Climate Change Preparedness: A Knowledge and Attitudes Study in Southern Nigeria

Abstract

Global climate change is projected to adversely impact freshwater resources, and in many settings these impacts are already apparent. In Nigeria, these impacts can be especially severe because of limited adaptive capacity. Understanding the knowledge and attitudes of current and future Nigerian decision-makers is important to preparing Nigeria for climate change impacts. This paper examines the knowledge and attitudes of university students and government officials about the causes, effects, and priority given to climate change in Nigeria. Paper surveys were distributed to 379 study participants in Akwa Ibom and Lagos states of Nigeria. The findings reveal that approximately 90% of study participants believe that human activities are a significant cause of climate change, with no significant difference between ministry officials' and students' responses. Participants were less knowledgeable about the effects of climate change on Nigeria as a whole, but more aware of impacts relevant to Southern Nigeria, where study sites were located. Personal experience seemed to play a role in the knowledge and attitudes of respondents. Due to the varied climate of the country, campaigns to ensure comprehensive knowledge of climate change impacts to the entire country may be helpful. OPEN ACCESSEnvironments 2015, 2 436

Students in Climate Action: A Study of Some Influential Factors and Implications of Knowledge Gaps in Africa

“…Watkins [5], for instance, argued that public perception can significantly influence future development and environmental policies. In this regard, public perceptions, awareness and knowledge of climate change have received increased attention in the literature in recent times [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. It is argued that individual behaviour is central to climate change because individuals influence large procedures of change and policy decisions [16].…”

“…Whilst these studies present insights about students' knowledge of climate change, key issues such as involving knowledge on indirect causes (such as meat consumption) and effects (such as conflicts and gender inequalities) of climate change were not explored. Also, students participation in climate change workshops and their membership of environment-related student clubs influence their knowledge of climate change needs further inquiry [7]. Improving students' knowledge of climate change can help to raise awareness of the phenomenon in society as a whole [27].…”

Students’ attitudes to paper consumption in relation to carbon emissions and the impact of electronic course documents

“…It would seem, from this, that they required more information. Researchers have also shown that awareness of climate change among students is influenced by access to information, by media coverage of the issue, by advocacy, and by the level of environmental concern (Carr, 2015;Christensen & Knezek, 2015;Ojomo, Elliott, Amjad & Bartram, 2015). At the Copperbelt University, it was therefore important to explore the awareness and attitudes of students regarding climate change.…”

Setting the Scene for a Healthier Indoor Living Environment: Citizens’ Knowledge, Awareness, and Habits Related to Residential Radon Exposure in Romania

“…Students were used as part of the sample because they are an important group in the society and they are, or will be, in the near future, players in the housing market, so their attitude toward housing-related health risks influences their house buying and maintenance behaviors. It is not rare to find samples made of students within the field of attitude studies [54][55][56][57]. The results cannot be extrapolated to the entire Romanian population, but they may serve as a reference point in the elaboration of future research dedicated to radon.…”