Assessment of community knowledge and perception on environmental issues in Jimma Zone, Southwest Ethiopia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15243/jdmlm.2019.062.1635Keywords:
assessed knowledge, environmental information, perceived knowledge, perception indexAbstract
Environmental knowledge and perceptions of community govern the sustainable use and management of environmental resources. Developing countries such as Ethiopia has been facing serious environmental problems. In spite of the existing problems, little is known about public understanding and perception of environmental issues. Thus, the overall objective of this research was to assess community perception and knowledge of environmental issues. Interview was conducted using structured questionnaire. The collected data was coded, cleaned and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result indicates, most of the community members believed that they have better knowledge of environmental issues but the evidence obtained from measured knowledge shows the reverse. The principal source of environmental information (local media broadcasting) had positive correlation with perceived knowledge, and negatively correlated with assessed knowledge and perception index of environmental issues. Correctly answered questions used in the evaluation of environmental knowledge were weekly associated (r < .2) with perceived knowledge and perception, which indicates the respondents lacks same concept on environmental issues. Perceived knowledge was negatively and significantly (P <.001) determined by age and educational levels of respondents. But, measured knowledge was negatively and significantly (P <.05) affects by age, childhood area, education and occupation when positively and significantly (P = .001) influenced by origin of residence. The perception of community was positively and significantly (P =.001) determined by respondent's age, childhood area, education and information source but negatively and significantly (P < .05) influenced by origin of residence and ethnic group. Generally, self-reported knowledge is not reliable source of information for environmental management decisions. So, stakeholders should strongly works on environmental awareness campaigns, engage students in outdoor activities, and training to improve factors negatively determined community's factual knowledge and perception of environment.Â
References
Africa Population. 2017. Retrieved 2018-08-12, from http://worldpopulationreview.com/continents/africa/
Baidu-Forson J. 1999. Factors influencing adoption of land-enhancing technology in the Sahel: Lessons from a case study in Niger. Agricultural Economics 20(3):231-239.
Barthwal, S.C. and Mathur, V.B. 2012. Teachers’ knowledge of and attitude onward wildlife and conservation. A case study from Ladakh, India. Mountain Research and Development 32: 169–175.
Berto, R., Barbiero, G., Barbiero, P. and Senes, G. 2018. An individual’s connection to nature can affect perceived restorativeness of natural environments. Some Observations about Biophilia. Behavioral Sciences 8(3): 34, doi:10.3390/bs8030034.
Bord, R.J., O’Connor, R.E. and Fisher, A. 2000. In what sense does the public need to understand global climate change?. Public Understanding of Science 9(3): 205–218.
Bradley J.C, Waliczek, T.M. and Zajicek, J.M. 1999. Relationship between environmental knowledge and environmental attitude of high school students. The Journal of Environmental Education 30(3): 17-21.
CEPG. 2011. Environmental Policy Review 2011: Key Issues in Ethiopia 2011. Waterville, Maine: Colby College Environmental Studies Program. CEPG (Colby Environmental Policy Group).
Connell, S., Fien, J., Sykes, H. and Yencken, D. 1998. Young people and the environment in Australia: beliefs, knowledge, commitment and educational implications, Australian Journal of Environmental Education 14: 39- 48
CSA. 2007. National population and housing census of Ethiopia. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, Central Statistical Agency (CSA)
Dean, A.J., Fielding, K.S. and Newton, F.J. 2016. Community knowledge about water: who has better knowledge and is this associated with water-relatedbehaviors and support for water-related policies? PLoS ONE 11(7): e0159063.
Delli-Carpini, M.X. and Keeter, S. 1996. What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT
Durant, J.R., Evans, G.A. and Thomas, G. 1989. The public understanding of science. Nature 340: 11-14.
Fiallo, E.A. and Jacobson, S.K. 1995. Local communities and protected areas: Attitudes of rural residents towards conservation and Machalilla National Park, Ecuador. Environmental Conservation 22:241–249.
Glazar, S.A., Vrtac I Nik, M. and Bac I Nik, A. 1998. Primary school children’s understanding of municipal waste processing, Environmental Education Research 4: 299 -308.
