The IDUM is an internationally recognized body where diverse stakeholders come together. The IDUM promotes constructive engagement with all the parties involved to learn from one another's situation and determine how to  meet interests of actors in the nearest future.

The IDUM promotes the creation of an internationally binding UN treaty on biological, chemical, conventional, and radiological underwater munitions. The treaty would encourage countries to collaborate on underwater munitions policy, as well as research and responses including environmentally-friendly remediation in affected regions. The result would be an open and transparent forum to discuss solutions to the underwater munitions' caused issues.

What we have already learned is that off-the-shelf-technology, developed by the oil and gas industry and military's unmanned systems programs, does exist to address underwater munitions sites. Underwater Munitions are "Point Source Emitters of Pollution," meaning remove the source - and you remove the problem. There is a "Need to clean" based on the potential human health and environmental impact on our health care systems and fish stocks, as in one form or another munitions will continue to pollute the marine environment over time.

From the first world war up until the 1970s diverse world actors intentionally used water sites as a cheap alternative to dispose of their excess munitions in every access of our ocean.

Today some site measured in the 10,000's of tons that contain known human carcinogens such as TNT, the  breakdown product of which, DNT can persist in the marine environment for 1000's of years(!) in case nothing is done. CHEMSEA researchers found tumors in the fish with extra fish diseases and stress on the livers and kidneys in the munitions sites while outside the sites no similar impact was found. We are in a RACE - when the munition metals are gone we will have no way to detect the lumps of TNT.

The time has come for everyone to speak out for recovery of these point source emitter of pollution. Only together can we save our marine resources!

To learn more, please visit our web-site: www.underwatermunitions.org