Edwin Sabuhoro

Assistant Professor of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management and African Studies

Ann Atherton Hertzler Early Career Professor in Global Health

Area(s) of Specialization: Sustainability, Well-Being, and Livelihoods, Ecotourism and Community Based Tourism, Integrated Conservation and Development, Outdoor Recreation and Nature Based-Tourism, Human-Wildlife Conflicts and Management, Parks, and Protected Area Planning and Management in East Africa

Professional Bio

Dr. Edwin Sabuhoro is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, and the African Studies Program at Penn State University. He earned his bachelor's degree in Law from the National University of Rwanda and a master's degree in Conservation and Tourism from the University of Kent at Canterbury in the United Kingdom. He holds a Ph.D. in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management from Clemson University, South Carolina, in the U.S.

Sabuhoro's work is focused mainly on integrated conservation and community development, human-wildlife co-existence, and the impacts of tourism on household livelihoods of indigenous people and biodiversity conservation. In particular, he works with community outreach programs that engage wildlife poachers to participate in community development and conservation programs adjacent to the Mountain Gorilla's Virunga Transboundary Landscape (Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo).

His efforts to develop integrated conservation and community development programs for Indigenous communities adjacent to Mountain Gorilla's habitat were recognized through numerous awards; International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) /World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) 2008 Young Conservationist of the Year Award, 2015 UN- Great Apes Survival Partnership-Ian Redmond Conservation Award, and the 2016 eChievement Award. In 2010, Edwin was selected and invited by President Obama to participate in the Young African Leaders Forum in Washington, D.C. His conservation and community development work was featured on the 2015 CNN African Voices, and he was recognized among the 2015 CNN Heroes.