|
つくば生物ジャーナル Tsukuba Journal of Biology (2005) 4:
TJB200501200100788
Atitudes and behavior of
Japanese persons relativity to
Biodiversity
林 香織 （筑波大学 生物学類 ４年） 指導教員： リチャード・ワイスバード（筑波大学 生物科学研究科）
I.Introduction -On March 27,2002, New Biodiversity Strategy was
adopted at the meeting of the council of Ministries for Global Environment
Conservation for the purpose to prevent extinction species, to promote
conservation and restoration of nature throughout Japan. However,
awareness of biodiversity and human impacts on it remain limited in most
societies. The main goal of this research was to learn about people's
attitudes toward environmental issues in general and biodiversity in
particular and also to determine their familiarity with the concept of
biodiversity and the threats posed by loss of biodiversity. I used a
questionnaire survey to evaluate 5 main variables: 1.Awareness of
biodiversity; 2.Importance biodiversity and Impact of its loss; 3. Cause
of biodiversity loss; 4. Environmental awareness; and 5. Environmental
action.
II.Methods -The questionnaire administered in person and
by mail to respondents in life science programs at the University of
Tsukuba and to 2 groups of members of the public, one interviewed or
handed mail-in questionnaires at Tsukuba shopping centers and the other
(for a limited set of the questionnaire questions) by clustered random
sampling of every second house in selected communities, 75.5% of them in
the Kanto Plain.
III. Results
Awareness of biodiversity-The percentages
of people who answered "not familiar at all with the concept" of
biodiversity and "don't know" were: Faculty 0%, Students 5.6% and the
Public 47.8%. Among the Tsukuba public, 65.2% had never heard about
biodiversity loss and they had more interest in pollution and global
climate change. About 3/4 of students believed we are in the midst of a
mass extinction; in contrast only about half of faculty and the Tsukuba
public believed so.
Importance of biodiversity /Impact of its
loss-For all 3 groups, "biodiversity loss" was rated the least serious
problem compared with 4 other listed environmental problems.
Cause
of biodiversity loss-Among all respondents, 82.4% thought today's
accelerated extinction arises mainly from human activity. The relationship
between human population and extinction isn't well known by the public.
All respondent groups recognize that habitat degradation and destruction
is one of the big causes of biodiversity loss.
Environmental
awareness-Percentages of people who judge themselves to be "active and
sympathetic environmentalists" were: Faculty 72.9%, Students 45.0%, and
the Tsukuba public 47.8%. A plurality of students were "neutral" toward
the environment (42.3%). A plurality of the public was "sympathetic"
(39.1%) toward the environment, but the "unsympathetic" percentage was
also high (34.4%). Important factors in purchasing decisions in numeric
order for all groups (include Kantou public) was as follows: Quality ＞
Price ≧ Durability ＞ Environmental impact ＞ Prestige. Most respondents
thought it was OK to pay a little more for a product that is friendlier to
the environment if it's reliable. There were no big differences between
the Tsukuba public's awareness and that of Kantou.
Environmental
action-Common activities like "Separating garbage by type", " saving",
and "recycle/reuse" are major activities in particular for students and
the public. Faculty members believe that doing and informing people about
their own research and heightening awareness and knowledge about
biodiversity are important as their conservation activities. A quarter of
students answered that they do nothing, the largest such fraction among
the 3 groups.
IV. Comparison-The American Museum of Natural
History conducted a related survey of American biologists, science
teachers, and the public in 1998: "Biodiversity in the Next Millennium".
Some of our questions were copied from that survey to facility comparison.
American biologists believe that "loss of biodiversity" is a bigger
problem than the other environmental problems. Univ. of Tsukuba faculty,
in contrast, are more likely to think that "over-consumption of resources"
is the biggest factor and "loss of biodiversity" is least serious. There
is also a big difference in the percentage responding "very familiar with
the concept of biodiversity: 79% of American biologists in contrast only
11.4% of Univ. of Tsukuba life science faculty. Both American biologists
and Univ. of Tsukuba faculty believe that species loss will be more and
more serious in our grandchildren's lifetime.
V.
Conclusions-The Tsukuba public had limited knowledge of biodiversity.
All respondents thought that biodiversity loss is less urgent than other
problems. Students had high awareness and attached importance to both
biodiversity and environment, but low action.
©2005 筑波大学生物学類
|