The community - based knowledge and perceptions of marine cultural heritage in the Mozambique channel among age groups and gender: a case of Mnazi Bay - Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park in Mtwara district, Tanzania.

This study examines how communities living in the Mnazi Bay - Ruvuma Estuary Marine Park (MBREMP) appreciate the value of marine cultural heritage along the Mozambique Channel. In the face of increasing destruction of marine resources, largely because of human-induced activities, the study specifically investigates the knowledge and perceptions on marine cultural heritage in the Mozambique Channel by age groups and gender to identify how such perceptions are related to the people’s use in addition to ideas about management of resources. This study addresses the following objectives: identify age differences in the knowledge on meaning of natural and marine cultural heritage; examine the age differences in the knowledge of the uses and management of the sea and resources specific to the Mozambique Channel area; identify the communities’ perceptions of the Mozambique Channel as an entity in terms of socio-cultural representation and management and describe the awareness of people about local and regional management of the marine resources based on gender. The study findings reveal that there was positive knowledge on and perceptions of marine cultural heritage among age groups in the community in MBREMP on issues related to the uses and management of marine cultural heritage resources. It was established that women and children perceive marine resources differently from men and youths. The youths as opposed to men, women and children, perceive marine resources as a cash-cow, source of power, source of prestige, income and not just food and, hence, sometimes engaged in destructive fishing methods. The study also established that the MBREMP is an important area of cultural heritage whose uniqueness comes from its abundant resources. The study also established that different age groups from a gender perspective were aware of local and regional management systems due to the education and awareness raised by the Marine Park and other national and international organisations concerning the conservation and management of marine resources. On the whole, this study has identified only a few of the innovative approaches that have demonstrated promising results in improving knowledge and perceptions of marine cultural heritage among age groups and gender in the community in MBREMP. Such approaches need to be scaled up to reach more ecological areas in the country and at the regional level, and by proxy, to facilitate inter-generational change and progress.