Do People Understand and Observe the Effects of Climate Crisis on Forests ? The Case Study of Cyprus
Journal
Forests
Date Issued
August 25, 2021
DOI
10.3390/f12091152
Abstract
Recent reports stress the vulnerability of forest ecosystems in the European Union (EU),
especially in the south. Cyprus is an island in the south of EU and the eastern of the Mediterranean
Sea. While Cyprus’ vulnerability is stressed, Cyprus was included in the worst-performing countries
regarding EU carbon emission’s targets of 2020. For mitigating climate change, Cyprus could
benefit for tailored education and improved policy making. This study analyses the perceptions
of the Cypriot residents about climate change and forest degradation aiming (1) to gain a better
understanding of whether Cypriot residents understand its importance, (2) to understand if the
general public is able to observe the changes noted in the literature, (3) to understand how perceptions
are differentiated across different demographic categories, and (4) to derive correlations between
demographic data and perceptions. This is a quantitative study; a questionnaire was used as a
tool and the responses received were 416. It was highlighted that 65.62% of the participants stated
that they noticed moderate to very much degradation of Cypriot coniferous forests. A potential
degradation reason was written down by 150 people, of whom 31.33% referred to tree die-back, while
many stated decreased soil moisture and difficulty in regeneration. All these reasons of degradation
were either stated or suspected in the literature. Additionally, the demographic analysis showed that
there may be an association between employability and beliefs/observations about climate change.
The results of the research could be used for tailored education, further research, and promoting
environmentally friendly policies. This will support Cyprus and other countries in reaching their
Green Deal targets and, consequently, mitigate the severe effects of climate change.
especially in the south. Cyprus is an island in the south of EU and the eastern of the Mediterranean
Sea. While Cyprus’ vulnerability is stressed, Cyprus was included in the worst-performing countries
regarding EU carbon emission’s targets of 2020. For mitigating climate change, Cyprus could
benefit for tailored education and improved policy making. This study analyses the perceptions
of the Cypriot residents about climate change and forest degradation aiming (1) to gain a better
understanding of whether Cypriot residents understand its importance, (2) to understand if the
general public is able to observe the changes noted in the literature, (3) to understand how perceptions
are differentiated across different demographic categories, and (4) to derive correlations between
demographic data and perceptions. This is a quantitative study; a questionnaire was used as a
tool and the responses received were 416. It was highlighted that 65.62% of the participants stated
that they noticed moderate to very much degradation of Cypriot coniferous forests. A potential
degradation reason was written down by 150 people, of whom 31.33% referred to tree die-back, while
many stated decreased soil moisture and difficulty in regeneration. All these reasons of degradation
were either stated or suspected in the literature. Additionally, the demographic analysis showed that
there may be an association between employability and beliefs/observations about climate change.
The results of the research could be used for tailored education, further research, and promoting
environmentally friendly policies. This will support Cyprus and other countries in reaching their
Green Deal targets and, consequently, mitigate the severe effects of climate change.
File(s)![Thumbnail Image]()
Name
forests-12-01152-v3.pdf
Size
3.42 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
55e94758433776d2306e2c17318ff20a