This concluding reflection synthesizes the key themes emerging from Volume III of Ocean Literacy: The Foundation for the Success of the Ocean Decade, highlighting the roles of communication, technology, and global collaboration in advancing Ocean Literacy at the...

Join visiting international researcher Charlotte Jarvis for a public talk about exploring ocean literacy through heritage.

The Ocean We Want: Cultural Heritage and the UN Ocean Decade A Change and Innovation cluster event, Vere Gordon Childe Centre

Scientific Reports - Detection of resonant knapped lithics using chirp sonar

YouTube video by UNESCO 2001 Convention Accredited NGOs

The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science, under the motto “The Science We Need for the Ocean We Want,” provides an international framework for addressing Ocean challenges through science-based solutions, co-design methodologies, multistakeholder...

Scientific Data - Mapping the global distribution of coastal World Heritage Sites: Glo-CoH, a new Global Coastal Heritage dataset

Did you know that Indigenous Peoples steward 80% of global biodiversity across 20% of the world's land? As we face an unprecedented environmental crisis, their time-tested wisdom, paired with modern science, may well hold the key to our collective future. This podcast episode transports you to the four corners of the world, from the Brazilian Amazon to Samoa, via the African bushland and Sámi territory in Northern Europe, to find out how. We hear how traditional fire management, ancient fisheries conservation, climate-resilient architecture, and deep environmental observation are proving their value on a global scale. An immersive soundscape of authentic field recordings and community voices accompanies insights from Samoan journalist Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Navajo archaeologist Ora Marek-Martinez, and Nigel Crawhall, Chief of Section of Local and Indigenous Knowledge Systems (LINKS) at UNESCO. Across these diverse perspectives, a clear message emerges: language, culture, and environmental stewardship are deeply bound. Safeguarding them requires sustained effort to ensure Indigenous voices are heard and valued. An episode by Anuliina Savolainen, production by Emmanuel Rudowski. Narration by François Wibaux, with excerpts read by Tariq Talal Mosaad, Peter Bates, Victor Soo, Nolwazi Mjwara. Media Credits: Special thanks to Pierre Costard and the Internet Archive, the Endangered Languages Archive, and the National Collections of Music, Theatre and Dance (Sweden) for providing field recordings under Creative Commons licensing. ©Image: The UNESCO Courier/ Sylvie Serprix Further Reading: -The UNESCO Courier’s January 2026 issue, How Indigenous knowledge drives scientific discovery. - UNESCO and Indigenous Peoples (https://www.unesco.org/en/indigenous-peoples)From founding the LINKS initiative in 2002 to launching the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (2022–2032), UNESCO continues to support Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge systems. https://courier.unesco.org/en https://courier.unesco.org/en/subscribe Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

This article examines the maritime and underwater cultural heritage associated with the marine-coastal protected areas of Rocha Department, Uruguay. Despite the high frequency of shipwrecks along its Atlantic coast, systematic academic research has been limited. Drawing on documentary sources, technical reports, oral histories, and community-held collections, this study compiles and analyzes 161 documented shipwrecks in or near four protected areas: Cabo Polonio, Laguna de Rocha, Laguna Garzón, and Cerro Verde/Islas de la Coronilla. Quantitative and qualitative analyses reveal strong temporal and spatial patterns: nearly 70% of wrecks occurred during the nineteenth century, coinciding with intensified regional navigation and preceding lighthouse construction, while the transition from sail to steam reflects broader global maritime transformations. The results also highlight the diversity of flags, particularly the predominance of British ships, and the persistence of maritime memory in local communities through oral traditions and practices. Beyond identifying tangible remains, the study frames Rocha’s Atlantic coast as a maritime cultural landscape, where material, ecological, and intangible elements intersect. By providing the first systematic synthesis of this heritage, the article establishes a foundation for integrating it into protected-area management. It also stresses the urgent need for stronger regulatory frameworks capable of articulating heritage, land-use planning, environmental protection, and defense norms, as current fragmentation hampers effective stewardship. Finally, the study underscores the potential of international collaboration for research and management of underwater cultural heritage. Strengthening these connections, together with archaeological fieldwork and community-based initiatives, is essential for sustainable conservation and safeguarding this shared cultural legacy.

