Assessment of Public Awareness of Climate Change Impacts on Marine Environment in Egypt

Abstract

Ocean is considered as the most important source of food for billions of people and the marine ecosystem affords millions of jobs for humans and the blue economy represents a great percent of the global GDP. The aggressive increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases accelerated the climate change and its consequences on the marine environment including significant reduction in ice extent, rising sea levels, increased vertical stratification, alteration of wind and precipitation patterns and ocean acidification. Mitigating these threats requires public awareness of climate change and its impacts on the marine environment. By using the questionnaire method throughout April and May 2020, a sample of (n = 225) in Egypt was surveyed to assess their awareness of climate change impacts on marine environment. The survey was designed for identification of any gaps in knowledge; analysis of information sources on climate change and marine environment; and investigation of the pro-environmental behaviors individuals undertake to minimize their negative impact on the marine environment. The study has shown variations in results among the different surveyed categories. A significant percentage of the sample lacks the basic knowledge on climate change and its impact on the marine environment, the information sources are mostly unreliable, and their daily routine is not consistent with climate change national and global mitigation actions. It’s concluded that it’s crucial to minimize the knowledge gaps highlighted by this research, minimize the value-action gap, overcoming the barrier of habit and routine is vital to making a pro-environmental behavior viable. It’s important to communicate the conservation strategies to the public through interdisciplinary science communication.