IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0212206.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Public awareness and support for environmental protection—A focus on air pollution in peninsular Malaysia

Author

Listed:
  • Yunn Shin Jocelyne Chin
  • Laura De Pretto
  • Vivek Thuppil
  • Matthew J Ashfold

Abstract

As in many nations, air pollution linked to rapid industrialization is a public health and environmental concern in Malaysia, especially in cities. Understanding awareness of air pollution and support for environmental protection from the general public is essential for informing governmental approaches to dealing with this problem. This study presents a cross-sectional survey conducted in the Klang Valley and Iskandar conurbations to examine urban Malaysians’ perception, awareness and opinions of air pollution. The survey was conducted in two languages, English and Malay, and administered through the online survey research software, Qualtrics. The survey consisted of three sections, where we collected sociodemographic information, information on the public perception of air quality and the causes of air pollution, information on public awareness of air pollution and its related impacts, and information on attitudes towards environmental protection. Of 214 respondents, over 60% were positive towards the air quality at both study sites despite the presence of harmful levels of air pollution. The air in the Klang Valley was perceived to be slightly more polluted and causing greater health issues. Overall, the majority of respondents were aware that motor vehicles represent the primary pollution source, yet private transport was still the preferred choice of transportation mode. A generally positive approach towards environmental protection emerged from the data. However, participants showed stronger agreement with protection actions that do not involve individual effort. Nonetheless, we found that certain segments of the sample (people owning more than three vehicles per household and those with relatives who suffered from respiratory diseases) were significantly more willing to personally pay for environmental protection compared to others. Implications point to the need for actions for spreading awareness of air pollution to the overall population, especially with regards to its health risks, as well as strategies for increasing the perception of behavioural control, especially with regards to motor vehicles’ usage.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunn Shin Jocelyne Chin & Laura De Pretto & Vivek Thuppil & Matthew J Ashfold, 2019. "Public awareness and support for environmental protection—A focus on air pollution in peninsular Malaysia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(3), pages 1-21, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0212206
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212206
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0212206
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0212206&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0212206?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Michael Greenstone & Rema Hanna, 2014. "Environmental Regulations, Air and Water Pollution, and Infant Mortality in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3038-3072, October.
    2. Li Ping Wong & Haridah Alias & Nasrin Aghamohammadi & Azadeh Ghadimi & Nik Meriam Nik Sulaiman, 2017. "Control Measures and Health Effects of Air Pollution: A Survey among Public Transportation Commuters in Malaysia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-12, September.
    3. Ajzen, Icek, 1991. "The theory of planned behavior," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 50(2), pages 179-211, December.
    4. MacKerron, George & Mourato, Susana, 2009. "Life satisfaction and air quality in London," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(5), pages 1441-1453, March.
    5. Sigit Sudarmadi & Shosuke Suzuki & Tomoyuki Kawada & Herawati Netti & Soeharsono Soemantri & A. Tri Tugaswati, 2001. "A Survey of Perception, Knowledge, Awareness, and attitude in Regard to Environmental Problems in a Sample of two Different Social Groups in Jakarta, Indonesia," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 169-183, June.
    6. Luca Tacconi, 2016. "Preventing fires and haze in Southeast Asia," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 6(7), pages 640-643, July.
    7. Axel Franzen & Dominikus Vogl, 2013. "Acquiescence and the Willingness to Pay for Environmental Protection: A Comparison of the ISSP, WVS, and EVS," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 94(3), pages 637-659, September.
    8. Forsyth, Tim, 2014. "Public concerns about transboundary haze: a comparison of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 56043, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    9. Cohen, Barney, 2006. "Urbanization in developing countries: Current trends, future projections, and key challenges for sustainability," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 63-80.
    10. Bienabe, Estelle & Hearne, Robert R., 2006. "Public preferences for biodiversity conservation and scenic beauty within a framework of environmental services payments," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 335-348, December.
    11. Laura De Pretto & Stephen Acreman & Matthew J Ashfold & Suresh K Mohankumar & Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, 2015. "The Link between Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Relation to Atmospheric Haze Pollution in Peninsular Malaysia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-18, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Sharma, Rajesh & Sinha, Avik & Kautish, Pradeep, 2020. "Does renewable energy consumption reduce ecological footprint? Evidence from eight developing countries of Asia," MPRA Paper 104277, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    2. Nurulkamal Masseran & Muhammad Aslam Mohd Safari, 2022. "Statistical Modeling on the Severity of Unhealthy Air Pollution Events in Malaysia," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(16), pages 1-15, August.