By Vera Noon, ODHN Regional Representative for the East Mediterranean. The East Mediterranean region is one of the world’s oldest maritime crossroads, exceptionally rich in marine cultural heritage

Cultural heritage is considered to be the legacy of monuments, sites, values, practices, beliefs, and rituals that are passed from one generation to the next. Intangible cultural heritage refers directly to those legacies that are not palpable and are dynamic,...

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Il s’agirait d’un très grand piège à poissons en pierre qui aurait été construit par des peuples autochtones 1200 ans avant aujourd’hui.

Methods to include sociocultural dimensions in ocean governance are important, but not well developed. Here we provide a methodology for participatory community mapping of sociocultural dimensions attached to the ocean and coast. The research adapted a mapping methodology with 65 local coastal community members as co-researchers in three focus areas of South Africa, embracing deep and careful work to contextualise the process. Specifically, we propose a seven-step process; (1) scoping, (2) learning, (3) categorising, (4) mapping, (5) digitising, (6) validating, and (7) integrating. Results show that this process is able to identify a mosaic of sociocultural dimensions that should be better accounted for in ocean governance processes and highlights the importance of mapping both the past and the future. We discuss the lessons we learned from the participatory mapping process, as well as the limitations and opportunities in attempting to map something as complex and dynamic as people’s sociocultural connections to the ocean and coast. Of critical importance is the opportunity for communities to self-identify and co-develop the mapping categories and legends, particularly in contexts where coastal communities have been and continue to be excluded and forcibly removed from the coast. Our methods provide an important first step to ensure that local communities’ sociocultural priorities, knowledges and interests inform ocean governance processes such as marine spatial planning and marine protected area design and management, not only in South Africa, but also at regional and global scales.

Within the framework of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, alongside the EU efforts to promote Ocean Literacy (OL) across Europe (EU), and in line with the EU4Ocean Ocean Literacy Coalition, the Erasmus+ BlueSchoolsMed mobility project...

Our Ocean Conf. concluded in Mombasa, Kenya with 320 new commitments worth $6.4 billion across ocean conservation and sustainable fisheries.

The ocean is the foundation of life on Earth. But its health is at grave risk as ecosystems and habitats approach or surpass critical tipping points. In the search for solutions, ocean science is indispensable. The third World Ocean Assessment offers the most comprehensive evaluation to date, provid…

The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science, under the motto “The Science We Need for the Ocean We Want,” provides an international framework for addressing Ocean challenges through science-based solutions, co-design methodologies, multistakeholder...

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) play a vital role in safeguarding ocean ecosystems and biodiversity. At the same time, research increasingly highlights the importance of recognising marine environments as both natural and cultural landscapes. While marine cultural heritage has often received less attention within MPA designation and management, researchers continue to advocate for more integrated and […]

Context To properly determine the efficacy of marine protected areas (MPAs), a seascape perspective that integrates ecosystem elements at scales commensurate with the resources and their users is needed. Objectives In 1983, the State of Hawaiʻi established the Pūpūkea Marine Life Conservation District (MLCD) on the North Shore of O‘ahu to conserve unique ecological resources and provide recreational opportunities. In 2002, the total marine area under protection was expanded by 0.7 km2 (545%), and restrictions on harvest were added through a community-driven process. We aimed to evaluate the biophysical and eco-cultural effects of this rezoning process using a seascape ecology approach. Methods We applied a seascape ecology approach using landscape ecology theory to evaluate the new marine protected area design. The approach incorporated traditional ecological knowledge with in situ surveys and remote sensing, allowing us to examine unique biophysical conditions, specific ecological resources, and the eco-cultural and historical context of the Pūpūkea MLCD. Results Examination of the cultural seascape of Pūpūkea illuminated numerous important species, heiau (places of worship), and wahi pana (storied places) that detailed the ways the local community was historically tied to ocean resources and the subsequent loss of those connections. The expansion and rezoning of the Pūpūkea MLCD resulted in an increase in habitat diversity, depth range, and structural complexity across the protected area seascape. Between 2003 and 2016, overall fish biomass increased by 60%, driven primarily by herbivorous species. Conversely, fish biomass outside the protected area remained low and relatively constant over this period. Conclusions We found that multiple mo‘olelo (stories) speak to a historical coastal community highly interconnected with a sense of place, ocean rhythms, and fishing resources. The application of a seascape ecology approach and remote sensing technology allowed us to understand the eco-cultural context, quantify the biophysical context, evaluate broad-scale changes, and characterize the ability of this MLCD to protect and restore the area’s ecosystems. These results demonstrated that an adaptive, community-driven rezoning process produced an effective ecosystem-based protected area design that led to improvements in a number of fish assemblage metrics over time, which may allow for this community to reconnect with the cultural seascape and sense of place that once guided the stewardship of these marine resources.

