Assessment of level of Public Knowledge, attitudes and Perception towards Mangrove Forest conservation in Mesurado Wetland in Liberia

Abstract

Mangrove forests are among the most productive ecosystems of the earth; they are areas that are characterized by permanently or periodically waterlogged which offers the surrounding communities with socio-culture, economic, and ecological values. Mangrove forests around the world including those in Liberia are under immense degradation as the result of numerous anthropogenic impacts and limited conservation knowledge. The conservation of these ecosystems has drawn the attention of conservationists and researchers around the world. The overall objective of this study was to assess the level of public knowledge, attitude, and perception towards mangrove forests conservation at the Mesurado mangrove forests, Liberia. The study made use of a cross-sectional research design involving both quantitative and qualitative data collection methods. Data collection was based on; questionnaire survey, focus group discussion, and key-informant interviews. A total of 384 respondents was selected from the study area using a stratified random sampling method. Upon the completion of the data collection, data from the questionnaires were coded into the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25 and first analyzed for the generation of the summary descriptive statistics (frequencies and percentage distributions). Cross tabulation with Chi-square test was used to determine the significant difference between the dependent and independent variables. The results from the study showed that there was no significant difference between demographic and socio-economic status and level of public knowledge, attitude and perception towards mangrove forests conservation at p<0.05. Additionally, the study also indicated that there was a significant difference between the age of the respondents and their perception towards mangrove forests conservation. The results showed that the majority of the respondents in the study area were between the ages of 18-29 (46.9%), most of them attained only senior high school education 36.2%, and the main source of livelihoods was found to be business 49%. Regarding the utilization of the mangrove forests in terms of cultivation, and sale of mangroves, the study also showed that 86.5% of the respondents were not involved in any cultivation activity, and 92.2% were not involved in the sale of mangroves. Spearman rank correlation analysis showed that more than half 55.7% of the respondents had an average knowledge on mangrove forests conservation, 50% of the respondents had positive attitudes towards mangrove forests conservation, and 43.4% had positive perceptions towards mangrove forests conservation. The study concludes that some respondents in the study area were somehow knowledgeable and had some positive attitudes and perceptions towards mangrove forests conservation. The findings of the study recommend the inclusion of environmental education into the national educational curriculum which will allow everyone to understand the importance of mangrove forests conservation. Also, there is a need for more conservation awareness programs in other parts of the country.