The International Dialogue on Underwater Munitions (IDUM) is a registered Dutch Foundation (Stichting) in the city of The Hague, The Netherlands.
It was founded in 2004 by Terrance P. Long, who is a retired Canadian Military Engineer that has more than thirty years experience having served as an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and demining expert all over the world.
His expertise and his passion for marine ecosystems led to the birth of IDUM.

Since our foundation, we have been very successful in initiating dialogue on the issues related to Sea Dumped Weapons (SDW’s) in the international sphere and have been recognized by inter-governmental institutions like the United Nations (UN) and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

The UN identified our work in the 2014 ‘UN Resolution on Sea Dumped Munitions‘ and in the 2013 Secretary Generals report titled ‘Cooperative Measures on Sea Dumped Chemical Munitions.‘ In 2014, the OPCW report titled ‘Third Review Conference of State Parties’ outlined the need for international cooperation on SDW’s.

Apart from working to bring together the various stakeholders that can create effective policy to address the issue of SDW’s, we have been very active in collaborative research and the furthering of knowledge on the detrimental impacts of SDW’s, as well as detection and removal procedures & technology.

Our latest project is the ‘Decision Aid for Marine Munitions’ (DAIMON) that aims to increase the knowledge base to evaluate risks and benefits of various management options for the assessment of how SDW’s impacts ecosystem, maritime activities and humans as seafood consumers.

We have published a two part co-edited journal in collaboration with the Polish Scientific Committee titled ‘The Legacy of Underwater Munitions: Policy and the Science of Assessment, Evaluation of Impacts and Potential Response’ and have helped to create two international documentaries titled  ‘Deadly Depths‘ (which won best international documentary at the German Green Screen Film Fest in 2014), and ‘Foot Prints of War.’

Our collaborative research and cooperation include international organisations like CHEMSEA, with which we published (CHEMSEA Findings), and inter-governmental organizations such as NATO, where we served as Co-Director for NATO Science for Peace and Security (SPS).