Modelling Environmental Attitudes of the Users of Kilombero Valley Wetlands, Tanzania

Abstract

Development policies have for a long time made it more profitable for people to degrade than to conserve environment. The adoption of these economic wide policies by Africa especially during colonial time and after independence has resulted into erosion of its communities’ conservation behaviour and attitude. Although many studies assess environmental attitudes, those focussing on African regions or countries using New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale are very limited. Such studies in the African context using NEP scale are very important, simply because many people depend on the environment for their livelihood, and in the process they destroy the world’s valued ecosystems including wetlands. This study is meant to fill in the gap using Kilombero valley wetlands in Tanzania as a case. The study used Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to predict the behaviour of the users based on attitudes, environmental knowledge and awareness. The findings indicate that users of the Kilombero wetlands have a generally positive attitude towards the environment, despite a great degree of variability among the study participants. The study shows also that a certain level of environmental awareness is needed in order to increase people’s knowledge about environmental issues and change their environmental attitudes. The NEP scale does not fully fit into the Tanzanian context, thus suggesting that further research into the adaptation of the scale is needed.