Over the last decade or so, there has been an increasing need to acknowledge the role
played by local resource users in environmental decision making and to incorporate their
perceptions in the management of natural resources. This has led to the development of
various methods of assessing environmental attitudes and of natural resource valuation.
Most of these studies have been conducted in developed countries and have utilised
economic methods of valuation.
This study highlights the environmental attitudes and values of a very important group of
stakeholders - women - and the significance of taking these into consideration in the
management of local coastal natural resources. Using respondents from two Ghanaian
coastal communities, Bortianor and Moree, the study also investigated poverty-coastal
natural resource linkages and how this knowledge can be used to improve Natural
Resource Management in Ghana. In proposing specific policy options for managing the
coastal environment an examination of formal, informal institutional and legal framework
was also done.
Primary data was collected by means of focus group discussions, personal interviews and
participant observations. A total of 304 women (151 from Bortianor and 153 from
Moree) took part in the study. The results showed that the study communities had poor
access to basic amenities such as potable water, schools, health facilities as well as basic
sanitation services. Their livelihood patterns revolve around the availability of coastal
natural resources such as fish and fuel wood.
The attitudinal scale used to assess environmental attitudes achieved adequate internal
consistency with Cronbach’s (1951) Alpha reliability coefficients of 0.729 in Bortianor
and 0.735 in Moree. The environmental attitudes of respondents were overwhelmingly
positive; this however did not match the state of affairs in the area. The study showed that
positive attitudes do not always result in pro-environmental behaviour. In the study areas
poverty, low educational levels and other social and cultural practices could also
influence the ability of respondents to translate the generally positive environmental
attitudes into positive environmental action.