Socio-Economic Determinants of Public Participation in Protected Area Management: A Case Study of Chyulu National Park, Kenya
| dc.contributor.author | Muendo, Nicholas Mwongela | |
| dc.contributor.author | Mahiri, I. O. | |
| dc.contributor.author | Osebe, D. A. | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-09-17T08:41:49Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-09-17T08:41:49Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-08 | |
| dc.description | Article | |
| dc.description.abstract | The global shift towards participatory conservation assumes that meaningful community involvement enhances the management and sustainability of protected areas (PAs). However, the success of such initiatives is often constrained by the complex socio-economic contexts of adjacent local communities. This study investigates these determinants at Chyulu National Park (CNP), Kenya, establishing a critical link between community characteristics, their engagement in formal participatory structures, and their actual, measured patterns of resource extraction. Employing a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, the research surveyed 210 households using structured questionnaires and integrated this quantitative data with qualitative insights from in-depth interviews and direct, systematic observation of resource use along a 30 km stretch of the park boundary. The findings reveal a critical and deeply rooted paradox. While key socio-economic indicators such as household income and level of education showed no statistically significant relationship with formal participation in conservation programs like Resource Access Agreements, these same factors were identified as the primary drivers of informal and often illegal resource use. High levels of poverty and dependence on subsistence agriculture directly correlated with significant extraction of fuelwood, construction poles, and grazing resources from the park. Furthermore, the patterns of resource extraction were found to be socially differentiated, with gender significantly influencing the types of resources collected, reflecting traditional divisions of labor. The study concludes that formal participatory structures are rendered largely ineffective when they fail to provide tangible, household-level economic benefits that address the root causes of resource dependency. For conservation to be sustainable, management strategies must urgently move beyond tokenistic forms of participation and create direct livelihood incentives that transform communities from mere stakeholders into genuine partners in protecting PAs. Consequently, conservation policies must be socially nuanced, recognizing and responding to the fact that different segments of the community interact with, and depend upon, the park in fundamentally different ways. | |
| dc.identifier.citation | Mwongela, M. N; Mahiri, I. O & Osebe, D. A. (2025). Socio-Economic Determinants of Public Participation in Protected Area Management: A Case Study of Chyulu National Park, Kenya. Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies, 9(8), 201- 212. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://kenyasocialscienceforum.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/14pdf-mwongela-et-al-socio-economic-determinants-of-public-participation-in-wildlife-protection-chyulu-national-park.pdf | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://ir-library.ku.ac.ke/handle/123456789/31424 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | Journal of African Interdisciplinary Studies (JAIS) | |
| dc.title | Socio-Economic Determinants of Public Participation in Protected Area Management: A Case Study of Chyulu National Park, Kenya | |
| dc.type | Article |