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Article

Perception of Climate Change and Pro-Environmental Behavioral Intentions of Forest Recreation Area Users—A Case of Taiwan

by
Min-Yen Chang
1,
Hung-Yu Kuo
2 and
Han-Shen Chen
2,3,*
1
Department of Accounting, Jiaxing University, Jiaxing 314001, China
2
Department of Health Industry Technology Management, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung City 40201, Taiwan
3
Department of Medical Management, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, No. 110, Sec. 1, Jianguo N. Rd., Taichung City 40201, Taiwan
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Forests 2022, 13(9), 1476; https://doi.org/10.3390/f13091476
Submission received: 9 July 2022 / Revised: 1 September 2022 / Accepted: 9 September 2022 / Published: 13 September 2022
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Nature-Based Tourism and Nature Conservation Activation by Tourism)
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Abstract

:
This study aims to extend the theory of planned behavior to explore climate change perception, adaptation intention, and behavioral patterns of PEB of tourists in the Xitou Nature Education Area (XNEA) in Taiwan. Furthermore, we analyzed the correlation among various variables using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Data were collected from the close-ended question questionnaires; sample size (n = 626). SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0 for Windows were used as tools for analysis. The results are as follows: the perception of tourists on climate change exerts a significant positive effect on attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, which, in turn, exerts significant positive effects on climate change adaptation intentions. Furthermore, climate change adaptation intentions exert a significant positive influence on the behavioral patterns of PEB. Finally, political trust exerts a moderating effect on the relationship between subjective norms and climate change adaptation intentions and between perceived behavioral control and climate change adaptation intentions. Our findings indicate that it is necessary to encourage awareness of climate change, and that it is also very important to increase the value of political trust when making environmental policies.

1. Introduction

In December 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Article 7 of the agreement clearly establishes the global goal of the adaptation of “enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience, and reducing vulnerability to climate change”. The 26th session of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC was held in November 2021 and set out to achieve the goals established by the Paris Agreement, that is, curbing global greenhouse gas emissions and limiting the increase in global temperature to <2 °C. Furthermore, the national action plans for climate change were formulated to prevent the devastating impacts induced by global warming. The aforementioned conventions and agreements demonstrate that climate change has attracted attention worldwide.
According to previous studies, climate change may have both positive and negative impacts on forests and forestry [1,2,3,4,5]. In recent years, recreational areas have been displaying a trend of anomalous changes in their climatic environments, as a result of which, exploring the impact of climate change on individuals’ tourist behavior is of critical importance [6,7]. Risks caused by climate change will result in further detrimental and adverse impacts on society and the natural environment [8,9,10].
Sharifi [11] noted that when people (or tourists) perceive climate change, their subsequent adaptive behaviors emerge correspondingly. Existing literature largely advocates responding to the potential impacts of climate change through two approaches: mitigation and adaptation [12,13]. According to the definitions proposed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [14], mitigation aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with the objective of abating or preventing climate anomalies. In contrast, adaptation functions as a mechanism for risk management and reduces vulnerability due to climate change by adjusting economic activities. Research has demonstrated that finding successful adaptation methods within a short timeframe is gaining increasing importance in the face of inevitable climate change [15,16]. Researchers have also called for further studies to be conducted through explicit theoretical implications to understand tourists’ potential adaptation intentions in the face of climate change [17,18].
While some studies in the existing literature have discussed tourists’ climate change perceptions [19,20,21], this concept may vary in its composition depending on the location of where a study is conducted. Accordingly, the first question posed in this study is to investigate the views of Taiwanese tourists on the current climate change, which may serve as the basis of reference for recreational area operators and managers in understanding the population of the tourism market in the face of environmental changes.
Personal responsibility for environmental protection and personal behavior toward the environment has received increased scholarly attention in view of the changes in consumer behavior due to heightened environmental awareness [22]. Recently, scholars have suggested that the relationship between environmental changes and adaptations should be understood from the perspective of psychological adaptations in humans. They argue that when individuals face environmental changes and threats, their psychological reactions generated as a result will adjust and adapt to their inner state, judgment, and response process [23]. In this light, the second question of this study is to explore the factors for tourists’ adaptation intentions under climate change, and to understand the influence of and relationship among different psychological factors, with the aim of facilitating subsequent developments of different tourist policies.
In many psychological studies on tourist behaviors, the theory of planned behavior (TPB) is used to explain and predict consumer behavior patterns in specific situations. The theory suggests that consumer attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control constitute behavioral intention, which is further employed to directly predict behavior [24,25]. The theoretical model of the TPB is applied to explain a wide range of intentions and behaviors across research fields, including studies related to the environment [26,27,28,29,30,31].
Previous studies have assessed the theoretical frameworks of environmentally responsible behavior and ecotourism [32,33,34,35]. However, there are many factors that affect tourists’ adaptation intentions to climate change and behavioral patterns of PEB, and there are also still many factors that have not yet been discussed. It is necessary to fill this research gap. Although environmental issues are usually complicated, they are very worthy of research. Therefore, a meticulous environmental assessment is necessary. Based on the previous discussion, this study adopts the TPB as its theoretical core in addition to six constructs, namely, climate change perception, climate change adaptation intention, political trust, perceived risk, and behavioral patterns of PEB. Through the extension of the TPB, this study explores climate change perception, adaptation intention, and behavioral patterns of PEB of tourists in the Xitou Nature Education Area (XNEA). Through the description of the TPB, this study hopes to not only expand its applicability, but underscore the nature in which changes in the tourist environment affect tourists’ behaviors under climate change.

