Analysis of Forest Guard Staff’s Attitudes towards the New Environmental ParadigmCase Study of Golestan Province

Today's environmental issues are deeply socialized and consequently, a responsible view of the environment is one of the hallmarks of many societies for moving towards sustainable development. Environmental attitudes are defined as a set of friendly (positive) and unfriendly (negative) feelings towards the environment and related topics. Environmental attitudes are strong predictors of environmental behaviors. Therefore, solving environmental crises depends on changing one’s attitude and perceived value to the environment. Two perspectives can be identified in terms of two paradigms regarding attitudes towards the environment. One view is referred to as the dominant social paradigm and the other is the new environmental paradigm. The new environmental paradigm points to the limitations that must inevitably be placed on human (economic) growth, namely the importance of maintaining a balance between nature and the development of a sustainable economy, or the need to rethink the belief that nature exists solely for the sake of human needs. This paradigm emphasizes the balanced relationship between humans and other species as well as sustainability in the use of natural resources. This paradigm consists of three dimensions, which include ‘growth restriction’, ‘rejecting anthropocentrism’, and accepting the ‘fragility of nature’s balance’. Given the importance of attitudes towards the environment and its role in dealing with nature, the question posed in this study is: which environmental perspective is common among societies? Some experts attribute environmental problems to people and believe that their views on the environment are not appropriate and their indifference to the environment is excessive and unjustifiable. But is this claim true, and is it just for ordinary people? In other words, do natural resource management and conservationists have a good view of the environment? This research was conducted to find the environmental views of forest guard staff in Golestan province. 

This research was conducted using the survey research method. The study population consisted of the Forest Guard staff of the Golestan Province. Using the stratified random sampling method, 264 of them were selected in the counties of Golestan province. Data collection was done in 2018 using a questionnaire. The first part of the questionnaire included questions about the demographic and occupational characteristics of staff including age, marital status, work experience, level of education, and place of residence. The second part consisted of 15 items related to the Environmental Attitude Index based on the new environmental paradigm. The validity and reliability of the questionnaire were confirmed by face validity and Cronbach's test, respectively. 

The results of the study showed that the average age of respondents was 40.36 years. They had an average of 14.26 years of work experience. The majority of them (92%) were married. Also, 60.2% of them lived in cities, and the rest in rural areas. The average educational level of the study samples was above the high school diploma. Exploratory factor analysis showed that the structure of Forest Guard staff’s attitudes towards the new environmental paradigm derives from five factors including ecological equilibrium, growth restriction, technology-oriented, optimism about the future, and anthropocentrism, which explained 56.32% of the variance of the dependent variable. Among these factors, ‘growth restriction’ is the first priority and ‘no optimism about the future’ is the last priority. Married participants reject more anthropocentrism than singles, but singles are more skeptical about the future of the environment than married. The attitudes of Forest Guard staff were independent of age, marital status, and place of residence, but with increasing levels of education, their attitude towards the new environmental paradigm became weaker. 

The results of the present study showed that the environmental attitude of the study population could be assessed at a relatively appropriate level. However, this attitude was not strong enough. In addition, attitudes towards the new environmental paradigm is a multidimensional phenomenon with five dimensions including ecological equilibrium, growth restriction, technology-oriented, optimism about the future, and anthropocentrism. The dimensions revealed in the present study are consistent with those introduced for the new environmental paradigm in other studies, namely the rejection of human dominance over nature, ecological balance, and limited development. Using re-training and in-service programs to improve the environmental attitudes of Forest Guard staff are suggested. Keywords: Environment, Attitude, Conservation, Natural Resources.