With State University of Zanzibar at the forefront, the Building Stronger Universities programme in close collaboration with the research project Environmental Sustainability of Hotels in Zanzibar (EnSuZa) have strengthened partnerships across the tourism sector, supporting Zanzibar’s ambitions towards sustainable tourism.
The Building Stronger Universities programme is not designed to deliver direct research outputs or conventional development projects. Instead, the programme focuses on strengthening universities in their role as teaching and research institutions – and, in doing so, also supporting the communities and sectors they serve. State University of Zanzibar has been part of the Building Stronger Universities programme since 2011, and within the partnership, the university has focused on strengthening its capacities for public health education and research.
As a tourist destination, Zanzibar faces a delicate balance. Tourism drives economic growth, but the influx of visitors also puts pressure on the environment and public health, particularly in relation to waste management. Therefore, the Danida funded development research project, EnSuZa, has through an intervention study tested how to make lasting changes to solid waste management practices at the island’s hotels.
To engage with the local communities and relevant stakeholders in the tourism sector, researchers from the EnSuZa project and the Building Stronger Universities programme collaborated on developing a “Manual for Sustainable Waste Management in the Tourism Industry”. Completed in 2024, the manual was piloted in 2025 at hotels across Zanzibar and incorporated into training programmes for hotel staff and operators. The manual supports a government directive requiring all hotels to implement sustainable waste management practices by 2025, and serves as a practical tool for hotels and as a key component of the Greener Zanzibar campaign, which aims to transform Zanzibar into a sustainable tourism destination.
