Affective and cognitive attributes to wildlife and its relationship with sociodemographic factors in the rural population Atributos afectivos y cognitivos hacia la fauna silvestre y su relación con factores sociodemográficos en población rural

Abstract

The possible associations between sociodemographic factors and the degree of environmental awareness, expressed in terms of a subset of affective and cognitive attributes, can determine the incidence of environmental education programs in rural areas on the perception of various environmental problems of a local nature, as well as the position adopted towards the conservation of wild fauna. In the study area, effects on the environment, illegal hunting, mining, deforestation, burning and contamination by residues were observed. Therefore, it was important to know the level of environmental awareness of the people involved in these programs. In addition, this type of study is very important in the country since it contributes to research on the level of environmental awareness, so it is relevant to inquire about this aspect. A sample of 152 inhabitants was taken from the 15 communities in the Manso transfer area, Caldas-Colombia, to which face-to-face surveys were applied. For statistical analysis, independence tests and Multiple Correspondence Analysis were used. Within the affective attributes, it was possible to identify an association between land ownership, permanence in the area and belonging to different organizations of an associative nature with an increase in the indicator used to demonstrate environmental awareness. The study carried out exposes the treatment of empirical information that accounts for the progress made in Environmental Education programs carried out among residents of rural areas, as well as its relationship with certain pro-environmental behaviors.