2. Literature Review and Research Hypotheses

2.1. TPB

The TPB proposes that behavioral patterns can be predicted from three global latent constructs: attitude toward behavior, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norms [36]. Song and Shi [37] indicated that Attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of farmers influence the effectiveness of their adaptation to climate change. Moreover, Ateş [38] revealed that personal attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control exert a significant effect on behavioral patterns of PEB intentions. Niles et al. [39] found no evidence that subjective norms significantly influence either intention or actual adoption of New Zealand’s farmers. However, Masud et al. [40] and Zhang et al. [41] indicated that the relationship between perceived behavioral control and adaptation intention to climate change was not significant. The results of Zhang et al. [41] demonstrated that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control exert significant effects on the behavioral intention to assume environmental responsibility. Shalender and Sharma [42] found that consumers’ attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, ethical norms, and environmental concerns have significant positive effects on electric vehicle purchase intentions. Hu et al. [43] indicated that young people’s attitudes and perceived behavioral control have significant effects on low-carbon travel, but subjective norms do not. Juschten et al. [44] showed that subjective norms and social norms were among the most important determinants of one’s heatwave perceptions and perspectives on climate change, whereas attitudes had no significant effect. However, this study infers that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of tourists also indicate the effectiveness of their adaptation to climate change.

2.2. Climate Change Perceptions

Chown and Smith [45] defined climate change perception as a process of information processing in which people assess weather variables, such as temperature, precipitation, and humidity, over a long period of time. However, this study indicates that tourists from other places also have the same perception. The sources of external factors that influence climate change perceptions include actual feelings toward extreme weather events (e.g., cold currents, heat waves, and torrential rains). Additionally, climate change perceptions might also be derived from climate change-related information to which people have been increasingly exposed [46]. Skepticism and perceived self-efficacy influenced fishers’ risk perceptions of climate change [47]. Another study pointed out that farmers’ awareness of climate change was related significantly to household and farm characteristics [48]. Moreover, external information may influence decision-making behavior [49]. Previous studies demonstrate that climate change perceptions and natural disaster experiences influence adaptive behavior [50,51]. According to past climate change research, perceptions can be affected by awareness, experience, and perceived efficacy. Based on these arguments, the current study proposes the following hypotheses:
H1a. 
Climate change perceptions will exert a significant positive effect on attitudes.
H1b. 
Climate change perceptions will exert a significant positive effect on subjectivenorms.
H1c. 
Climate change perceptions will exert a significant positive effect on perceived behavioral control.

2.3. Adaptation Intention to Climate Change

Taiwan is very sensitive to the impact of climate change, so people’s adaptation intention is very important. Climate change adaptation intention pertains to the possibility of an internal process in which individuals change or adjust their behavior due to the threat of climate change [52]. One critical factor in climate change mitigation is changing individual behaviors that cause damage to the environment [53]. For example, Chen [28] found that attitudes, subjective norms, and moral obligations prompt an individual to develop the behavioral intention to save energy and reduce carbon emissions with the goal of mitigating climate change. Furthermore, Masud et al. [40] posited that personal psychological factors influence adaptation to climate change. El-Deeb et al. [54] suggested that individuals’ behaviors will exhibit the intention to adapt to the environment or the behavior of changing the environment under the influence of environmental changes. Based on these discussions, this study proposes the following hypotheses:
H2. 
Attitudes will exert a significant positive effect on climate change adaptation intentions.
H3. 
Subjective norms will exert a significant positive effect on climate change adaptation intentions.
H4. 
Perceived behavioral control will exert a significant positive effect on the climate change adaptation intention.

