Local community and Ts’ehlanyane National Park in Lesotho: Perception of participation

Abstract

This study, conducted in a small nation of Lesotho, explored the local community’s perceived participation in the Ts’ehlanyane National Park’s decision-making process and the perceived benefits they derive from the national park, as a precursor of comparing their perceptions and actual level of management involvement. It took the exploratory approach to research, which involves more descriptive than explanatory analysis, but requiring quantified responses from the subjects. A respondent-completed questionnaire survey was conducted on 150 local community respondents in Ts’ehlanyane, Lesotho, using simple random sampling, from the scattered local communities around the national park. This study found that the literacy level of many local residents is adequate for management decision-making in the planning, development and managing the national park. The socio-economic benefit dimensions are more important to the local communities than the environmental dimensions. The study recommends harnessing more active participation from the local community in the national park’s decision-making. The explanation of economic benefits derivable from active participation in the national park’s management should become the primary means of getting the local communities to participate in their natural resource management. This study results and recommendations have similar implications for sub-Saharan African nations and other developing countries, globally.

Keywords: Community perception, community participation, stakeholder involvement, National Park, sub-Saharan Africa