At least 35% of the world’s wetlands have been lost since 1970 largely due to human-induced factors, such as agriculture, unsustainable resource exploitation and climate change. Notable conservation efforts to alleviate threats facing wetlands at a global level have included the formation of protected areas, such as Ramsar sites, and the establishment of frameworks to monitor and assess their biodiversity in order to detect early trends and hence facilitate adoption of appropriate responses to eminent threats. Although ecological and conservation studies conducted in tropical wetlands are on the rise, full participation and leadership by local scientists is still low which impedes the sense of ownership by local stakeholders and prevents further incorporation of research findings into policy and management plans. To address this issue, this symposium aims to present the contribution of inclusive scientific exploration in the management of Rwanda’s only Ramsar site, Rugezi marsh, a montane peatland located in northern Rwanda. Rugezi marsh harbours considerable proportions of globally threatened species, such as the Grey-crowned Crane, and the Grauer’s Swamp Warbler, as well as migrating species. In early 2000s, extensive human-use coupled with climatic effects, caused the dry-up of parts of the wetland and caused an electricity shortage at a national level. The impairment of such a crucial ecosystem service sparked conservation responses that entailed among others: the establishment of a forest buffer zone, several campaigns to bring to halt degradation activities, and gazetting the marsh as a Ramsar site. To assess the efficacy of conservation efforts invested in Rugezi marsh over the past two decades, a team of Rwandan scientists from diverse backgrounds took the lead in assessing spatial and temporal changes on the biodiversity of Rugezi marsh using robust ecological methods with the purpose of generating recommendations that will guide management planning processes and the potential upgrade of Rugezi marsh to a higher national protection status. Six scientists will present findings from the Biodiversity assessment, and share their experience and perceptions on the contribution of local scientists to multi-discipline research projects. In addition, they will explain the ongoing process of integrating the results in the revision processes of the management plan of Rugezi marsh, and present lessons learnt for potential applications in other tropical wetlands.