Factors influencing people’s willingness to participate in sustainable water resources management in Malaysia

Abstract

Study regionInadequate public participation has already been reported in the sustainable water resources management at Langat River Basin, Malaysia, primarily due to weak enforcement of policies along with public apathy. Study focusA questionnaire survey was conducted among 402 random households in the study area in 2017 to assess people’s attitudes, perceptions and behaviour through partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) in order to predict their willingness to participate in water resources management. Although there are a few studies on public participation in water management globally, this study is the pioneer in predicting public participation in water management with moderate predictive power based on a PLS-SEM model. New hydrological insights for the regionThe model showed significant positive mediating effects of public’s attitudes towards and perceptions of river and drinking water (APRDW) as well as positive moderating effects of their perceived water quality (PWQ) to enhance their willingness to participate in water management at a 99 % confidence interval. However, people’s awareness about river and drinking water (ARDW) and the value of river and drinking water (VRDW) showed no significant mediating and moderating effects, respectively to increase their participation in a water management platform. Therefore, environmental education along with information concerning water management programmes should be well disseminated to people via awareness-raising and capacity-building activities by relevant authorities to increase their willingness to participate in sustainable water resources management in Langat River Basin, Malaysia.