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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.

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