Role of Mobile Phones in Creating Environmental Awareness Among Fishers in the Indus Delta of Pakistan

Abstract

Mobile phones changed the patterns of communication and flow of information in human society. This study assesses their importance in creating awareness about issues related to the natural environment and climate change, where responsiveness at a community is essential. It examines particularly the role of mobile phones in creating environmental awareness among fishers in the Indus Delta region of Pakistan. Mobile usage patterns, mobile phones as a source of environmental information and the use of social media for environmental discourse among the fishing communities are analysed. The results indicate that mobile communication is ranked as the fifth major source of information about environmental problems in the Indus Delta after personal observation, television, radio and newspapers. Although mobile phones offer high potential for receiving, accessing and reporting information about environmental issues through the use of social media, they are still not widely used for such purposes in these fishing communities.