Ecological Ethics and Community Engagement Approach to Ecosystems Conservation: A Case Study of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda
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Date
2022
Authors
Wanyera, Francis
Mutugi, Chira Robert
Najma, Dharani
Gichuki, Nathaniel
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
science publishing group
Abstract
Ecosystems can only be preserved if there is an inter-link of ethics in conservation. An assortment of literature
exists that encompasses ecological ethics which at times is also referred to as ecological integrity that involves the ethics of
research as well as environmental ethics. The study set out to investigate how ecological ethics interlinks with conservation of
the ecosystems or environment. The challenge was that ecological ethics implementation together with local community
engagement were not strong which negatively affected the ecosystem conservation. The study was guided by three specific
objectives that included; i) to investigate the trends in key policies linked to ecological ethics and ecosystem conservation in
VNP; ii) to ascertain the impact of ecological ethics on ecosystem conservation in VNP; iii) to determine the benefits of
engaging the local community in ecological ethics approach to ecosystem conservation. The literature focused on
environmental ethics, policies linked to ethics and local community engagement. Under the methodology section the study
used the descriptive research design and purposive sampling technique. The population of study was 52 households while the
sample was 42 households living within 200 meters from the park boundary. The findings showed that ecological ethics were
crucial in influencing how humans conserved the ecosystems. Further, the study findings found out that there were challenges
encountered especially when lack of awareness of ecological ethics among the local community and less engagement affected
ecosystem conservation. However, the findings also indicated that as much as there were challenges, on the hand ecological
ethics if well embraced, can generate a number of benefits both for the park and local community. In conclusion, conservation
cannot be successful without incorporating the ecological ethics. It was recommended that VNP should engage all the
stakeholders in ecological ethics particularly in line with conservation to achieve sustainable ecosystem conservation.
Description
research article
Keywords
Ecological, Ethics, Engagement, Community, Ecosystem, Conservation
Citation
Wanyera Francis, Mutugi Chira Robert, Najma Dharani, Gichuki Nathaniel. Ecological Ethics and Community Engagement Approach to Ecosystems Conservation: A Case Study of Volcanoes National Park in Rwanda. International Journal of Environmental Protection and Policy. Vol. 10, No. 4, 2022, pp. 101-108. doi: 10.11648/j.ijepp.20221004.14