Search Results (33)

The sustainable management of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) relies heavily on community participation in separating it at the source and delivering it to collection systems. These practices are crucial for reducing pollution, protecting ecosystems, and maximizing resource recovery. However, in the Global South context, with conditions of socioeconomic vulnerability, community participation in the sustainable management of MSW remains limited, highlighting the need to generate context-specific interventions. MSW includes items such as household appliances, batteries, and electronic devices, which require specialized handling due to their size, hazardous components, or material complexity. This study implemented a Community-Based Social Marketing approach during the research and design phases of an intervention focused on promoting source separation and management of hard-to-manage MSW in five municipalities within the administrative region of Norte de Santander (Colombia), which borders Venezuela. Using a mixed-methods approach, we collected data from 1775 individuals (63.83% women; M _age = 33.48 years; SD = 17.25), employing social mapping, focus groups, semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and a survey questionnaire. The results show that the source separation and delivery of hard-to-manage MSW to collection systems are limited by a set of psychosocial, structural, and institutional barriers that interact with each other, affecting communities’ willingness and capacity for action. Furthermore, a prediction model of willingness to engage in separation and delivery behaviors showed a good fit (R2 = 0.83). The strongest predictors were awareness of the negative consequences of non-participation and perceived environmental benefits, with subjective norms contributing to a lesser extent. Based on these results, we designed a context-specific intervention focused on reducing these barriers and promoting community engagement in the sustainable management of hard-to-manage MSW. Full article

The Mediterranean Sea, a global biodiversity hotspot, faces significant threats that compromise its ecological health. While Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) play a crucial role in biodiversity conservation, their effectiveness is debated, and empirical data on their impact remain limited. This study evaluates the utility of Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) from divers along the Spanish Mediterranean coast to assess perceived abundance of sentinel species in both MPAs and non-protected areas, in relation to empirical data, alongside divers’ attitudes toward ocean threats and conservation strategies. Divers perceived higher abundance and subjective health indicators of key species, such as Posidonia oceanica, octocorals, and top predators within MPAs, which aligns with empirical evidence supporting MPA effectiveness in conserving biodiversity and mitigating human disturbances. Notably, divers showed knowledge gaps, particularly underestimating climate change impacts while overemphasizing pollution threats. Diver education emerged as a critical factor in shaping conservation attitudes, with higher education levels correlating with increased environmental awareness and stronger support for conservation measures. This study underscores the potential of leveraging LEK in marine conservation strategies while acknowledging limitations related to self-reported data and regional specificity, advocating for expanded geographic scope and integration with empirical data in future research. Full article

Air pollution has become an important environmental and public health problem in China; improving air quality has become one of the most important tasks of the Chinese central government in recent years. In all aspects of environmental governance, the public’s pro-environmental behavior is crucial to comprehensively improve air quality. This study used data provided by the 2021 China General Social Survey (CGSS) to explore the relationship between air pollution perception, environmental knowledge, and pro-environmental behavior. The results of the study indicated that: (1) Residents’ subjective perception of air pollution has a significant positive impact on residents’ pro-environmental behaviors. The more serious the air pollution in the surrounding area is, the more likely residents are to adopt more pro-environmental behaviors; (2) Environmental knowledge also has a positive impact on residents’ pro-environmental behaviors and individuals with higher environmental knowledge are more likely to adopt more pro-environment behaviors; and (3) Environmental knowledge plays a positive regulating role in the relationship between air pollution perception and pro-environmental behavior. Individuals with higher environmental knowledge are more willing to engage in more pro-environmental behaviors when they perceive air pollution. To promote the residents’ pro-environmental behaviors, we should further strengthen the education of environmental knowledge and strengthen the disclosure of environmental information. This study provides valuable insights for China to formulate environmental governance policies, enrich the research on pro-environmental behavior to a certain extent, and provide lessons for other developing countries and high-polluting countries to find environmental governance methods. Full article

