Mangrove Conservation in Macao SAR, China: The Role of Environmental Education among School Students

Karen Araño Tagulao, Allan B. I. Bernardo, Loi Hoi Kei and Cristina Sousa Coutinho Calheiros
Additional contact information
Karen Araño Tagulao: Institute of Science and Environment, University of St. Joseph, Rua de Londres 106, Macao SAR 999078, China
Allan B. I. Bernardo: Department of Psychology, De La Salle University, 2401 Taft Avenue, Manila 1004, Philippines
Loi Hoi Kei: Institute of Science and Environment, University of St. Joseph, Rua de Londres 106, Macao SAR 999078, China
Cristina Sousa Coutinho Calheiros: Institute of Science and Environment, University of St. Joseph, Rua de Londres 106, Macao SAR 999078, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 6, 1-13

Abstract: Mangrove forests are one of the most ecologically valuable ecosystems in the world and provide a wide variety of ecosystem services to coastal communities, including cities. Macao, a highly urbanized coastal city located on the southern coast of China west of the Pearl River, is home to several species of mangroves with many associated flora and fauna. Mangrove forests in Macao are vulnerable to threats due to pressure from rapid and massive urban developments in the area, which led to mangrove loss in the past decades. To address this issue, the local authorities established special Ecological Zones for the management of the local mangroves. To reinforce local conservation efforts, educating the local population about the value of mangroves, especially school students, is of utmost importance. To evaluate the impact of environmental education activities on the environmental orientation, knowledge, and values of students toward mangrove conservation in Macao, a quasi-experimental study was undertaken. The effectiveness of a mangroves exhibition and field visit were evaluated using the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) Scale—Macao version in a group of local school students who participated in the activities. Overall, the results provided consistently positive evaluations of the impact of the environmental education program. The strongest improvements were found in the students’ pro-environmental orientations, knowledge about mangroves, and value for environmental protection.

Keywords: conservation; urban mangroves; environmental orientation; environmental protection; NEP-New Ecological Paradigm (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3147/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/6/3147/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:6:p:3147-:d:766129

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().