2.4. Political Trust

Miller and Listhaug [55] defined political trust as the citizens’ overall judgment on the policies of the government and argued that people respond to policies and act according to what they perceive as appropriate, even without fully understanding the content of the policies. Kariæ and Meðedoviæ [56] demonstrated that political trust plays a crucial role in people’s compliance with government policies and having the ability to change their climate change adaptation intentions. Cabello et al. [57] suggest that political trust has a significant effect on consumer behavior. Moreover, Nunkoo and Gursoy [58] demonstrated that political trust among tourists significantly influences decision-making and behavioral intentions. Pavlou and Fygenson [59] revealed that trust significantly influences attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. In Taiwan, policies are often closely related to political parties, so the higher the political trust, the smoother the implementation of policies will be. Baron and Kenny [60] pointed out that if the relationship between the two variables is strong, a mediator variable can be used, but if the relationship between the two variables is weak or inconsistent, a moderator variable must be used. Additionally, according to the results of past research on the theory of planned behavior and climate change, the relationship between attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, and adaptation intentions to climate change are not consistent. As such, this study proposes the following hypotheses:
H5a. 
Political trust will exert a moderating effect on the relationship between attitudes and climate change adaptation intentions.
H5b. 
Political trust will exert a moderating effect on the relationship between subjective norms and climate change adaptation intentions.
H5c. 
Political trust will exert a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived behavioral control and climate change adaptation intentions.

2.5. Perceived Risk

The generation of perceived risks may prompt individuals to pay increased attention to the impacts of climate change and to take corresponding measures to reduce the risks [46,61,62]. Without a clear understanding of the risks caused by climate change, tourists will not produce corresponding responses or adaptation behaviors [63,64]. Moreover, the provision of information can increase public risk perceptions, thereby enhancing the adaptability of residents and reducing the risks posed by climate change and disasters [65]. In this regard, Azadi et al. [9] and Gardezi and Arbuckle [66] suggest that perceived risk significantly influences climate change adaptation intentions. For environmental policy, if people cannot perceive its severity, it is easy to ignore the importance of environmental protection. Therefore, this study wanted to explore whether the level of perceived risk has an impact on people’s adaptation intentions to climate change. Additionally, according to the suggestion of Baron and Kenny [60], we used perceived risk as a moderator variable. Based on these arguments, we propose the following hypotheses:
H6a. 
Perceived risk will exert a moderating effect on the relationship between attitudesand climate change adaptation intentions.
H6b. 
Perceived risk will exert a moderating effect on the relationship between subjective norms and climate change adaptation intentions.
H6c. 
Perceived risk will exert a moderating effect on the relationship between perceived behavioral control and climate change adaptation intentions.

2.6. Behavioral Patterns of PEB

Addressing issues, such as climate change, environmental pollution, and the loss of biodiversity requires understanding human behaviors that mitigate or exacerbate them [67]. We refer to this class of behavior as a behavioral pattern of PEB (PEB), noting that it includes the commission of acts that benefit the natural environment and the omission of acts that harm it [68]. There are many factors that can affect behavioral patterns of PEB intention. Through education, people with a keen moral awareness of reducing climate change will be more willing to execute individual adaptations [69,70]. Lin [71] and Masud et al. [40] further applied pro-environmental behaviors to climate change adaptation intentions. Ateş [38] indicated that pro-environmental behavioral intention is positively related to pro-environmental behaviors. Therefore, this portion is modified with reference to the “intention” and “behavior” of the theory of planned behavior [24]. Building on these statements, this study puts forward the following hypothesis:
H7. 
Climate change adaptation intentions will exert a significant positive effect on behavioral patterns of PEB.

3. Methodology

3.1. Research Framework

This study applies the TPB to explore the climate change adaptation intentions and behavioral pattern of PEB of respondents. The variables are seven independent variables (i.e., climate change perception, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, political trust, perceived risk, and climate change adaptation intention) and one dependent variable (behavioral patterns of PEB). Figure 1 depicts the research framework.

