It is needed:
• to support research and education;
• for the protection and conservation of the natural and cultural heritage environment.
It is neither recreational nor commercial diving.
SD exists in a health and safety framework that involves certified scientific divers, diving officers, hyperbaric physicians, scientific project leaders, heads of laboratories, administrators and legislators. [*Membership status of the European Scientific Diving Panel (ESDP)*] is intended to facilitate both the establishment and monitoring of the implementation of accepted minimum standards for scientific diving within Europe.
A [*national scientific diving committee (NSDC)*] should be the principal body within a country that formally represents their own scientific diving community.
A [*national authority/body*] is one that has principal responsibility for scientific diving (as defined) that qualify the divers and/or support their employment.