TBA21 Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary

Venice Climate Week is an open platform for institutions, creators, businesses and communities advocating for an inclusive climate transition.

Understanding humanity’s historical relationship with the Ocean is essential for comprehending contemporary interactions and the Ocean’s significance globally. Ocean Literacy, a multidimen...

Extreme weather events cause severe ecological disruptions to the marine environment and socioeconomic impacts, while also endangering the evidence...

Understanding humanity’s historical relationship with the Ocean is essential for comprehending contemporary interactions and the Ocean’s significance globally. Ocean Literacy, a multidimen...

Increased ocean acidification could accelerate the decay of underwater historical stone materials, posing a threat to cultural heritage, according to combined field and laboratory experimentation on stone samples.

This open access book explores Ocean Literacy, community engagement, the Blue Economy and creative arts through global case studies and collaboration.

This book investigates the ways in which human reconnection with the ocean and coast is a desire and bid for a reconnection with human sensory experience

We are delighted to announce that the next ICMM Congress will take place in Sydney, Australia from 13 -18 September 2026 at the Australian National Maritime Museum Countdown to Congress 2026……

This Open Access book explores Ocean Literacy in the Ocean Decade, with global case studies, interdisciplinary learning & sustainable action.

SeaVoice Volume 8: East Africa brings together an extraordinary range of voices, from community members and elders to artists, scientists, and policy-makers, to share stories of ocean life grounded in cultural heritage, lived experience, and Ocean Literacy. Created in partnership with the Intergover...

The Indigenous Orang Seletar of Kampung Sungai Temon in Johor Bahru, Peninsular Malaysia, has long faced the escalating impacts of climate change. Since the 2000s, neoliberal processes resource ext...

Welcome to the 2026 Oceans Past Conference Early Bird page. Not an OPI member yet? Join today and save on registration.

Rachel Kelly, Prue Francis, Rebecca J. Shellock, Stefan Andrews, Benjamin Arthur, Charlotte A. Birkmanis, Harry Breidahl, Lucy Buxton, Jasmine Chambers, Emma Church, Corrine Condie, Freya Croft, Cátia Freitas, Shannon Hurley, Emily Jateff, Brianna Le Busque, Justin Marshall, Allyson O’Brien, Gretta T. Pecl, Laura Torre-Williams, Sophia Volzke, Yolanda Waters

While deep-sea mining’s environmental impacts have received wide attention, its cultural heritage impacts remain far less examined.

In an era of species extinction, ecological destruction and uncertain futures, the separation of nature and culture within conceptualisations of heritage has become increasingly untenable. Although...

Underwater cultural heritage in the World Heritage framework: Directions in policy and practice

This International Women's Day, we’re shining a light on Honor Frost, one of the pioneers of underwater archaeology. Born in Cyprus in 1917, Frost began her career as an artist before discovering div...

We are happy to announce the symposium Thinking with the Sea – Interactions and new perspectives inspired by the Blue Humanities that takes place in Turku in autumn 2026. Within the theme Blue…

New publication - Satellite Monitoring of Underwater Cultural Heritage The Honor Frost Foundation is pleased to announce the publication of a new White Paper, Satellite Monitoring of Underwater Cultural Heritage, produced by the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust (MAST) with the

Emerging Technologies for the Documentation, Conservation, and Promotion of the Underwater Cultural Heritage Organized by: Loris Barbieri, Barbara Davidde, Antonio Lagudi Organizers’ contacts: Loris B...