3.2. Study Area

This study was conducted in the Xitou Nature Education Area (XNEA), located in Nantou, Taiwan, which has been serving academic research, education, resource conservation, and forest management demonstrations since 1970. Figure 2 is a map of XNEA. XNEA is an important and popular forest recreation area for open-air activities, nature sightseeing, and social interaction in Taiwan. However, climate change will lead to the disintegration of forest ecosystems and the loss of rare species. Thus, based on these notions, the study investigated the perception of tourists on climate change, adaptation intentions, and behavioral patterns of PEB, thereby realizing critical environmental protection topics, such as biodiversity and climate change.

3.3. Survey Measures

The survey used in this study comprises three sections. The first covers climate change perceptions, which were mainly based on Deng et al.’s work [72], which explored the levels of climate change perception of tourists through perceived connection, perceived vulnerability, and self-efficacy of climate change. The second pertains to the behavioral characteristics of tourists, including the TPB, political trust, perceived risk, climate change adaptation intentions, and behavioral patterns of PEB. In terms of the TPB, this study refers to the items for the attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control scales designed by Chen [28], Lee et al. [34], and Zhang et al. [41] and according to other related literature. Regarding political trust, this study was based on Pavlou’s and Fygenson’s work [59] and incorporated modifications to suit the objectives of the study. With respect to perceived risk, we referred to Azadi et al.’s work [9] and introduced revisions to develop pertinent scale items that satisfied the current context. For the climate change adaptation intention, this study designed scale items based on Chen’s work [28] with modifications, whereas we referred to Masud et al.’s work [40] for scaling items for behavioral patterns of PEB with changes. Both sections were designed using a seven-point Likert-type scale ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 7 = strongly agree for measurement and inquired tourists about the extent to which they agreed with each item. The third section involves basic demographics, such as gender, marital status, age, level of education, occupation, and monthly income.

3.4. Data Collection and Sampling

This study investigates climate change perception, climate change adaptation intentions, and behavioral patterns of PEB among tourists in the XNEA. However, a survey including all tourists was impossible due to the research conditions, limited research grants, and other restrictions. Therefore, a simple random sampling was adopted to select the respondents. Moreover, one-on-one intercept surveys were conducted to reduce response bias in the survey because this way we could immediately respond to the respondents’ doubts about the questionnaire. Assistance was provided to the respondents to enable them to smoothly complete the survey. Data were collected between July 2021 and September 2021. Since this period is the peak tourist season, we chose places with more tourists, such as visitor centers, souvenir shops, photo spots, etc. PLS-SEM was employed for analysis, whereas statistical software packages, such as SPSS Statistics 22.0 and IBM SPSS Amos 22.0 (IBM Corporation, Armonk, NY, USA), were used as research tools for data analysis. Henseler et al. [73] argued that PLS-SEM can accommodate complex structural models with multiple constructs without analyzing whether the data conform to a normal distribution. Furthermore, the sample size was subjected to a few restrictions, which reduced the sample size-induced deviations. Many researchers apply PLS-SEM to discussions on various research topics [74,75,76,77,78]. As such, this study selected PLS-SEM to explore climate change adaptation intentions and behavioral patterns of PEB of tourists.
First, descriptive statistics were computed. The validity was then conducted, whereas reliability as a measure of internal consistency was calculated (Cronbach’s α coefficients ranged from 0.674 to 0.930). The main survey was disseminated to 733 tourists. After screening, 626 responses (response rate: 85.4%) were included in the analysis. Table 1 summarizes the sociodemographic characteristics of the respondents.

4. Data Analysis and Results

4.1. Measurement Model Analysis

Following Anderson’s and Gerbing’s work [79], the study examined the internal consistency reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the construct measures in the measurement model. The reliability test was used to measure the reliability and consistency of the questionnaire’s data. Table 2 indicates that the composite reliability ranges from 0.750 to 0.917, which exceeds the cut-off of 0.7 [80]. Thus, the design of the scale is reliable.
Furthermore, convergent validity was checked via factor loading, squared multiple correlations, and average variance extraction (AVE). According to Hair et al. [81], factor loadings below 0.4 are too low and those above 0.6 are too high. If the factor loading of the dimensions is higher than 0.4, then the item has achieved construct validity [82] with an AVE > 0.5 [82]. Prior to calculation, one item (TPB: PBC—I believe that climate change adaptation measures are difficult to implement; loading = 0.280) was omitted for failing to meet this criterion. The estimates of the standardized factor loadings of other items were significantly higher than 0.402, which indicated that all items exhibit acceptable convergent validity. There were some huge differences between the values of the results, and those were caused by the individual’s understanding of the questionnaire and some other potential factors.
The square root of the AVE was calculated to evaluate the discriminant validity of the measurement model. The AVE square root for each construct exceeds the highest correlation among the latent factors, involving the focal factor, which indicates adequate discriminant validity. Table 3 is the correlation matrix of the studied constructs. The results show that political trust is negatively correlated with climate change perceptions, attitudes, and behavioral patterns of PEB. The rest are positively correlated. In summary, the results (Table 3) point to the adequate convergent validity of the measurement model.

