Place attachment and environmentally responsible behavior amongst Tunku Abdul Rahman marine park visitors

• Main Author: Lo, Cynthia Wun Hui
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: GE Environmental Sciences
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/17920/1/Place%20attachment%20and%20environmentally%20responsible.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/17920/

This study set out to examine the influence of place attachment on environmentally responsible behavior in the context of Tunku Abdul Rahman Marine Park. For this purpose, a total of 184 respondents made up of Sabahan (locals), other Malaysian (domestic),and non-Malaysian(international) visitors who were screened to ensure they had at least one previous visit to the marine park, participated in the survey. Notably, this study conceptualized both place attachment and site-specific environmentally responsible behavior constructs into three sub-dimensions respectively (place dependence, place identity, place social bonding; and, sustainable behavior, pro-environmental behavior, and environmentally friendly behavior). Results showed that place dependence and place identity have a significant impact on sustainable behavior. On the other hand, place social bonding has a significant impact on pro-environmental behavior. Additionally, place identity and place social bonding have a significant impact on environmentally friendly behavior. This study examined whether visitors to TARP who have a level of place attachment will display increased site-specific environmentally responsible behavior in the theoretical perspective. The research model for this study was novel as the measurement used for site-specific environmentally responsible behavior in the current study is a new attempt to link the relationship of place attachment with site-specific environmentally responsible behavior. From the managerial perspective, this research is beneficial to natural resource management agencies which manage and operate marine parks for example, Sabah Parks to promote sustainability of the marine parks. This research offers significant insights for natural resource management agencies in understanding the role of place attachment in fostering site-specific environmentally responsible behavior. Limitations of this study with subsequent recommendations for future research are suggested in this study.