Hale, R.L. 1993. The application of learning theory to serial murder or “you too can learn to be a serial killer†American Journal of Criminal Justice 17:37-45
Hmelo-Silver, C.E. 2004. Problem-based learning: what and how do students learn?. Educational Psychology Review16: 235–266.
IBM Corp. 2011. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.
Ivy, T.G.C., Lee, C.K. and Chuan, G.K. 1998. A survey of environmental knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of students in Singapore. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education 7: 181 - 202.
Kuhlemeier, H., Van Den Bergh, H. and Lagerweij, N. 1999. Environmental knowledge, attitudes, and behavior in Dutch secondary education. Journal of Environmental Education 30: 4- 14
Langlois, E. 2012. Factors that Shape Environmental Perceptions: the Role of Health and Place University of New Orleans MSc. Thesis. https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/1595
Mabogunje, A.L. 1995. The Environmental Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. Environment 37: 4-11
Macura, B.F., Zorondo-Rodriguez, M., Grau-Satorras, K., Demps, M., Laval, CA., Garcia, V. and Reyes, G. 2011. Local community attitudes toward forests outside protected areas in India. Impact of legal awareness, trust, and participation. Ecology and Society 16(3): 10.
Malka, A., Krosnick, JA. and Langer, G. 2009. The association of knowledge with concern about global warming: trusted information sources shape public thinking. Risk Analysis 29 (5) 633–647.
Myers, G., Boyes, E. and Stanisstreet, M. 1999. Something in the air: school students’ ideas about air pollution. International Research in Geographical and Environmental Education 8: 108 - 119.
Odendo, M., Obare, G. and Salasya, B. 2010. Farmers’ perceptions and knowledge of soil fertility degradation in two contrasting sites in Western Kenya. Land Degradation & Development 2: 557–564
Ormsby, A. and Kaplin, B.A. 2005. A framework for understanding community resident perceptions of Masoala National Park, Madagascar. Environmental Conservation 32:156-164.
Palmer, J.A. 1995. Environmental thinking in the early years: understanding and misunderstanding of concepts related to waste management. Environmental Education Research 1: 35- 45.
Pykett, J. 2012. The New Maternal State: The Gendered Politics of Governing through Behaviour Change. Antipode 44: 217-238.
Rickinson, M. 2001. Learns and learning in environmental education: a critical review of the evidence. Environmental Education Research 7: 207-320
Ruffeis, D., Loiskandl, W., Awulachew, S.B. and Boelee, E. 2010. Evaluation of the environmental policy and impact assessment process in Ethiopia. Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal 28: 29-40
Silori, C.S. 2007. Perceptions of local people towards conservation of forest resources in Nanda Devi Biosphere Reserve, north-western Himalaya, India. Biodiversity and Conservation 16:211-222.
Sudarmadi, S., Suzuki, S., Kawada, T., Netti, H., Soemantri, S. and Tugaswati, A.T. 2001.A survey of perception, knowledge, awareness, and attitude in regard to environmental problems in a sample of two different social groups in Jakarta, Indonesia. Environment, Development and Sustainability 3:169–183
Tesfai, M., Nagothu, US., Simek, J. and Fucik, P. 2016. Perceptions of secondary school students’ towards environmental services: a case study from Czechia. International Journal of Environmental & Science Education 11: 5533-5553
UNEP. 2016. GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Africa. United Nations Environment Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
Verbeek, M. 2003. A Guide to Modern Econometrics. John Wiley and Sons Ltd: Chichester, UK.
Yavetz, B., Goldman, D. and Pe’er, S. 2009. Environmental literacy of preâ€service teachers in Israel: a comparison between students at the onset and end of their studies. Environmental Education Research 15: 393- 415
Young, M.F. 2008. Bringing knowledge back in: From social constructivism to social realism in the sociology of education. London: Routledge.
Downloads
Submitted
Accepted
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, or thesis) that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors agree to automatic transfer of the copyright to the publisher. 
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Scientific Journal by Eko Handayanto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Based on a work at https://ub.ac.id.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at https://ircmedmind.ub.ac.id/.
This work is licensed under a 