Nia Naelul Hasanah Ridwan

The theme of the 5th Asia-Pacific Regional Conference on Underwater Cultural Heritage is ‘The Ocean Decade Challenges and the Maritime Cultural Heritage of Asia-Pacific’. The conference aims to advance our knowledge on the region’s maritime heritage; address management strategies of underwater cultural heritage in Asia and the countries of the Indian and Pacific Oceans; and foster discussion on the UNESCO 2001 Convention for the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage and its ratification, and the application of the Convention’s Annex to protect the world’s Underwater Cultural Heritage. The APConf 5 champions the inclusion of traditional ecological knowledge of local communities, highlights the value of underwater cultural heritage to address major threats, such as climate change, and seek to develop inclusive strategies and solutions for a sustainable ocean and riverine systems. Due to the effects of climate change in marine and riverine ecologies, maritime cultural heritage is threatened. Maritime cultural heritage can support the UN Decade of Ocean Science, by ensuring that the scientific, natural and anthropological value of the oceans is understood, and thereby develop positive, culturally and ecologically responsible, sustainable relationships between communities and their oceans and rivers.