The previous work in my masters dissertation characterised and classified the various approaches taken to the protection, conservation and management of underwater heritage in the UK and Bulgaria, through: identifying where they are lacking with respect to internationally accepted best practices; identifying a multidisciplinary approach that would be both generally applicable and offer more efficient and effective protection. My PhD aims to build on from this work through:
- a more specialised and informed study of underwater cultural heritage management systems globally (aided by working with the UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage Secretariat in Paris)
- using this knowledge to create and potentially apply an integrated marine heritage management template to industry standards that addresses these identified issues
- creating an integrated, multidisciplinary global database accessible to all marine asset stakeholders which aims to collect, analyse and distribute live information, with the aim to better conserve, manage and propagate underwater assets.
The human population is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050. Due to the increasing population there have been a number of defining social, environmental and economical issues surrounding the conservation of the world's underwater assets including heritage, fish stocks, biodiversity and marine ecology. The management of underwater assets such as these is critical and complex due to various global threats such as climate change and rising sea levels. In relation to this, the ocean space is becoming more valuable to various industries such as renewable energy, land expansion, fishing, offshore oil, and various other human resources.
There is clear urgency in working towards better conserving the world's underwater assets, as has been documented throughout various disciplines that work within the underwater environment. In despite of this, as indicated in the aforementioned masters dissertation, there are various inconsistent and often ineffective management systems that lack communication and particularly integration throughout the different disciplines and industries that work within the ocean sector.
By working within the UNESCO 2001 Convention secretariat, a unique understanding of the industry from multiple perspectives will be achieved. Through gaining a professional understanding of a globally active heritage management organization such as this, knowledge of previous, current and future management successes and failures may be utilized to create a more effective integrated management template and database system - of which none currently exist.
There is a proliferation of academic papers suggesting that a more effective integrated management system is crucially necessary to successfully manage our oceans. However, there is limited academic knowledge on the pathways to establishment and implementation of such a system. This PhD aims to create a single resource based on the current advantages and disadvantages of ocean management systems around the world which will:
a) provide an understanding and detailed analysis of the complexities of ocean space management
b) create a systematic, integrated underwater resource management template and run a testing period to assess success
c) create an integrated database system which acts to store, analyse and share data from all ocean based industries and disciplines with an aim to educate, predict and aid in the effective management of the ocean space