Psychological predictors of fishing and waste management intentions in Indonesian coastal communities

Abstract

The populations most susceptible to environmental degradation are often the populations that rely most on the natural world for sustenance. Within the many isolated islands that are part of rural Indonesia, many communities are dependent on natural resources for their livelihoods, but paradoxically members of these communities often engage in practices that destroy their natural resources. The current research uses survey methodology to investigate determinants of sustainable behavioral intentions of participants (N = 104) living in coastal communities in Sulawesi, Indonesia—specifically through the lens of an adapted theory of planned behavior model. Results showed that participants with stronger intentions to use nets and lines to fish had more negative attitudes to destructive fishing, a greater sense that their behavior and that of their community affects marine life, and greater belief that other villages are responsible for degrading reefs. Participants with stronger intentions to prevent their waste from going into the ocean had more negative attitudes to throwing waste in the ocean, greater perceptions of control over the behavior, and more positive perceptions of change in the health of the reefs. Although some of the findings align with theory and past research, some were unexpected, highlighting the importance of conducting research to identify motivators of sustainable practices in developing world, low resource communities.