Effectiveness of Climate Change Awareness among Youths in Luanshya District, Zambia

Abstract

This study evaluated the effectiveness of climate change awareness among youths in Luanshya District so as to prepare them for future climate change governance. The aim of the study was to explore levels of climate change awareness among youths in Luanshya District. The study used a mixed methods approach. Descriptive design was adopted to analyze responses of (n = 160) randomly selected respondents who were drawn from four purposively selected townships within Luanshya District. The chi-square was used for analysis of quantitative data. Structured questionnaires were employed for data collection under the descriptive design, which helped in measuring the hypothesis and generalize the findings. Thematic analysis was used to analyze qualitative data. The results indicate that most youths in Luanshya District found the modes of climate change awareness available in their area to be ineffective in reaching them and in content provision. About 88 percent of youths in Mpatamatu, 95 percent in Roan, 40 percent in Mikomfwa and 93 percent in Fisenge felt that the climate change information offered to them by stakeholders was insufficient. These modes which included school, radio, television, newspaper, magazines, internet and megaphone generally did not present enough accessible climate change content to prepare the youths for climate change governance. While most youths felt that school, radio, television and the internet were more effective means for them to receive climate change awareness, these methods had shortcoming that reduced the youths’ access to climate change information. The limited number of youths having access to the various modes of climate change awareness meant even the peer-to-peer method of awareness was limited as few youth peers had access to climate information for them to share. It was therefore concluded that the involvement of different stakeholders in the sensitization of climate change should be reinforced by strengthening awareness at all levels. This should include increased climate content for mass media dissemination of information. Information packaging should also be targeted to ensure the right audiences are reached, which may call for packaging climate information that appeals to the young in order to enhance levels of awareness. Strengthening the modes of communicating climate information would strongly enhance the preparedness of Luanshya youths for climate change governance.