From 23-25 June 2016, UNESCO brought together site managers from natural and cultural heritage sites in Tanzania, which are recognized as World Heritage and/or Man and Biosphere Reserves (MAB), community representatives, private partners and national authorities for a workshop to raise capacities in planning and writing project proposals. A total of 35 participants gathered near Kilimanjaro World Heritage property for the three-day workshop entitled ‘Capacity Development in planning for World Heritage Sites & Man and Biosphere Reserves Managers’ organized by the UNESCO Office in Dar es Salaam.
The workshop aimed to raise the capacities of participants to collaborate on the development of proposals for improving the management, conservation and promotion of natural and cultural heritage sites with a view to increasing the economic impact these sites can have on local communities and improving the quality of offerings they can provide to visitors. Through the workshop, representatives from Selous Game Reserve, Kondoa Rock Art Site, Kilimanjaro National Park, East Usambara Reserve MAB site, Lake Manyara MAB site as well as government authorities from national and district level, community representatives, private sector partners such as the Jane Goodall Institute and members of the University of Dar es Salaam were equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to conceive, plan and prioritize for project proposals and project management using a ‘Results Based Management’ approach.
Participants were also introduced to existing UNESCO resources for promoting community involvement in and benefits from natural and cultural heritage throughsustainable tourism, education and entrepreneurship/business planning. Presentations included information on World Heritage Thematic Programmes as well as World Heritage Paper Series resources such as: Community Development through World Heritage; Engaging Local Communities in the Stewardship of World Heritage; Enhancing Our Heritage Toolkit; and the World Heritage Resource Manuals for Managing Natural and Cultural Heritage.
“MAB and World Heritage sites in Tanzania have many urgent needs for conservation and development, and the managers and communities at these sites have numerous ideas of how to meet those needs,” said Ms. Zulmira Rodrigues, Head of the UNESCO Office in Dar es Salaam. “This workshop gave them the opportunity to deepen their knowledge and increase their skills in the identification of priority goals and feasible ways to achieve them,” she added, noting that the active involvement of the national authorities in the workshop would also ensure the sustainability of the results.
According to the Assistant Director of Planning of the Vice President’s Office, Mr. Ntime Mwalyambi, the workshop has widen the understanding of environment issues beyond the regular way of thinking and brought the perspective of World Heritage sites and MAB Reserves while adding on an holistic angle to planning.
For more information on the MAB Programme
