M.Sc. DissertationLantana camara is one of the alien invasive species introduced to East Usambara about 100 years ago. The species is locally increasing in abundance and spatially advancing to new areas threatening the livelihoods of local communities and biodiversity in nearby Amani Nature Reserve. This study assessed local communities‟ perceptions on Lantana camara focusing on its origin, pathways, socio-economic impacts and management responses in East Usambara. Data was collected through household survey where semi structured questionnaire was randomly administered to 130 household heads in seven villages. Results showed that about 97% of the respondents were very knowledgeable about invasion and pathways of L. camara but surprisingly, about 99% of respondent regardless of age categories perceived L. camara to be a native shrub. At an early stage of L. camara invasion, 20% of respondents perceived the species to be “bad” but the negative perception increased to 76.2% of respondents at the late stage of invasion. About 77% of the respondents argued that L. camara invasion has harmful effects on their livelihoods. Furthermore, 38% of respondents preferred the species to be controlled, 34% stated nothing should be done and 22% preferred prevention of L. camara invasion and only 7% of respondents proposed the species to be completely eradicated. study concludes despite considerably large proportion of respondents (33.8%) were comfortable with current L. camara cover and they had no intension of reducing the level of invasion but generally results indicate the need for more sustainable management measures that will see L. camara coverage not exceeding the current levels in less invaded areas while at the same time, reduce its cover in the heavily invaded areas. The study recommends that local communities should be empowered with knowledge on invasion pathway so that they can control L. camara invasion to reduce the negative impacts on livelihoods.