    3. Raghutla, Chandrashekar & Padmagirisan, P. & Sakthivel, P. & Chittedi, Krishna Reddy & Mishra, Smrutisikta, 2022. "The effect of renewable energy consumption on ecological footprint in N-11 countries: Evidence from Panel Quantile Regression Approach," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 125-137.
    4. Nur Syazwani Izzati Samdi & Asiyah Kassim & Zoel Ng, 2024. "Youth Awareness on Sustainable Development: The Mediating Effect of Place Attachment in Selangor, Malaysia*," International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science, International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), vol. 8(8), pages 264-283, August.
    5. Najmun Nahar & Zakaria Hossain & Sanjia Mahiuddin, 2023. "Assessment of the environmental perceptions, attitudes, and awareness of city dwellers regarding sustainable urban environmental management: a case study of Dhaka, Bangladesh," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(8), pages 7503-7531, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Laura De Pretto & Stephen Acreman & Matthew J Ashfold & Suresh K Mohankumar & Ahimsa Campos-Arceiz, 2015. "The Link between Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices in Relation to Atmospheric Haze Pollution in Peninsular Malaysia," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(12), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Van Dael, Miet & Lizin, Sebastien & Swinnen, Gilbert & Van Passel, Steven, 2017. "Young people’s acceptance of bioenergy and the influence of attitude strength on information provision," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 417-430.
    3. Ambrey, Christopher L. & Fleming, Christopher M., 2011. "Valuing scenic amenity using life satisfaction data," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 106-115.
    4. Zhang, Xin & Zhang, Xiaobo & Chen, Xi, 2017. "Happiness in the air: How does a dirty sky affect mental health and subjective well-being?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 81-94.
    5. Dohse, Dirk & Lim, Cheng Yee, 2016. "Macro-geographic location and internet adoption in poor countries: What is behind the persistent digital gap?," Kiel Working Papers 2067, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    6. Zhang, Xin & Zhang, Xiaobo & Chen, Xi, 2017. "Valuing Air Quality Using Happiness Data: The Case of China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 29-36.
    7. Cicatiello, Lorenzo & Ercolano, Salvatore & Gaeta, Giuseppe Lucio & Pinto, Mauro, 2020. "Willingness to pay for environmental protection and the importance of pollutant industries in the regional economy. Evidence from Italy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    8. Xinming Du, 2023. "Symptom or Culprit? Social Media, Air Pollution, and Violence," CESifo Working Paper Series 10296, CESifo.
    9. Zhang, Xin & Zhang, Xiaobo & Chen, Xi, 2015. "Happiness in the Air: How Does a Dirty Sky Affect Subjective Well-being?," IZA Discussion Papers 9312, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Abayomi Samuel Oyekale, 2015. "Factors Explaining Households’ Cash Payment for Solid Waste Disposal and Recycling Behaviors in South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(12), pages 1-18, November.
    11. Hongyi Sun & Pei‐Lee Teh & Jonathan D. Linton, 2018. "Impact of environmental knowledge and product quality on student attitude toward products with recycled/remanufactured content: Implications for environmental education and green manufacturing," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(7), pages 935-945, November.
    12. Phelps, Jacob & Zabala, Aiora & Daeli, Willy & Carmenta, Rachel, 2021. "Experts and resource users split over solutions to peatland fires," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    13. Marcos A. Rangel & Tom S. Vogl, 2019. "Agricultural Fires and Health at Birth," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 101(4), pages 616-630, October.
    14. Wang, Lingling & Watanabe, Tsunemi, 2019. "Effects of environmental policy on public risk perceptions of haze in Tianjin City: A difference-in-differences analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 199-212.
    15. Yangjie Wang & Cuicui Sun & Jinxian Wang & Xiaoyan Mao, 2024. "Do People Feel Healthier After Holding Sports Mega-Events? Evidence from the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 25(5), pages 583-609, June.
    16. Majdi M. Alomari & Hania El-Kanj & Ayse Topal, 2021. "Analysis of Energy Conservation Behavior at the Kuwaiti Academic Buildings," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(1), pages 219-232.
    17. Dianyuan Ma & Hui Sun & Xuechao Xia & Yan Zhao, 2022. "The Impact of Government and Public Dual-Subject Environmental Concerns on Urban Haze Pollution: An Empirical Research on 279 Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-21, August.
    18. Abiodun Olusola Omotayo & Abeeb Babatunde Omotoso & Adebola Saidat Daud & Adebayo Isaiah Ogunniyi & Kehinde Oluseyi Olagunju, 2020. "What Drives Households’ Payment for Waste Disposal and Recycling Behaviours? Empirical Evidence from South Africa’s General Household Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-22, October.
    19. Trihadmojo, Bambang & Jones, Christopher R. & Prasastyoga, Bramesada & Walton, Chris & Sulaiman, Ahmad, 2020. "Toward a nuanced and targeted forest and peat fires prevention policy: Insight from psychology," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    20. Maria Andersson & Ola Eriksson & Chris Von Borgstede, 2012. "The Effects of Environmental Management Systems on Source Separation in the Work and Home Settings," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 4(6), pages 1-17, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0212206. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.