Challenges and conflicts in the designation of Taiwan’s underwater cultural heritage protected areas

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the legislative background and current practices relevant to the preservation of Taiwan’s underwater cultural heritage (UCH) and compare it to the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage (2001 Convention) passed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Although Taiwan is not a contracting state, it actively enacted its own Underwater Cultural Heritage Preservation Act (UCHA) in 2015 and developed relevant sub-laws to establish a system for preserving its UCH, thereby demonstrating its determination to do so. Nevertheless, the UCHA has not been fully implemented and has room for improvement because of difficulties such as the lack of manpower, experience, and the complexity of the administrative jurisdiction of the various related agencies. This article introduces the major provisions of the UCHA, discusses recent UCH research conducted in Taiwan, and explores challenges concerning the delineation and management of UCH protection zones. The U.S. national system of marine protected areas (MPAs), including marine sanctuaries, has been used as a reference by Taiwan. Lessons learnt from the U.S. experience are summarized. Before concluding, the article proposes several strategies that Taiwan could follow to strengthen its future preservation of UCH.