As one form of urban green infrastructure, city parks provide essential ecosystem services and serve as a vital link connecting citizens with natural ecosystems. The public, as the primary beneficiaries of urban park ecosystem services, plays a crucial role in guiding the improvement and development trends of urban park planning. Most existing studies assess the comprehensive value of green spaces from a macro scale, with few focusing on the cultural and regulatory ecosystem services of urban parks and public perception of these services at the park level. This study targets 11 typical urban parks in Luoyang City, collecting 771 samples through field mapping and surveys. It analyzes users’ socio-demographic characteristics, perception abilities, usage preferences, and service satisfaction, linking these subjective factors with objective elements of the park environment, such as fitness and recreational facilities. The results indicate that respondents with knowledge of ecosystem services are better able to evaluate and understand services such as air pollution reduction and noise reduction in parks, while those without such knowledge tend to focus more on services that they can intuitively perceive, such as biodiversity conservation and microclimate regulation. Additionally, the middle-income group exhibits a higher level of awareness of park ecosystem services, which depends on their active social participation. The findings of this study suggest that enhancing public understanding of ecosystem services through environmental education is key to improving the quality of urban ecosystems. Full article

In the face of escalating climate change, environmental pollution, and global crises, plant-based eggs are a viable solution for environmental conservation and health promotion. This study uses an integrated framework combining value-belief-norm (VBN) theory and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to explore the factors influencing Taiwanese consumers’ inclination towards plant-based eggs. Through convenience sampling, 417 questionnaires were issued and 387 valid responses were received, indicating a 92.8% valid response rate. The analysis indicates that consumers’ biospheric and altruistic values significantly enhance their awareness of outcomes, which, coupled with their sense of responsibility, strengthens personal norms. From the TPB perspective, perceived behavioral control is identified as a critical driver of the intention to purchase plant-based eggs, with attitudes and subjective norms playing significant roles. Subjective norms positively impact personal norms, thereby influencing consumers’ behavioral intentions. The findings confirm the integrated model’s theoretical and practical validity, and offer valuable insights for businesses. By developing adept marketing strategies that consider market dynamics, this study enhances the effectiveness and value of marketing efforts by boosting consumers’ engagement with plant-based eggs. These insights contribute to advancing environmental sustainability goals. Full article

In China, winning the battle for blue skies is a focal point of the central government’s environmental governance efforts. Public evaluations provide validity and legitimacy to the Chinese government’s top-level design for environmental governance. This study utilizes data from two waves of the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) conducted in 2013 and 2021, paired with objective air quality data, to conduct a longitudinal analysis of public evaluation of central government environmental governance in China. Furthermore, it explores the relationships between perceived air pollution, objective air quality, environmental knowledge, and public assessment of central government environmental performance. The findings indicate the following: (1) Over the past decade, there has been a noticeable improvement in air quality in China, leading to a significant enhancement in public perception of the central government’s environmental performance. (2) Subjective perceptions of air pollution have a significant negative impact on evaluations of the central government, whereas objective environmental governance measures do not exhibit significant effects. (3) Environmental knowledge plays a negative moderating role in the relationship between perceived air pollution and public assessment of central government environmental performance; individuals with higher levels of environmental knowledge tend to express greater dissatisfaction with the central government’s environmental performance upon perceiving air pollution. These research findings offer valuable insights for informing the formulation of environmental governance policies by the central government of China and provide lessons for other developing and highly polluting countries. Full article

(1) Background: Environmental risks such as air pollutants pose a threat to human health and must be communicated to the affected population to create awareness, such as via health literacy (HL); (2) Methods: We analyzed HL in the context of environmental health risks, including sources of information and prior knowledge, in a sample from the German general population using Kendall’s rank correlations, regression analyses, and explorative parallel mediation analysis; (3) Results: The survey included 412 German participants aged between 18 and 77. HL was found to be problematic to inadequate. The internet, family and friends, and newspapers were the most frequently cited sources of information. Mobile apps were mostly unknown but were requested by sample subjects. Although subjects expressed environmental concerns and exhibited rather good levels of knowledge, the majority perceived no risk to human health and rated air quality quite positively. Knowledge on particulate matter, the term “ultrafine particles”, and protective measures was found to be rather low. HL was associated with the use of newspapers and commercials as sources of information. The relationship between age and HL is fully mediated by the use of newspapers and information from TV commercials; (4) Conclusions: HL should be promoted by raising awareness of the health effects of environmental pollutants. In particular, the information channels preferred by the affected population should be used and further information opportunities such as apps should be publicized, e.g., through campaigns. An improved HL can assist policy makers in creating a healthier environment by empowering individuals to become more environmentally aware and protect their own health. This, in turn, has the potential to reduce health-related costs. Full article

