This thesis has attempted to examine the various faclo rs influencing people's participation inrnparlicipalory foresl managelllenl (PF!'d) scheme and associaled chailenges emailed in itsrnimplemenlation. The sllIdy was conducted in parts of Bongo foresl in KafC/ Zone, Gill7bo Woredarnwhich is currently under PF!v! Three foresl user groups (FUGs) were selecled pwposely Fomrnthree Kebeles of the Woreda. The justifications were the existence of different agents ofrndeforestation, earlier period of formation, and relative physical accessibility. The nature of thernstudy commanded methodological pluralism. Thus, combinations of surveys, qualitalive andrnquantitative data collection lechniques were employedrnThe sludy showed Ihat there are hosls of socio-economic. cull ural and inslilulional factors atrnplay affecting people's participation in PF!'oI! Low level of income and education, among others,rnaffects users' partiCipation and thus, winning the acceptance of the poorest ojien marginalizedrncommunities to involve into PFM scheme was found to be challenging. Other user 's atlributesrnwhich impede participation include: Socio-cultural atlilude IOwards women, communityrnrelationship related 10 ethnicity of individual member and past experience on collective action,rnsize and solidarity of the group. The finding fill'ther shows some facto rs related to institutionalrnattributes such as membership, conflict resolution and relation with external actors/agents.rnOthers are clarity of boundary and ease of exclusion which is related to the resource allribules.rnThe current community management is reported 10 have brought considerable environmental andrnsocial benefit. Such as improvemenl in quality and quantily of Irees and NTFPs both throughrnreduced access and complimentary forest development activities. Moreover, authority and usernrights through a signed agreement with the local government and most'importanlly increasingrnsocial acceptance and empowerment of the Manja communily are the most important incentivesrn(benefit) that promote members' parlicipatiol1. In this regards, the finding of the study filrtherrnshowed how P F!v! can be used as a means to promote the participation marginalizedrncommunities inforest management as well as well as enhancing social justice, and improving thl?rnfo rest resource management in their localities. Despite improvements in forest ownershiprnthrough user approach compared to the previous state ownership, feelings of insecurity still existrnamong users. The sources identified were the existence of conlending traditional properly rightrnregime on forest and NTFPs, unclear duration of righls, limited support Fom the side of therngovernment and community past experience on property rights.rnIt is recommended that more efforts are required to strengthen PFM and win an explicit trustrnamong parties. This can only be achieved when policy and legislation are reformed tornaccommodate PFM and when local forest users are empowered through filii legislative backingrnand capacity building.rnKey words: Participation, Participatory Foresl Managemem