A Note on Environmental Concern in a Developing Country

Abstract

A survey conducted in Istanbul (1995) provided data on residents' opinions about ideas contained in the New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) Scale. The NEP scale was commonly accepted by Istanbul respondents, with the result adding to the evidence that considerable environmental concern exists in developing countries. Although some of the demographic parameters were related to the NEP scale, the patterns in the data did not point to any particular demographic group exhibiting higher environmental concern than others. Spatial perception of the environment and environmental problems, however, was linked to environmental concern. The respondents who identified the environment and related problems with a more spacious geographical frame were more concerned about the environment. Also, environmental knowledge of the respondents correlated positively with their environmental concern; the relation was the most conspicuous for ecological knowledge and nearly negligible for knowledge about local environmental problems.