Abstract:
Cultural heritage are precious resources that showed the past human legacy, depicts present and
future way of life as well as cultural values of a society. However, due to natural catastrophes
and anthropogenic factors, the sustainability of cultural heritage is questionable and requires
scientific investigations to uncover the major problems affecting the continual of heritage
attractions so that the panacea for this can be devised. Therefore, this study is designed to
investigate the practices, impacts and challenges of cultural heritage conservations in North Shoa
Zone, Central Ethiopia. Methodologically, the research employed mixed research approach, and
cross-sectional descriptive and explanatory research design. The study used both probability and
non-probability sampling techniques to select samples. The target population of the study
encompasses local communities, government authorities, and culture and tourism office experts
of North Shoa Zone and respective districts. Both primary data (questionnaires, semi-structured
interviews, focus group discussions and field observations) and secondary data (books,
magazines, conventions and proclamations, proceedings, manuals, reports, articles) were used.
The actual and valid sample size of the study is 208. The findings of the study revealed that the
cultural heritages are not are not safeguarded and protected from damaging activities indicating a
poor status of conservation. the major conclusion sketched from the study is the principal factors
affecting heritage conservation are lack proper management, monitoring and evaluation, lack of
funds and stakeholder involvement, urbanization, settlement programs and agricultural practice,
poor government concern and professional commitment, poor attitude towards cultural heritages
and lack of community concern, vandalism and illicit trafficking, low promotions of cultural
heritage, and natural catastrophes like invasive intervention, climate change (humidity and frost,
excessive rainfall and flood, heat from the sun). The study recommends the integration of
heritage conservation and sustainable development, and the promotion of conservation is a way
of achieving economic and social sustainability.
