Nyungwe National Park Survey Results: Appendix 2

A total of 29 survey participants were involved, representing various industries including tourism and lodging, agribusiness, energy, water, and sanitation, and manufacturing. The majority of respondents, approximately 50%, were from the tourism and lodging sector, while 40% were from agribusiness. Geographically, more than 40% of respondents were headquartered in Kigali, with the rest based in one of the Park districts. The majority of employees of survey participants lived in communities adjacent to the Park, with nearly all agribusiness employees and most employees of lodging companies residing in these areas. In contrast, most tour company employees did not live in communities adjacent to the Park. The survey participants cumulatively employed 8,754 people, with nearly 60% of them being small and medium employers with 50 or fewer employees. The largest employers in the Park districts were from the tea industry, followed by the coffee industry. Among the survey participants, the biggest employers located in the Park districts were in the tea industry, followed by the coffee industry. The majority of survey participants, 97%, perceived one or more major benefits provided to their businesses by Nyungwe National Park's natural features. The most commonly cited benefits were hydrologic benefits, including suitable climate, sufficient rainfall, and surface or groundwater sources for direct use. Approximately 62% of survey participants, representing roughly 98% of both employees and reported annual revenues, said their businesses received hydrologic benefits from the Park's natural features. Business benefits from human activities generated directly or indirectly by the Park's natural features were cited by more than half of respondents, representing approximately 8% of employees reported in the survey. The most common benefits cited were the attraction of clients and increased local economic activity founded in Park tourism. To local communities, 83% of survey participants identified one or more benefits provided by the Park's natural features. The most commonly cited benefits were climatic conditions/rainfall benefits for agricultural production, employment in Park-related businesses and programs, and increased economic activity due to the influx of money associated with tourism. The survey also found that 80% of all respondents said that their business' success relied on three or more ecosystem services of some type, including watershed services and nature-based tourism. An impressive 2/3 of all agribusiness representatives surveyed perceived an important role of Nyungwe Park in providing their business with five or more ecosystem services. Approximately 80% of survey participants stated that their business' success relies on at least one major watershed service and perceive an important role of Nyungwe Park in providing the watershed service(s) on which their business relies.