The Privatization of the Nyungwe National Park Buffer Zone and Implications for Adjacent Communities

Privatization of Nyungwe National Park's buffer zone significantly reduces resource access for local communities, particularly poorer households. The study reveals that these communities heavily relied on the buffer zone for wood collection, which contributed substantially to their income. Following the privatization by the New Forest Company, stricter enforcement led to increased difficulty in accessing these resources. Semistructured interviews and empirical data on household resource collection from park, buffer zone, markets, and private lands were used to assess the impact of this management change.

Gross-Camp, N. D., Martin, A., McGuire, S., & Kebede, B. (2015). The Privatization of the Nyungwe National Park Buffer Zone and Implications for Adjacent Communities. Society & Natural Resources, 28(3), 296–311. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2014.948246