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Analysis of Stakeholder��?s Perspectives towards Conservation of National Park, Northern Province, Rwanda

Concorde Nsengumuremyi*, Maria Mbatudde, Ange Imanishimwe

The management and sustainable use of Protected Areas Management Policy in Rwanda is of great interest to many stakeholders. This study was conducted from May to August, 2016 to find out local communities and other stakeholders perceptions towards co-management of Volcanoes National Park of Rwanda (VNP). The sample size of the study was 81 respondents including neighbouring rural community from two sectors that depend on using the VNP usually illegally and the key respondents from institutions and local leaders whose resources assist the VNP management. The findings indicated that stakeholders have different perspectives on co-management activities of VNP. Some of interviewed farmers especially those bordering VNP in Kinigi and Shingiro sectors of Musanze District showed negative attitude where they are not willing to perform agriculture on their lands because of crop destruction by wild animals from the park. Both the level of synergy and approaches used were moderate by scale used as indicated by the study findings. The study findings indicated that there is no relationship between stakeholder’s perspectives and co-management of VNP (r=0.145, P>0.05). It was noted that stakeholders express various challenges such as lack of enough alternative solutions to the problems met by rural community and low level of participation in decision making. There is a need to find ways in which local leaders could be taken on a tour of operational and Park-people policy guidelines need to be formulated that will define roles of local stakeholders in protected area activities and programs.