122nd KUASS: KYOTO UNIVERSITY AFRICAN STUDIES SEMINAR

Governance and Parks’ Management: Participation of Local Communities, Key to a Successful and Sustainable Conservation Program. Case Study of Nyungwe National Park.

Event Info

Presenter
  • Dr. Gloriose Umuziranenge (Senior Lecturer and Director of Quality Assurance at Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS), Rwanda; Visiting Professor at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies; Ph.D. in Cultural Geography)
Date & Venue
  • 24 June 2024(Mon)
  • 13:30-15:30(JST)
  • Room 318, 3rd Floor, Inamori Memorial Bldg. 46 Yoshida-Shimoadachi, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8501
Language
  • English
Contact
  • The Center for African Area Studies, Kyoto University

    Tel:075-753-7803
  • caaskyoto[at]gmail.com(Please replace [at with @)

Summary

The Nyungwe forest, South West of Rwanda, was erected into a national park, protected in 2005 under the law n° 22/2005 on November 21, 2005. Up until then the 1209 square km was reorganized under new management schemes preventing different activities by many different groups to stop.
In developing countries protected areas have been characterized by a restriction of population from accessing the protected areas. However, in recent decades, there has been a shift from the classical approach whereby indigenous people were forcefully removed from their indigenous homes and stripped of their possessions and human dignity towards participatory approaches that integrate ecological concern with the needs of surrounding communities. The governance system of Rwandan parks adopted a new approach which integrates local communities in conservation and development implemented through integrated conservation and development projects around protected area. This research assessed how the principles of good governance are taken into consideration for the benefit of the community participation around Nyungwe protected area and how those principles are implemented in the Nyungwe Park Management. Central to this, the study investigated how the conservationists [both central agencies and local authorities] define the concept of participation, at community and individual levels and what are the interaction dynamics and conditions created for the populations concerned to be fully and sustainably involved in the conservation of the parks. This study utilized a qualitative approach to understand deeply the needs of effective community participation from the perspectives of the community. The data were collected through semi structured interviews and focus group discussions. Respondents were selected purposively due to the nature of this study. The study suggests that to be successful, the conservation and management of the park must imperatively take into considerations and channel the interests of the surrounding populations. This can be done through their full participation in the conservation processes and the management activities by promoting the involvement of local people and empower them, in terms of resource use, but also in terms of skills that are essential in interaction with other stakeholders.

instructor

Dr. Gloriose Umuziranenge (Senior Lecturer and Director of Quality Assurance at Protestant Institute of Arts and Social Sciences (PIASS), Rwanda; Visiting Professor at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies; Ph.D. in Cultural Geography)

Date & Venue

24 June 2024(Mon)
13:30-15:30(JST)
Room 318, 3rd Floor, Inamori Memorial Bldg. 46 Yoshida-Shimoadachi, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8501

Language

English

Eligibility

Everyone is welcome to attend.

Contact

The Center for African Area Studies, Kyoto University

Tel:075-753-7803
caaskyoto[at]gmail.com(Please replace [at with @)

Notes

There are no Parking available. Please use public transport to the venue.