artifacts and cannons that never reached their fort of destination, shipwrecks of sailboats from the times of the Conquest, war vestiges, including the war in which Spain lost its last colony in America, the battle of Santiago de Cuba; as well as another thousand of stories to be told in Cartagena and other ports or important elements just off the colony of Sacramento de Uruguay, yet to be included in the list of World Cultural Heritage.
Especially in areas of a great maritime traffic, with a enormous human wealth and crossroads of culture, among which the Caribbean occupies an outstanding lace, such analysis and sense of protection of the cultural wealth lying underwater is vital, and the preservation of wrecks in the old routes between Africa, Asia and America claims for a special protection in face of the speeded and profitable pillage by treasure hunters. The detailed sounding and protection required today for the new navigation routes through the Panama Canal and its landscapes, an indiscriminate economic approach to such wealth, uncontrolled urban development processes along the coasts and insufficient management of the wealth has brought about uncountable losses and damage to our common culture and to the control of the natural resources.
The protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage is therefore a duty of UNESCO. Adopted on November 2, 2001, the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage protects “all traces of human life which have a cultural, historic or archeological character, and which have been partially or totally underwater in a periodic or continuous way for at least 100 years.” However, as Mounir Bouchenaki, Sub director General of UNESCO for Culture points out, “the existence of the Convention is not enough. Twenty member states must ratify it for it to become in force.”
The results of the Meeting of the Americas for the protection of the underwater heritage, held in June 2002 in Kingston, Jamaica with the purpose of studying all these aspects and discussing possible approaches to convene Member States to conveniently support, ratify and endorse the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage are regrettably still insufficient as they have been barely publicized in America among experts, as well as the results of other similar meetings, or are even being analyzed by specialists and participants.
“Though the new Convention considers a priority the conservation in situ of all heritage, that means underwater conservation and prefers the non-damaging reclaim of artifacts from underwater, it also aims at their protection in case they are being transferred to land. The States that adopt the Convention shall therefore restrict the activities of treasure hunters and impose “sanctions to every transgression.” The legal instrument also foresees that “States that are party in the situation adopt measures to prevent the entrance into their territories, trade and possession of illegally exported and/or recovered Underwater Cultural Heritage.”
“Other stipulations encourage States to implement “a responsible and harmless access by the public” to the sites containing underwater cultural heritage and stress the need to sensitize the public about its importance and significance.” A year ago, Panama was the first state in our region that fully understood the legal importance of the matter, followed by Bulgaria, the only two countries that to this date have ratified the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
A stand by governments, parliaments and an effort to make cultural authorities become aware of the importance of the issue, is needed to extend such action to other states and enforce as soon as possible this legal instrument for cultural protection. To speed up the process, it is also necessary the knowledge about the scope of the convention and of the technical aspects of it. It would also be convenient the formation of interdisciplinary groups integrated by lawyers, underwater archeologists, economists and authorities of culture to study UNESCO’s convention for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, as it could become an important sensitizing way to clear away myths and absurd economics pretext in the ratification of this legal instrument of the culture and of sustainable development of our peoples.
In recommending the publication which will be soon distributed, almost a year after Panama ratified this international normative instrument, cultural authorities of the region and all entities capable of promoting the endorsement of the Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage, should take into account that by means of this document, UNESCO’s Regional Office of Culture for Latin America and the Caribbean invites the authorities in charge of heritage in each country to analyze urgently the soonest and full consideration, thus reinforcing the regional preeminence in promoting the collective action and coordinating regional action to defend the underwater cultural heritage Latin America and the Caribbean.
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Taken from UNESCO Press Release nº 2002-38, Recommendations of Saint Lucia, and all the illustrations have been taken from the publication itself.
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Related Link(s): Tangible Heritage, World Heritage, Underwater Cultural Heritage |
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