Enhancing underwater cultural heritage management and policy through marine environmental archaeology

Beneath marine and other aquatic environments lies a substantial and fragile portion of the archaeological record. Underwater cultural heritage (UCH) preserves critical evidence of long-term human interactions with marine and coastal environments, yet it faces escalating threats from climate change, offshore development, looting, and limited institutional capacity. Its preservation depends increasingly on understanding and managing environmental change and potentially destructive human activities. This paper advocates for marine environmental archaeology (MEA) as a robust conceptual and methodological framework necessary to operationalise UCH within contemporary marine governance systems. We review a range of MEA methods and techniques applicable to UCH, including remote sensing, site documentation, and post-recovery conservation. An emphasis is placed on understanding UCH as a dynamic geo-cultural system in which archaeological materials, sediments, and ecological processes are intrinsically linked. The paper further demonstrates how MEA can strengthen environmental impact assessment, strategic environmental assessment, and maritime spatial planning by supporting anticipatory management, cumulative impact assessment, and ecosystem-based governance. Finally, we contend that UCH and MEA contribute to Ocean Literacy by linking marine science, cultural memory, and public stewardship to the broader aims of the United Nations Ocean Decade.