Qualitative Analysis of Corona Effects on the Environment

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the semantic system of ecotourism resort owners about the effects of Coronavirus on the environment and nature to show how they understand, interpret and evaluate this phenomenon and its consequences. 12 owners of ecotourism resorts in Mazandaran province participated in this study. After discovering the basic concepts and major categories in the axial coding stage, the process of connecting the categories was done based on their properties. The environmental effects of Coronavirus as a core category, major categories under the headings of consumption, environmental attitudes, barriers, and solutions/strategies were revealed as major categories. Food consumption (packaged and home-made), consumption of hygienic chemicals, consumption of natural sources (water, energy) under the category of consumption, attitudes towards littering, biodiversity conservation, environmental pollution under the category of attitudes towards the environment, legal, individual and structural barriers were placed under the category of barriers to pro-environmental behaviors and creating opportunities for support, increasing environmental awareness and attracting public participation under the category of solutions/strategies. According to the respondents, the emergence of Coronavirus has increased littering in nature and due to its social fear, the volume of new waste (masks and gloves) has increased; however, the positive effects such as biodiversity conservation and reduction of air pollutants due to reduced traffic would be transient and temporary.