Stakeholder analysis in wetland management in Rwanda: the case of Rugeramigozi wetland in Muhanga district

Abstract

Wetlands are one of the most essential resources and features that make the Rwandan landscape. Those resources are important for biodiversity, people, and the national economy. However, they are gradually threatened due to the increasing pressure resulting from their use, specifically through agricultural activities. This concern necessitated the study consisting of identifying and describing the key stakeholders and assessing their interests in relation to the wetland management rules in order to ascertain if the implementation of those rules promotes the efficient management of wetland resources. Rugeramigozi wetland is used as the case study. The specific objectives were to ascertain how these stakeholders interact, how they make decisions over the use of the wetland and to examine whether those decisions promote the sustainable use of the Rugeramigozi wetland. Data sources include the semi-structured questionnaire, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, observation, and review of secondary data. The research also applied a stakeholder analysis framework that allowed for the identification of the key actors with a stake in the management of that wetland. The study further used the spatial-temporal dynamics analysis in relation to the use and change of the study area using multispectral Landsat images of 10 meters’ resolution for the years 1992 and 2022. Results reveal that various stakeholders have different interests in the wetland use and management, as some may be interested in the utilization of wetland, whereas others are interested in wetland protection and conservation. Those interests contribute to conflicting situations at various levels. The research depicted key issue which still threatening the Rugeramigozi wetland sustainability. These are: over exploitation of its natural resources, lack of proper watershed management, construction in the buffer zone, urban and infrastructures (roads, hospitals, industrial park) development, peat mining and bricks making activities, limited and unsustainable use of wetland buffer zones. The study suggests that, for the Rugeramigozi wetland to be managed sustainably, all involved stakeholders must be integrated in the decision-making process. This can anticipate any conflicting and contradictory rules that may create wetland use problems in the study area. Therefore, highly effective enforcement mechanisms together with a good monitoring tool seem to be the best way to wisely use the wetland