Community participation in the management of South Africa’s protected areas.

This study seeks to examine how South African communities can be involved in the management of protected areas. Protected areas have witnessed a number of conflicts between stakeholders. The establishment of the majority of these natural protected areas was accompanied by forced removals of indigenous people into remote areas. Local communities have not seen the direct benefits from the KwaZulu-Natal protected areas. The planning, management and execution or implementation of integrated management planning (IMP) processes can be an important mechanism for offering nature-based resources and services for local communities around protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal. A mixed method of data collection in the form of in-depth interviews and a survey technique was adopted in this study. Interviews were conducted with the managers of the three protected areas as well as with local business owners. Community members had to respond to structured questionnaires. The results indicated that communities in KZN are not widely involved in the management of protected areas. It can be concluded that the IMP may be regarded as a development model in enhancing community participation and beneficiation within the protected areas of KwaZulu-Natal and elsewhere in the country. Collaboration can also be used effectively to resolve conflicts and to advance shared visions. One recommendation made is that authorities should pay more attention to achieving better implementation of policies and tourism service delivery, which benefits the local communities maximally