Project Approach to the Establishment of
Underwater Heritage Management in the Kingdom of Cambodia

Project Approach to the Establishment of
Underwater Heritage Management in the Kingdom of Cambodia

Session 12
Some Challenges and Issues in Underwater Cultural Heritage in Southeast Asia

The establishment of Underwater Heritage Management under the leadership of Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts started a project to set boundaries and recognize limitations in its ability to oversee activities in underwater cultural heritage (UCH) management. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) 2001 Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage and the UNCLOS III International Law of the Sea were adopted in November 2007 In 2011 Cambodia is the only Southeast Asian country to ratify the convention. This paper will provide an outline of the bureaucracy and project development currently ongoing in Cambodia. Details will be provided on the initiation of structural management and of limitations authorities must consider when establishing proposed project outcomes.

Heng Kamsan

November 2011