Environmental Attitudes and Behaviors in the Philippines

Abstract

Data from the environment modules of the International Social Survey Programme in 1993, 2000, and 2010 were analyzed to explore attitudinal dimensions, trends and significant predictors of public and private behavior in the Philippines. Factor analyses of attitude items indicate a consistent grouping of negatively connoted perceptions towards nature and science in the three datasets. A series of OLS and logistic regressions were conducted to determine significant predictors of attitudes and behaviors. Perceptions of specific environmental problems and fatalism were consistent significant predictors of negative attitudes. No significant increases were found in environmental behaviors among Filipinos over the past two decades, with Jonckheere’s test indicating a significant decreasing trend. Educational attainment was the only consistently significant indicator for behaviors such as driving less, signing petitions, donating money, joining groups, and participating in public protests for the environment. These findings provide an understanding of Filipino attitudes towards science and nature, and improvements in behavior may be achieved with further integration of environmental education, and promotion to educated people to specifically engage in new forms of environmental behaviors. The implications of these results are discussed, along with opportunities for future research.

DOI: 10.5901/jesr.2014.v4n6p87