4.2. Structural Model Analysis

This study conducted a structural model to test the hypothetical relationship of the proposed model using the maximum likelihood method. The model fit index determines whether the sample data conforms to the suggested structural equation model. The structural model provided a good fit to the data after using the Bollen–Stine bootstrap model fit: χ2 (626) = 892.219, p < 0.001, χ2 /df = 1.40, RMSEA = 0.03, CFI = 0.99, TLI = 0.98, and GFI = 0.95, which indicate that all evaluation indicators meet the criteria [83,84,85]. These results demonstrate that the theoretical framework of this study fits the actual survey data.
When using SEM to analyze indirect effects, the bootstrap method is the important method for obtaining confidence intervals (CIs). Table 4 presents the results. H1a: climate change perceptions have a significant positive effect on attitudes (β = 0.917, CI = [0.887, 0.949]). H1b: climate change perceptions have a significant positive effect on subjective norms (β = 0.846, CI = [0.785, 0.902]). H1c: climate change perceptions have a significant positive effect on perceived behavioral control (β = 0.638, CI = [0.535, 0.736]). H2: attitudes have a significant positive effect on climate change adaptation intentions. (β = 0.538, CI = [0.433, 0.654]). H3: subjective norms have a significant positive effect on climate change adaptation intentions (β = 0.314, CI = [0.172, 0.430]). H4: perceived behavioral control has a significant positive effect on climate change adaptation intentions (β = 0.148, CI = [0.067, 0.241]). H7: climate change adaptation intention has a significant positive effect on behavioral patterns of PEB (β = 0.917, CI = [0.883, 0.944]). In summary, the results of the structural model analysis provide support to all the hypotheses.

4.3. Moderating Effect of Political Trust and Perceived Risk

The moderating effects were determined by calculating the mean-centering indicator values before multiplying the moderator variable with the predictor variables [86]. Table 5 reveals that the majority of the hypotheses are unsupported. Thus, we used political trust as the moderating variable; attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of the TPB as independent variables; and climate change adaptation intention as the dependent variable to verify H5a, which is unsupported. The results of H5b signified the presence of a moderating effect, which indicates that for every unit increase in political trust, the slope from subjective norms to climate change adaptation intentions would increase by 0.042 units. Thus, H5b is supported. Moreover, the results for H5c demonstrated the presence of a moderating effect, which indicates that for every unit increase in political trust, the slope from perceived behavioral control to climate change adaptation intention would increase by 0.041 units; thus, H5c is supported. Alternatively, perceived risk was set as the moderating variable, whereas the abovementioned independent and dependent variables were retained to verify H6a, H6b, and H6c, which are unsupported.
Based on the analysis, the study obtained the following results: Climate change perception exerted a significant positive effect on attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control, which exerted significant positive effects on climate change adaptation intentions. In turn, climate change adaptation intentions exerted a significant positive effect on the behavioral pattern of PEB. Using political trust and perceived risk as moderating variables, political trust was found to exert a moderating effect on the relationship between subjective norms and the climate change adaptation intention and between perceived behavioral control and the climate change adaptation intention. No significant effect was observed in the remaining cases. Thus, H5a, H6a, H6b, and H6c were considered invalid. Therefore, we know that political trust has a higher moderating effect on adaptation intentions to climate change than perceived risk, so it is more effective to move from the political and policy-related aspect to the environmental aspect.

