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However, in the last decade or so, being Environmentally Conscious has become an obligation to many countries and to the society itself, which is basically enforced armorial by governmental regulations and humans perception on environmental environment contributes to a healthy life while an unprotected environment does the vice versa. Within any ecosystem there is an ecological balance between the organisms and the physical environment, but any activity of man which tends to pollute the environment has the ability to destabilize that balance, and with its accompanying effects. Against the backdrop that the quality of the environment impacts on the quality of our well-being, it is important therefore to properly protect and manage the environment. One of today’s global problems is the extensive pressure on raw material and energy consumption, driven by the growing expansion in population and household consumption.
The global nature of environmental problems has long been known, as issues such as pollution, loss of biodiversity, global warming, ozone depletion and tropical deforestation which do not respect international borders. One can argue, however, that it is only in recent years that these problems have become widespread matters of concern among the general public. The issue of climate change was at the forefront of the debate on global environmental problems in 2006 (Barr, 2006). Two dimensions can be linked to these environmental problems. First, there is an ever greater need for a global response to global problems. This is already underway in numerous international environmental agreements and legislation.
Secondly, citizens are becoming more aware of both the potential effects of these problems in their daily lives and the role they could play in protecting their environment. Raising awareness of these issues and increasing individual responsibility have been a point of focus for the last thirty years. In order to ensure that the new economic initiatives undertaken after the economic crisis are based on conscious and responsible attitude, it is necessary to obtain the knowledge required to implement (in practice) the sustainable consumption patterns. However, implementing the principles of sustainability require different commitments from every nation.
Each country has differing social, economic and environmental features, and there are fundamental differences in the degree of commitment to the main issues concerning the environment. The late 20th and early strictures witnessed he emergence of the environment as an important political and social issue (Berglund 2006; Dunlap 1998; Gallup and Gallup 1993; Boer and Vowing 2001). Increasing economic activities in Ghana result in more energy and consumption demand, which generally lead to environmental degradation. Several studies though indicate that Ghana is already equipped with environmental policies, legal frameworks and economic instruments and yet face the worsening of environmental conditions (Huber et al, 1998; Fuchsias et al, 1997).
The challenges in this regard include the lack of participation among general public in pro-environmental behaviors. There is increasing needs for such public participation due to the recent change in sources of environmental problems. Today, the sources of pollution have shifted from production to consumption processes. According to the Human Development Report of 1998, United Nations Development Program (UNDO) affirms this trend and states that growth in consumption and unbalanced consumption patterns are placing unprecedented pressure on the environment. In environmental studies, a number of different conceptualizations and instruments have been used to measure the environmental consciousness construct.
To capture an adequate eve suggested that environmental consciousness should contain three components or dimensions: environmental knowledge, environmental attitudes and environmental behavior (Denominational et al. , 2003; Schlemiels et al. , 1996). Environmental knowledge is defined as “a general knowledge of facts, concepts and relationships concerning the natural environment and its major ecosystem” (Freely & Lie, 2003). In order to be environmentally conscious, individuals require an understanding of the consequences of their behaviors (Bobble et al. , 1993). Some studies suggest that knowledge plays an important role in enhancing environmental attitude and behavior relationship (McFarland & Boxful, 2003), other studies reveal no significant or a very small relationship between knowledge and behavior (Hines 1986 & 1987).
This is based on the fact that most people know the impact of their actions, but they still take things as it is and become adamant to change or they Just do not get the meaning and importance of being environmentally conscious. Environmental attitude refers to an individual’s level of concern or interest regarding aspects of environmental, ecological or energy-saving phenomena (Serum et al. , 1995). It reflects n individual’s ecological worldview of humans’ relationship with nature, which has been found to be an antecedent to pro-environmental behavior (Stern, 2000). Nevertheless, a number of studies have found either a moderate or a weak relationship between environmental attitudes and ecological behavior (Exalted & Lehman, 1993; Anamosa, 2007). Environmental behavior can be defined by its impact or its intent.
The impact-oriented definition refers to all types of behavior that change the availability of materials or energy from the environment or alter the structure and dynamics of ecosystems (Stern, 2000). The intent-oriented definition refers to behavior undertaken with the intention of changing the environment. Stern (2000) identified four types of environmentally significant individual behaviors that may help to improve environmental quality. Among them, the personal, private-sphere environmental behavior that occurs in daily-life settings (e. G. , recycling, energy conservation) could have a direct environmental consequence. Although the impact of private-sphere environmental behavior is small individually, the aggregate impact may be significant when many people choose to do so (Stern, 2000).
In this light, the acceptance of pro-environmental behavior by general public, that is, to adopt sustainable life style, is an urgent issue in protecting environment. The participation of citizen can complement existent legal and economic instruments, which are facing shortage of institutional, managerial and financial capabilities for enforcement. The increase of participation of citizen meaner that legal frameworks would be more respected and economic mechanisms would be more accepted thus increase their effectiveness. However, it remains unclear what can cause the participation of people in environmental actions. . 1 Problem Statement Ghana, currently, is confronted with a number of environmental challenges including waste management, sanitation and water pollution, flooding, among others.
This has resulted from the upsurge in economic activities such as illegal mining, drinking water production, agriculture, and recently oil and gas production. Many of these activities have different effects on our natural environment. Activities involving mining could cause cyanide pollution of water bodies, land degradation, soil erosion country causes surface water pollution resulting from agricultural run-offs. Due to Hess activities, and how they can affect the Ghanaian environment, maintaining environmental cleanliness has been a major challenge to the central and local governments. What is expected from people in terms of keeping a clean environment has been an age long battle yet to be conquered.
In as much as people are aware of the consequences of a polluted environment, they still take things for granted and continue to stick to their old habits. The education that the government, through the Ghana Health Service (GAS) and Non-Governmental Organizations (MONGO) give to the general public seems not to be yielding any fruits. To complement their efforts is the establishment of private waste companies to assist in waste management. The fact that these environmental problems still persist meaner that the problems cannot be solved solely with technical and economic measures. Rather, a better understanding of human attitudes and behaviors is also required. Environmental consciousness is the key factor in any attempt to maintain a proper balance and ensure a sustainable development.
Recognizing the potential of environmental consciousness as an effective instrument in preventing environmental rises, such as health problems associated with flooding, pollution, among others, it is an essential element of sustainable economic development in Ghana. Therefore, this project was conducted to determine how environmentally conscious Ghanaian are. 1. 2 Justification The world today is a global community, and the actions/inactions on the part of individuals, families, communities and nation could portend danger for sustainable development, and indeed the survival of mankind. Many people in Ghana litter indiscriminately and one would wonder whether this is intentional or done out of emergence because it is believed that when one is aware of the consequences of one’s action the problem would be mitigated.