The governance of natural resources faces pressure for sustainable management. A frequent approach to preserving nature is the invention of parks, protected areas, and responsible tourism projects (Coria & Cafecura, 2012). Given that a tremendous portion of the global population living in deprivation resides in Sub-Saharan Africa, a region encircling rich biodiversity and cultural estate, responsible tourism holds popularity in reconciling social needs with nature preservation. Moreover, conservation planning in Sub-Saharan Africa has been in focus since the colonial era (Duffy, 2006; King, 2010). This thesis focuses on the intricate dynamics between tourism initiatives and conservation measures through three months of fieldwork, with a qualitative methodology based on interviews and observations – with the rural communities' subjective perspectives of socio-environmental implications concerning tourism in the Maputo Special Reserve, Mozambique. The study circled on community-based tourism (CBT) enterprises to facilitate insight into the complexity of managing human-nature interactions. Findings highlight the communities' outlook on tourism and wildlife management – considering all participants struggle with inadequate sustenance. The fieldwork highlights challenges in handling the CBT, stakeholder report, revenue transparency, and participation. Identified practices are crucial for these communities' holistic development. Substantial barriers hinder initiatives: insufficient education, language barriers, funding, governmental support, and provisioning services to sustain tourism projects independently. Results contribute a political ecology lens to the existing body of understanding linked to communities in and around protected areas, highlighting the essence of community engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa completed by convivial theory relevant to sustainable nature management. Emphasizing the significance of deliberating on current approaches to community-based tourism in protected areas, proposing a foundation for continued advancements in the field.