5. Discussions

This study revealed that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of tourists in the XNEA exert significant effects on climate change adaptation intentions, which significantly influence the behavioral patterns of PEB. These findings indicate that tourists will exhibit the intention to adapt to the environment or display the behavior of changing the environment under the influence of environmental changes. These findings are related to the previous study, which also pointed out that attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control have significant associations with behavioral intentions to adapt to climate change and adopt behavioral patterns of PEB [40].
Furthermore, this study demonstrated that political trust plays a more critical role than perceived risk in climate change because political trust can influence or alter the climate change adaptation intentions of tourists. These findings are related to the previous study, which indicated that both political and social trust strongly affect energy-saving behavior and will enhance pro-environmental attitudes [56]. However, they failed to exhibit corresponding adaptation intentions or behavior, perhaps due to a lack of adequate understanding of the risks of climate change. In this light, the government may provide the public with additional information on the impact of climate change to increase risk perceptions and, thereby, enhance adaptability from the perspective of reducing the severity of climate change and the risk of disasters. Additionally, local governments should be more rigorous in formulating economic development and environmental protection policies, not just propaganda slogans.
The results demonstrate that using the extended TPB model to explore climate change adaptation intentions has yielded positive influences. Specifically, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control were found to influence the adaptation intention and implementation intention to mitigate climate change. Furthermore, the results indicate that friends, family members, and social groups influence attitudes and personal perceptions of particular behaviors. These findings are related to those of previous studies that focused on green or low-carbon products and found the positive effects of attitudes [87,88,89,90], perceived behavioral control [30,88,91], and subjective norms [88,89,92] on the intention to purchase low-carbon products.
Moreover, this study included climate change perceptions in the TPB and revealed that this variable exhibits a predictive power for climate change adaptation intention. This result, along with previous research findings, demonstrated that climate change perceptions and natural disaster experiences influence adaptation behavior [50,51].
In summary, when an individual has a more positive climate change adaptation intention, then a heightened willingness to engage in energy conservation and carbon reduction behaviors will develop. Additionally, when an individual has a strong sense of moral obligation to mitigate the impact of climate change, then the individual is more likely to engage in energy conservation and carbon reduction behaviors to mitigate climate change. Based on the results, the extended TPB is a seemingly ideal theoretical model for predicting climate change adaptation intentions.

6. Conclusions

6.1. Conclusion of This Study

The TPB is a widely used psychological framework for predicting a broad range of behavioral patterns of PEB across various fields. The main contribution of this study is enhancing the extended TPB model, which includes the moral obligation to understand the intention to mitigate global climate change in Taiwan. The results of this survey research were derived from Taiwan, an island country vulnerable to climate change, with the use of a model that fits the fields of environmental conservation and carbon awareness. Moreover, the results support the predictive potential and robustness of the extended TPB. This study provides theoretical and managerial implications for comprehending the determinants of the intention to mitigate global climate change. In summary, the findings provide a solid theoretical basis for understanding the determinants of climate change adaptation intentions. Making people aware of the damage caused by climate change and making people act more environmentally friendly is what this study hopes to achieve. According to the research findings, perceptions of tourists toward climate change are an extremely important antecedent, expected to exert a significant positive effect on attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Therefore, we need to apprise people about the serious consequences of climate change by adding relevant information in reports, newspapers, books, etc.
In addition, the findings deduced that political trust is a factor that will also affect tourists’ subjective norms and perceived behavioral control, so the formulation and implementation of environmental policies need to obtain people’s approval. Therefore, it is necessary for politicians to add climate change improvement programs to their policies and implement them in the near future.

6.2. Limitations and Future Directions

This study has its research limitations. First, compared with the population census data for Taiwan, the number of respondents only partially fulfilled the statistical representativeness. However, one advantage of the adopted sampling method was that the sample undoubtedly included diverse backgrounds across a diverse array of sociodemographic characteristics. Future research may try to get a random sample by enrolling respondents with varied backgrounds and from different countries and regions. This approach may facilitate a better understanding of the determinants of climate change adaptation intentions across societies and cultures. Second, the study considered only a limited number of variables associated with climate change adaptation intentions and overlooked other factors that may be of equal importance. Future research should integrate additional variables, such as the perception of ecological conservation, to establish a true PEB variable versus behavioral intention of PEB on climate change adaptation intentions. Finally, this study was unable to directly predict the actual adaptation behavior that tourists may produce during their travels under climate change. It is suggested that other relevant factors (e.g., the actual number of tourists) be included in follow-up empirical research to offer recreational areas a clearer knowledge of the threats presented by climate change in the future.

Author Contributions

Three co-authors together contributed to the completion of this article. Formal analysis, investigation, data curation, and writing—original draft preparation, M.-Y.C.; investigation, data curation, review, and editing, H.-Y.K.; writing—original draft preparation, writing—review and editing, H.-S.C. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research received no external funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Not applicable.

Data Availability Statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, H.-S.C., upon reasonable request.

Acknowledgments

First and foremost, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Chia-Chun Hu, who provided the statistics used in my thesis. Second, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to all the experts who have taken the time to review this article and provide valuable comments.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Forests 13 01476 g001 550
Figure 1. Predictors of behavioral patterns of PEB.
Figure 1. Predictors of behavioral patterns of PEB.
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Forests 13 01476 g002 550
Figure 2. Map of Xitou Nature Education Area.
Figure 2. Map of Xitou Nature Education Area.
Forests 13 01476 g002
Table
Table 1. Profiles of respondents.
Table 1. Profiles of respondents.
Sociodemographic ProfileFrequency
(n = 626)		PercentageSociodemographic ProfileFrequency
(n = 626)		Percentage
Gender Occupation
Male25340.4%Military personnel, Civil Servants, and Teachers467.3%
Female37359.6%Service industry18830.0%
Freelance568.9%
Age (years) Industrial11217.9%
Under 1981.3%Commerce10416.6%
20–2913221.1%Agriculture, Forestry, Animal husbandry, and Fishery40.6%
30–3927644.1%Students386.1%
40–4916426.2%Technical specialists304.8%
50–59355.6%Homemakers335.3%
Over 60111.8%Unemployed101.6%
Retired50.8%
Marital status
Single34254.6%Education level
Married28445.4%Middle school (inclusive) and below101.6%
General and vocational high school9815.7%
Average monthly personal salary Junior college degree8112.9%
Less than 20,000 NTD
(720 USD) (inclusive)		10817.3%Undergraduate degree37459.7%
20,001–40,000 NTD
(720–1440 USD)		25140.1%Master’s degree (inclusive) and above6310.1%
40,001–60,000 NTD
(1440–2160 USD)		19130.5%
60,001–80,000 NTD
(2160–2880 USD)		497.8%
80,001 NTD (2880 USD) or more 274.3%
Table
Table 2. Reliability and validity analysis.
Table 2. Reliability and validity analysis.
ConstructsIndicatorsFactor LoadingsSMCCRAVE
Climate change perceptions (CP) 0.7960.574
1. Do you think drought is related to climate change?0.7830.613
2. Has your life changed because of climate change?0.8960.803
3. I think that my personal efforts can effectively mitigate climate change.0.5520.305
Attitudes (AT) 0.9140.639
1. I think that reducing carbon dioxide emissions can mitigate climate change and it will affect forest recreation areas.0.7880.621
2. I think that increases in greenhouse gas emissions will cause the Earth’s surface temperature to rise and then affect forest recreation areas.0.8050.648
3. I think that after the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has increased year by year and it will affect forest recreation areas.0.8050.648
4. I think that climate change will exert a severe impact on humankind and forest recreation areas.0.7890.623
5. I think that global climate anomalies (e.g., high temperature, drought, and heavy precipitation) are becoming increasingly serious and it will affect forest recreation areas.0.8180.669
6. I think that everyone should do their part to help in climate change mitigation and adaptation and it will keep forest recreation areas from being destroyed.0.7910.626
Subjective norms (SN) 0.8500.656
1. The people important to me all think that I should make an effort to help mitigate global climate change.0.7340.539
2. I think I will make an effort to help mitigate global climate change due to the influence of the opinions of experts and scholars.0.8750.766
3. I think I will make an effort to help mitigate global climate change due to the proactive promotion of the government.0.8140.663
Perceived behavioral control (PBC) 0.7500.622
1. I think that I can adapt to climate change.0.9880.976
2. I believe that as long as I intend to, I have the ability to take action to adapt to climate change.0.5180.268
Political trust (PT) 0.8970.688
1. I consider the views proposed by politicians as generally trustworthy.0.8830.780
2. I think politicians are capable of fulfilling their promises.0.9070.823
3. I think politicians will seek to create benefits for the citizens.0.6440.415
4. I consider that the views proposed by politicians are usually truthful.0.8580.736
Perceived risk (PR) 0.9170.614
1. I think that climate change will lead to a decline in soil fertility.0.7250.526
2. I think that climate change will exert a negative impact on Taiwan’s agriculture.0.7970.635
3. I think that climate change will lead to an increase in the number of pests and diseases.0.7870.619
4. I think that climate change will cause a reduction in biodiversity.0.7980.637
5. In view of the potential impact climate change may exert on society, I will pay attention to variations in climate change.0.7840.615
6. I think that climate change will cause an increase in the occurrence of diseases.0.7880.621
7. I am concerned that climate change will affect human health.0.8030.645
Climate change adaptation intention (CAI) 0.9130.601
1. Under the influence of climate change, I intend to replace the old appliances in my home with more energy-efficient appliances.0.8080.653
2. Under the influence of climate change, I intend to replace the light bulbs in my home with energy-efficient light bulbs.0.8350.697
3. Under the influence of climate change, I intend to opt for a more energy-efficient car when I have the need to buy one.0.8020.643
4. Under the influence of climate change, I intend to set the heater at a lower temperature in the winter and the air-conditioner at a higher temperature in the summer.0.6780.460
5. Under the influence of climate change, I intend to use environmentally friendly products, such as reusable cup, bag, bottle, etc.0.8320.692
6. Under the influence of climate change, I intend to take action to reduce my impact on global warming. For example, reusing shopping bags, using reusable cups, buy environmentally friendly products, etc.0.8120.659
Behavioral patterns of PEB (PEB) 0.8830.604
1. Under the influence of climate change, I will switch to cars that are more fuel-efficient.0.7540.569
2. Under the influence of climate change, I will recycle as much as possible.0.8430.711
3. Under the influence of climate change, I will install energy-saving light bulbs.0.8410.707
4. Under the influence of climate change, I will turn off the lights, fans, and other electrical appliances when they are not in use.0.7550.570
Note: SMC: squared multiple correlation; CR: composite reliability; AVE: average variance extracted.
Table
Table 3. The correlation matrix of studied constructs.
Table 3. The correlation matrix of studied constructs.
MeanStandard Deviation12345678
1. Climate change perceptions5.6200.8951
2. Attitudes6.0210.8170.8061
3. Subjective norms5.6900.9540.6300.8191
4. Perceived behavioral control4.8751.0800.5130.5240.7531
5. Political trust3.7121.348–0.136–0.1550.0760.3711
6. Perceived risk5.6720.8210.7120.7950.7810.6270.0061
7. Climate change adaptation intention5.7530.8680.7190.8520.8310.6710.3710.6271
8. Behavioral pattern of PEB5.8310.8680.7030.8290.7800.604–0.0270.8510.6711
Table
Table 4. Results of the path analysis and hypothesis testing.
Table 4. Results of the path analysis and hypothesis testing.
Hypothesized PathsUnstandardized CoefficientS.E.pStandardized Coefficient95% CIExplanatory Power
(R2)		Test Results
Lower BoundUpper Bound
H1a: CP→AT0.9930.0600.0010.9170.8870.9490.842YES
H1b: CP→SN0.9780.0660.0010.8460.7850.9020.716YES
H1c: CP→PBC0.6500.0750.0010.6380.5350.7360.407YES
H2: AT→CAI0.5120.0520.0020.5380.4330.6540.816YES
H3: SN→CAI0.2800.0430.0020.3140.1720.430YES
H4: PBC→CAI0.1490.0340.0020.1480.0670.241YES
H7: CAI→PEB0.9870.0620.0020.9170.8830.9440.841YES
Note: CP: climate change perceptions, AT: attitudes, SN: subjective norms, PBC: perceived behavioral control, CAI: climate change adaptation intention, and PEB: Behavioral patterns of PEB.
Table
Table 5. Moderating effect.
Table 5. Moderating effect.
HypothesisMODIVDVUnstandardized CoefficientS.E.Z-ValuepTest Results
H5aPTATCAI−0.0300.0191.590.117No
H5bSN0.0420.0182.330.019Yes
H5cPBC0.0410.0133.150.002Yes
H6aPRAT0.0010.0210.0480.981No
H6bSN−0.0670.0232.910.004No
H6cPBC−0.0600.0212.860.005No
Note: AT: attitudes, SN: subjective norms, PBC: perceived behavioral control, CAI: climate change adaptation intention, PEB: Behavioral patterns of PEB, PT: political trust, and PR: perceived risk.
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Chang, M.-Y.; Kuo, H.-Y.; Chen, H.-S. Perception of Climate Change and Pro-Environmental Behavioral Intentions of Forest Recreation Area Users—A Case of Taiwan. Forests 2022, 13, 1476. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13091476

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Chang M-Y, Kuo H-Y, Chen H-S. Perception of Climate Change and Pro-Environmental Behavioral Intentions of Forest Recreation Area Users—A Case of Taiwan. Forests. 2022; 13(9):1476. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13091476

Chicago/Turabian Style

Chang, Min-Yen, Hung-Yu Kuo, and Han-Shen Chen. 2022. "Perception of Climate Change and Pro-Environmental Behavioral Intentions of Forest Recreation Area Users—A Case of Taiwan" Forests 13, no. 9: 1476. https://doi.org/10.3390/f13091476

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