Societies worldwide are under increasing pressure to reduce carbon footprints, combat air pollution, and address climate change. Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) represent a sustainable transportation solution to mitigate environmental issues. Despite growing consumer demand, BEV adoption rates remain relatively low. This study extends the theory of planned behavior to analyze factors influencing consumer adoption intentions for BEVs in Spain. The research incorporates the constructs Attitude, Perceived Behavioral Control, Subjective Norm, Moral Norm, Environmental Concern, and a unique consumer ‘profile’ dimension comprising experience, education, and gender, alongside the moderating variable of ‘price sensitivity’. This study comprises 1816 responses collected through an online survey, and it utilized the partial least squares structural equation model. The empirical findings indicate that Attitude, Perceived Behavioral Control, Subjective Norm, and Moral Norm significantly impact consumer adoption intention. Attitude emerges as the strongest influencer, emphasizing the significance of personal beliefs. Environmental Concern suggests environmentally conscious consumers may lean toward BEV adoption due to positive attitudes. The ‘profile’ dimension does not affect the relationship toward adoption intention. Price sensitivity moderates these relationships, indicating pricing strategies and incentives could significantly influence BEV adoption decisions. These findings offer practical guidance for governments and manufacturers aiming to promote sustainable, eco-friendly transportation methods in the face of global environmental challenges. Full article

The rise in “urban diseases” like population density, traffic congestion, and environmental pollution has renewed attention to urban livability. Walkability, a critical measure of pedestrian friendliness, has gained prominence in urban and transportation planning. This research delves into a comprehensive analysis of walking accessibility, examining both subjective and objective aspects. This study aims to identify the influencing factors and explore the underlying mechanisms driving walkability within a specific area. Through a questionnaire survey, residents’ subjective perceptions were gathered concerning various factors such as traffic operations, walking facilities, and the living environment. Structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the collected data, revealing that travel experience significantly impacts perceived accessibility, followed by facility condition, traffic condition, and safety perception. In the objective analysis, various types of POI data served as explanatory variables, dividing the study area into grids using ArcGIS, with the Walk Score^® as the dependent variable. Comparisons of OLS, GWR and MGWR demonstrated that MGWR yielded the most accurate fitting results. Mixed land use, shopping, hotels, residential, government, financial, and medical public services exhibited positive correlations with local walkability, while corporate enterprises and street greening showed negative correlations. These findings were attributed to the level of development, regional functions, population distribution, and supporting facility deployment, collectively influencing the walking accessibility of the area. In conclusion, this research presents crucial insights into enhancing walkability, with implications for urban planning and management, thereby enriching residents’ walking travel experience and promoting sustainable transportation practices. Finally, the limitations of the thesis are discussed. Full article

COVID-19 caused an increase in the demand for medications, which led to an increase in pharmaceutical waste and there is no doubt that this contributes to environmental pollution. Hence, it became necessary to search for how to protect and improve the environment by encouraging the behavior of medication waste reduction. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate the factors affecting intentions to reduce medication waste. Considering this, we develop an extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework by incorporating the constructs of moral obligation, environmental awareness, and medication waste risk perception. Using the convenience sampling method and based on a self-administered questionnaire, a total of 225 usable responses were collected in five Algerian cities. The results showed that positive attitudes (β = 0.316, p < 0.001), moral obligation (β = 0.291, p < 0.001), environmental awareness (β = 0.227, p < 0.001), perceived behavior control (PBC) (β = 0.151, p = 0.001), greater perceived risks (β = 0.127, p < 0.001), and subjective norm (β = 0.096, p < 0.05) significantly and positively influence the medication waste minimization intention. Furthermore, our analyses revealed that the extended TPB model explained 73.40% of the intention variance. In conclusion, we have explored the intentions, and there may be a gap between intent and actual behavior. Therefore, we recommend future studies to examine the factors affecting the actual behavior of medication waste reduction and to investigate environmental ethics and religious commitment as predictors of waste reduction intentions. Full article

Private enterprise governance is influenced by how status is perceived by business owners. In this essay, the role of business owners’ subjective statuses on their decisions on pollution control is discussed, along with social-psychology-based justifications. This study distinguishes front-end pollution treatment from back-end pollution treatment and finds the following: (1) A higher subjective status increases the front-end pollution control input but has no discernible impact on the back-end pollution control input. (2) Both the front-end and back-end control inputs are significantly influenced positively by a subjective economic status (ability motive). (3) A subjective social status only increases the front-end pollution control input (altruistic motive). (4) A subjective political standing (prestige motivation) significantly lowers environmental violations of businesses more than it does front-end or back-end inputs. (5) A subjective status can also boost owner expectations and business confidence, as well as help businesses to make the best pollution control measures. The optimum of private firms’ pollution control strategies depends heavily on their subjective status when the government’s pollution regulations are lax. The importance of subjective status is also influenced by how well capitalized private businesses are. This paper offers a novel perspective on the value of social governance from the viewpoint of maximizing the pollution management of private firms. It argues that raising the subjective status of private entrepreneurs has value. Full article

