Majority of residents lack environmental awareness

Abu Dhabi: Over half of Abu Dhabi residents are unaware of pressing environmental issues, revealed the results of an environmental awareness survey conducted by the Environment Agency - Abu Dhabi.

A total of 2,263 nationals and expatriates living in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region were interviewed as part of the survey.

The results show that the overall awareness among the general public in the emirate stands at 49 per cent and that the percentage of people who have modified their behaviour to be environmentally friendly stands much lower at 44 per cent.

The survey, which had general and issue based questions, covered several environmental issues, including water, waste, energy, biodiversity, pollution and global issues.

Key findings of the survey, the first of its kind in the emirate, revealed that there is a significant disparity between the awareness and behaviour among adults.

"Although some people demonstrated awareness, their behaviour did not reflect this. They take no action over issues and continue to behave negatively. This leads us to the conclusion that we need to device methods to make them go to the next level," said Maisa Al Nowais, Director of Environmental Awareness Sector at EAD.

While the youths are the most aware among the residents surveyed, the children were the least aware. Also, women were more aware than men.

Interestingly, it was found that environment was almost synonymous to pollution to most people. The most talked about environmental issues were pollution, traffic-related problems, generation and disposal of waste, climate change, and usage of plastic.

"It was a vital survey since it is the first ever done and it will act as a baseline for future work. It has helped us understand where we stand now and will point us to the direction that we need to head," Al Nowais said.

It took three months of hard work and much longer to formulate the questionnaire to address each group of people, she added.

Profiles

A total of 1,238 people were surveyed in Abu Dhabi, 788 in Al Ain and 237 in the Western Region.

The residents surveyed included pupils, university students, and adult men and women who were chosen on the basis of nationality, age group, gender, location, length of their stay in the UAE, and socio-economic class profile.

The functional sample included fishermen, farmers, registered wildlife traders, falconers, and workers at hotels, hospitals, retail chains, corporate offices and industries. Among the influencer sample were members of the media, teachers and preachers.

Energy smart

People surveyed were most concerned about energy, while water issues was their least concern.

Hospital and hotel workers demonstrated high level of awareness on water and energy issues. Of the occupational groups surveyed, the most environmentally aware were fishermen, while registered traders in wildlife were the least aware.

The highest consistency in behaviour was noted among farmers and the lowest among registered traders in wildlife.

Among the section of residents who can influence opinion, teachers displayed the maximum awareness while religious preachers, such as Imams, were the most concerned.

Members of the media were most aware about global issues and teachers were most concerned about it. Most people cited media as the main source of knowledge.