Traditional heritage management: The case of Australia and Tanzania

Much has been written within and outside the heritage sector about traditional knowledge and practice. It is often characterised as an established movement that has contributed significantly to the local, national and international practice in conservation. Yet, the emergence of conservation practice has caused tremendous changes and a neglect of traditional knowledge that was critical for the survival of the Indigenous cultural heritage that exists today. The objective of this paper is to explore diverse approaches to traditional knowledge and practice that Indigenous peoples have employed to achieve management of their cultural landscape in Australia and Tanzania. The paper also explores major issues facing Indigenous people and the enormous challenges of adapting to modern conservation approaches. The paper illustrates how public and private institutions can learn from a wide array of traditional knowledge and practice directed towards heritage management and conservation. This paper makes an original contribution by considering two Indigenous cultures which have not previously been compared from this perspective.