PREDICTING ENVIRONMENTAL KNOWLEDGE USING ATTITUDES TOWARD THE ENVIRONMENT: A CASE STUDY FROM A RURAL SOCIETY

The purpose of this study was to assess rural populations' understanding of environmental protection. This study highlights the cognitive aspects of rural people regarding their surrounding environment. A paper-based, structured questionnaire was designed to collect data. A random sample of 317 participants was selected to represent the entire population. The questionnaire was distributed by posting it to their national addresses. A total of 270 valid responses were collected. The findings revealed that respondents had a moderate level of knowledge about protecting the rural environment from water pollution (67 %). Their knowledge of air pollution was low (94.4 %); however, their level of understanding about food pollution was high (79.6 %). The results indicate that 20 % of the variance in overall knowledge regarding the environment can be predicted from the combination of predictor variables (education, income, tendency to change, aspiration for a better environment, and tendency to protect the environment). Predictor variables, including the willingness to protect and improve the environment and the tendency to change, can positively affect overall environmental knowledge. In fact, participants' attitudes toward these variables are low. These factors are crucial to the dissemination of environmental information.