Built Heritage: Contours and Challenges of its Preservation on the Island of Mozambique

Abstract

The involvement of the population in heritage management, from the preparation of inventories to decision-making, has been an assertive policy in contemporary times. The backbone of this research was to understand the contours and challenges of preserving the built heritage of Mozambique Island. A qualitative research approach was used in this study with a descriptive research design. The population of the study consisted of GACIM as the institution that manages the heritage on Mozambique Island and all islanders. Eleven people constituted the sample of this study, five from the city of stone and lime, five from Macuti city, and one professional (representative) from GACIM. The sampling technique that was used in this study was prospective. A semi-structured interview was employed as the only research instrument. The findings revealed that: heritage education on the Island of Mozambique was ineffective because community leaders were passive agents in this process; the alterability of the buildings as well as the construction in places that had never been used for residences was due to the lack of coordination and articulation between GACIM and the municipality; the relationship between GACIM and the municipality is of relative instability; and GACIM lacks staff (architects and archaeologists).