Tanzania's iconic heritage sites face damage from state-backed tourism

Tanzania's iconic heritage sites face damage from state-backed tourism Lisa Lock Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor Assessment of four heritage sites in Tanzania finds that all are under threat from the institutions meant to steward them, prioritizing income from tourism over the sites' preservation and refusing to engage with community protection initiatives. Tanzania is home to numerous globally important heritage sites and they, like many archaeological sites around the world, face threats to their preservation. Known threats to African archaeology include things like climate change and war. Now, new research identifies an unforeseen contributor to the destruction of Tanzania's heritage: the very organizations tasked with protecting them. Through multiple seasons of field visits and extensive interviews with various stakeholders, from local village elders to laborers involved with the construction of tourist infrastructure, the researchers uncovered significant damage to the sites and the dissatisfaction of local communities with heritage bodies' stewardship. "Research into Tanzania's heritage management reveals a critical systemic failure within the Department of Antiquities, characterized by lack of qualified personnel, a long-standing pattern of community disengagement and a failure to meet policy mandates," explains a co-author of the research, Dr. Peter R. Schmidt from the University of Florida in the United States of America. At two of the sites examined, the Laetoli Footprints and the island of Kilwa Kisiwani, the construction of tourist infrastructure without expert consultation was found to have destroyed much of the heritage there. "Laetoli holds the oldest record of hominin footprints (3.66 million years old), while Kilwa Kisiwani represents the largest medieval settlement and gold trading center in East Africa," says the lead author, Dr. Elgidius B. Ichumbaki of the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. "Our research confirms that these sites have been harmed not by external threats, but by government-approved initiatives implemented without due diligence or heritage valuation." At the other two locations, the Kondoa rock art sites, and particularly the Early Iron Age Kaija shrine at Katuruka, institutions failed to work with local communities that hold cultural ties to the heritage sites, further threatening their preservation. "The rock art of Kondoa and the ancient iron-working evidence at Katuruka are at immediate risk," Dr. Ichumbaki states. "Instead of fostering partnerships that could resolve ownership conflicts and protect sites, the government has actively discouraged successful local projects." These case studies showcase how efforts to monetize heritage sites have backfired, directly compromising the integrity of global landmarks, including UNESCO World Heritage Sites. "Our publication in the journal Antiquity serves as the first comprehensive evaluation of how government mismanagement and the prioritization of developmental projects without impact assessments would destroy Tanzania's (and the world's) archaeological legacy," says Dr. Ichumbaki. The authors hope this will provoke an urgent overhaul of national policy to ensure a sustainable heritage future and are now planning formal consultations with the Tanzanian Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism. "Tanzania's commodity-based approach to heritage management has sacrificed the integrity of humanity's shared history, trading the survival of global treasures for unqualified institutional control," Dr. Schmidt concludes. "Nowhere is this failure more evident than at Laetoli, where the world's oldest hominin footprints face imminent risk from the very infrastructures intended to showcase them," adds Dr. Ichumbaki. Publication details Elgidius B. Ichumbaki and Peter R. Schmidt, Heritage forfeited and forgotten: some issues with state control in Tanzania, Antiquity (2026). DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2026.10361 Journal information: Antiquity Provided by Antiquity