Social Assessment of Protected Areas (SAPA) at Ruwenzori Mountains National Park, Uganda

The Rwenzori Mountains Protected Area (RMNP) was first established as a Forest Reserve in 1941, and then gazetted as a national park in 1992 covering an area of 995 km2. RMNP is state owned and managed by the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).

SAPA is a multi-stakeholder methodology that assesses the positive and negative impacts of a protected area and related conservation and development activities on the wellbeing of communities living within and around the PA. The SAPA assessment at RMNP included community and stakeholder workshops and a household survey of 109 women and 132 men from 241 households in four districts –Ntoloko, Bundibuygo, Kabarole and Kasese. The assessment was facilitated by a team comprising staff of UWA, Kasese District Government and Fauna and Flora International (FFI).