Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment for Preservation and Conservation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT) in Standard Gauge Railway Line from Tabora to Kigoma
Status: On-Going
Year: 2025/2026
Research Details
Partner Institutions
St. Augustine University of Tanzania, Tanzania Railway Corporation (TRC)
The CULTNAT Project is implemented by the History Department and Tanzania Railways Corporation (TRC). The research focuses on conducting a Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) line from Tabora to Kigoma. The project addresses the need to identify, preserve, and protect cultural and natural heritage potentially affected by SGR Phase 2, Lot 1 (411 km). While the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) identified key heritage concerns such as potsherds, graveyards, and slave routes, this study provides a more detailed and systematic assessment aligned with international standards. It documents both tangible and intangible heritage, including slave trade legacies, historical sites, oral histories, indigenous knowledge systems, and natural landscapes. Using multidisciplinary historical approaches (archival and library research, fieldwork, interviews, focus group discussions, observation, and drone imagery) the study involves 7 districts, 30 wards, and 55 villages. The expected outcomes include cultural mitigation measures, strengthened heritage preservation, and documentation of cultural resources in digital and physical formats for future generations, research, tourism development, and national identity building. The project proposes the establishment of a TRC Museum and Archive to safeguard these resources.