01325nas a2200133   4500000000100000008004100001100002100042700001700063245014700080300001200227490000600239520093200245022001401177                                       d1 aSusan Keitumetse1 aOlivia Nthoi00aInvestigating the impact of world heritage site tourism on the intangible heritage of a community: Tsodilo Hills World Heritage site, Botswana  a143-1500 v43 aIn places that are not World Heritage sites, communities produce material culture continuously as a form of interaction between themselves and their environments. In the Okavango Delta region, crafts are a good example of such material culture. Today, the concept of  World Heritage  is led by socio-economic needs - through tourism - rather than socio-cultural interactions. In this process, the indigenous systems of knowledge that create intangible heritage are modified, usually in a negative way, and this affects the social networks that sustain the practices of craft production. The results of research projects conducted in June-August 2003 and June-July 2007 are used to illuminate this discussion. The paper concludes that while in the developing world, giving a site World Heritage status is likely to encourage tourism, the impact on the resident community s intangible heritage must be considered and safeguarded.  a1975-3586