Community involvement in land use planning

Deforestation, land degradation and soil erosion in Gishwati have occurred over the years. These incidents have resulted into loss of soil fertility culminating into the increase of the food insecurity in the region. To face these constraints, land use planning policies have been established for a sustainable land resources use. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of community involvement in the land use planning (LUP) from 1995 to 2012. To achieve this objective, a survey was conducted involving local authorities and local community of Gishwati, in Jenda and Bigogwe Sectors. The survey took place in four cells of Bigogwe sector and one cell of Jenda sector whose Gishwati is part of. The survey was conducted on a sample of 78 households and six local authorities, what makes a total of 84 interviewees in the study area. Different land uses viz resettlements, land consolidation, farms for animal husbandry, aforestation, terracing, ditching, were implemented. 92.9% of respondents recognized positive impact of LUP in the region while 7.1% of respondents declared that LUP has negative impact on their livelihoods.