Climate change, risk perception, and protection motivation among high-altitude residents of the Mt. Everest region in Nepal.

ABSTRACT: Mountain ecosystems are considered vulnerable to early impacts of climate change. Whether and how local residents of these areas perceive these changes, however, remain under-studied questions. By conducting a household survey in the Khumbu region of Nepal, this study assessed local residents' experience-based perception of changes in climate trends and patterns, perceived risk, and attitudes towards climate issues. Multivariate cluster analysis based on residents' climate change beliefs revealed three segments: "Cautious," "Disengaged," and "Alarmed." A comparison of these segments along key psychosocial constructs of Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) revealed significant inter-segment differences in residents' perception of severity, vulnerability, response efficacy, self-efficacy, and

SUBMITTER: Poudyal NC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7782765 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature