Search Results (6)

Education for sustainable development (ESD) of protected areas is proposed to deal with global climate change and biodiversity conversation. It focuses on the “quality education” and “protection” of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (UN SDGs), not only taking protected areas as the education place, but also as the theme and content of education. Based on cognitive-behavior theory and social emotional learning theory, this study constructs a “cognitive–emotion–behavior” dimension framework of ESD in protected areas, selecting Potatso National Park in Yunnan as a case study. Based on 529 valid visitor questionnaires, this study uses structural equation modeling to verify theoretical hypotheses, and analyzes the impact of ESD in protected areas on public cognition, emotion, and behavior. The results show that: (1) Cognitive and emotional factors jointly drive the behavioral intentions of ESD in protected areas, and social-emotional factors are slightly higher than cognitive factors; (2) Environmental knowledge, personal norms, nature connectedness, and places attachment positively affects behavioral intentions; (3) Indigenous knowledge has an impact on behavioral intentions through emotional mediation, and personal norms have an impact on behavioral intentions through direct effects; (4) Gender and visit frequency are important moderating variables in the ESD of protected areas. These conclusions provide the following suggestions for further development of ESD. First, by forming environment-friendly social norms and focusing on the mining and presentation of indigenous knowledge, the behavioral intention can also be enhanced to a certain extent; second, improving people’s emotion can also promote people’s behavioral intention, especially referring to optimizing nature connectedness, strengthening place attachment, and creating emotional connections; Third, specific groups of people should be taught specifically, and improve the supporting services of ESD. Full article

The present study examined the overall potential that the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions have for the promotion of climate-friendly food consumption in Germany. We looked at COVID-19-related changes in people’s climate-friendly food-consumption behaviors by comparing retrospectively self-reported performances between the time period in which the COVID-19 restrictions were in place and the pre-COVID-19 period. Furthermore, we examined the durability of such COVID-19-related changes with regard to an imagined post-COVID-19 period and the role of people’s personal climate-protection norms in COVID-19-related behavioral changes. To do so, we conducted two online surveys in June/July 2020 with German consumers: (a) an online study in a sample that was representative of the German population (NCOR1 = 3092) and (b) another online study in a smaller sample of German consumers (NCOR2 = 300). Altogether, the data from both surveys indicated several COVID-19-related changes toward more climate-friendly food consumption, not only during the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions, but also with regard to long-term changes in a potential post-COVID-19 period. Furthermore, our results also provide initial empirical evidence that people’s personal climate-protection norms are relevant moderating factors of these short- and long-term COVID-19-related behavioral changes. Full article

Recently, attention has been drawn to the sustainability of artificial intelligence (AI) in terms of environmental costs. However, sustainability is not tantamount to the reduction of environmental costs. By shifting the focus to intergenerational justice as one of the constitutive normative pillars of sustainability, the paper identifies a reductionist view on the sustainability of AI and constructively contributes a conceptual extension. It further develops a framework that establishes normative issues of intergenerational justice raised by the uses of AI. The framework reveals how using AI for decision support to policies with long-term impacts can negatively affect future persons. In particular, the analysis demonstrates that uses of AI for decision support to policies of environmental protection or climate mitigation include assumptions about social discounting and future persons’ preferences. These assumptions are highly controversial and have a significant influence on the weight assigned to the potentially detrimental impacts of a policy on future persons. Furthermore, these underlying assumptions are seldom transparent within AI. Subsequently, the analysis provides a list of assessment questions that constitutes a guideline for the revision of AI techniques in this regard. In so doing, insights about how AI can be made more sustainable become apparent. Full article

Land use change, natural resource use and climate change are challenging Sustainable Development issues (SDGs 13–15). Fostering the competencies to deal with such issues is one core task for current educational endeavors. Among these competencies, decision-making competencies are central. In detail, we investigate how learners evaluate alternative decision-making options to improve existing competence models. We exemplify our competence modelling approach using the designation of a Marine Protected Area. The cross-sectional sample consists of secondary school students and student teachers (N = 760). Partial Credit modelling shows that quantitative modelling of decision-making options is a different competence dimension than perspective taking if contextualized for Sustainable Development. In quantitative modelling, mathematical modelling is used to evaluate and reflect on decision-making options. Perspective taking covers the ability to consider different normative perspectives on Sustainable Development issues. Both dimensions show plausible (latent) correlations with related constructs within the nomological net, i.e., with qualitative arguing, economic literacy, mathematical competencies, reading competencies and analytical problem solving. Furthermore, person-abilities increase with level of education for both dimensions. The identified competence dimensions quantitative modelling and perspective taking were successfully modelled and shown to be distinct; the resulting measuring instrument is reliable and valid. Full article

Extreme weather events including flooding can have severe personal, infrastructural, and economic consequences, with recent evidence pointing to surface flooding as a pathway for the microbial contamination of private groundwater supplies. There is a pressing need for increasingly focused information and awareness campaigns to highlight the risks posed by extreme weather events and appropriate subsequent post-event actions. To date, little is known about the presence, directionality or magnitude of gender-related differences regarding flood risk awareness and behaviour among private groundwater users, a particularly susceptible sub-population due to an overarching paucity of infrastructural regulation across many regions. The current study investigated gender-related differences in flood risk perception and associated mitigation behaviours via a cross-sectional, national survey of 405 (168 female, 237 male) private groundwater supply users. The developed survey instrument assessed socio-demographic profile, previous flood experience, experiential and conjectural health behaviours (contingent on previous experience), and Risk, Attitude, Norms, Ability, Self-regulation (RANAS) framework questions. Statistically significant gender differences were found between both ‘Norm—Descriptive’ and ‘Ability—Self-efficacy’ RANAS elements (p < 0.05). Female respondents reported a lower level of awareness of the need for post-flood action(s) (8.9% vs. 16.5%), alongside a perceived “lack of information” as a reason for not testing their domestic well (4.9% vs. 11.5%). Conversely, male respondents were more likely to report awareness of their well location in relation to possible contamination sources (96.6% vs. 89.9%) and awareness of previous water testing results (98.9% vs. 93.0%). Gender-related gaps exist within the studied private groundwater reliant cohort, a sub-population which has to date remained under-studied within the context of climate change and extreme weather events. Accordingly, findings suggest that gender-focused communication and education may represent an effective tool for protecting current and future generations of global groundwater users. Full article

The impact of climate change and the demand of people for water resources are dramatically increasing. In order to protect water supply in the world, it is essential to develop individuals’ sustainable water consumption behaviors. Teachers play a key role in fostering students’ beliefs, attitudes, values and behaviors about sustainable water consumption. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore pre-service teachers’ sustainable water consumption behaviors using the Value-Belief-Norm theory. 481 pre-service teachers completed a questionnaire measuring sustainable water consumption behavior, universal values, personal norms and beliefs that were categorized as awareness of consequences and ascription of responsibility. The results revealed that the Value-Belief-Norm theory could successfully explain sustainable water consumption behaviors of pre-service teachers. The study revealed that personal norm was a strong predictor to explain sustainable water consumption behavior. Mediation analysis confirmed the causal order of the variables in the model. In other words, personal norms mediated the relationship between ascription of responsibility and sustainable water consumption behavior; ascription of responsibility mediated the relationship between awareness of consequences and personal norms; awareness of consequences mediated the relationship between biospheric-altruistic values and ascription of responsibility; and lastly, personal norms mediated the relationship between biospheric-altruistic values and sustainable water consumption behavior. The results have important implications for education programs and environmental program designers. Through designing water conservation education programs, teachers and students’ sustainable water consumption behaviors can be fostered by strengthening their biospheric-altruistic values, environmental beliefs and personal norm to act for the environment. Full article