When the World Health Organization (WHO) analyzed the culprits of global warming, it was found that in developed countries with relatively few high-polluting heavy industries, the medical sector is one of the sources of high-density carbon emissions. Therefore, the medical industry has a noticeable impact on the environment. Amid the current COVID-19 epidemic, this study adopts the theory of planned behavior (TPB), widely used in decision-making science. We selected a regional teaching hospital with 339 employees in Taiwan to obtain valid questionnaire data. We explore the comparative analysis of different intra-organizational stakeholders’ “attitudes,” “subjective norms,” and “perceived behavioral control” on the hospital’s behavioral intention to promote green healthcare. The results show that the TPB model has reliable explanatory power. All three factors have a positive and significant effect on promoting green hospital behavior. Among them, perceived behavioral control was the most notable. A comparative analysis of the differences among stakeholders in the research model shows that “medical administrators” and “nursing staff” have a higher proportion of significant influence effects in various hypotheses, highlighting the critical roles of these two groups in promoting green hospitals. This research policy suggests that the cross-departmental staff in the hospital put forward green innovation ideas, strengthen internal environmental education and management, establish a good incentive system for front-line nursing staff, and implement the sustainable development strategy of the hospital. Full article

In China, blue sky defense is a crucial part of ecological environment governance. Objective environmental governance performance needs to be perceived by the public to more truly affect the public’s evaluation of the government’s environmental governance. This paper focuses on the public’s subjective perception of air pollution and evaluation of the local government’s environmental governance. Based on the Chinese General Social Survey data, the matched economic indicators, and air pollution data, we conduct a diachronic study on the public’s evaluation of local governments’ environmental protection work, and we analyze the relationship between the subjective perception of air pollution, the objective air pollution data, and the evaluation of local governments’ environmental protection work. The results showed the following: (1) People’s evaluation of local governments’ environmental protection work significantly improved from 2013 to 2021. The objective indicator improved, while the subjective perception declined. (2) The subjective perception of air pollution has a significant negative impact on the evaluation of local governments’ environmental protection work and needs to be better considered to improve air quality. At the same time, the effect of the objective indicator is insignificant. Full article

Empty pesticide container recycling helps control nonpoint source pollution and provides alternative sources for basic materials. This article investigates end users’ adoption of recycling their pesticide container waste and investigates the determinants influencing their adoption. The study uses an extensive farm survey of 210 farmers from the District Faisalabad of the Province of Punjab (Pakistan). It applies the partial least squares structural equation modeling technique to assess the impact of different elements, such as subjective norms, attitude, perceived behavioral control, intention, and environmental concerns, on end users’ adoption regarding recycling of pesticide empty container waste. The results explain that perceived behavioral control and intention to reuse pesticide container waste positively predict end users’ adoption. Furthermore, adoption is positively impacted by attitude, subjective norms, and environmental concerns via the intention to recycle pesticide container waste. The study urges the need to encourage end users to share responsibility for pesticide container waste management for a sustainable society. Full article

In an effort to reduce environmental pollution and energy consumption, the Chinese government strongly promotes the usage of electric vehicles. However, studies focusing on assessing consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP) for electric vehicles (EVs) are limited in the country. This research aims to address this research gap by examining influencing factors of consumers’ WTP for EVs in the Chinese perspective. Combined with the existing consumers’ intention factors, the current study further contributed by augmenting the theoretical framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior by including three new dimensions (performance expectancy, information loaded, and perceived risk) to comprehensively analyze the willingness of Chinese consumers. Analysis is performed on survey data from 498 consumers using EVs in Beijing, China. To evaluate formulated hypotheses, structural equation modeling approach is employed. Empirical findings reveal that environmental knowledge and performance expectancy positively and significantly influence behavioral intention. In contrast, overloaded information has a negative impact on behavioral intention. Moreover, subjective norms are significantly and positively related to behavioral intention. The research outcomes further disclose that perceived risk is positively and significantly related to behavioral intention. Finally, behavioral intention has a significant and positive association with WTP for EVs. The study contributes to the literature on sustainable consumption behavior and provides academics and practitioners with essential future directions. Full article