The socio-economic context in which the majority of protected areas in Burundi are located is marked by extreme poverty. Local communities established in buffer zones in these areas have no alternative to agriculture, livestock and the exploitation of natural resources as a means of subsistence. Other stakeholders such as private companies and governments also have interests in protected area resources. The cumulative effect of resource extraction pressures and encroachments on the limits of these natural ecosystems by the various stakeholders inevitably leads to the ineffectiveness of exclusive conservation and consequently to the decline of biodiversity. Protected area managers must therefore find a management approach that can enable effective conservation of biodiversity and economic development for stakeholders. The most common solution proposed is certainly the participatory management method. Several reasons justify the implementation of participatory management, in this case the poor performance of the exclusive management mode, the aspect of ethics and social equity and the global trend towards decentralization and democratization. This guide discusses the evolution of the conservation approach exclusive to participatory conservation, aspects of participatory conservation, and some case studies conducted in Burundi.