This report contains the findings of the 2006 survey of 1,003 residents of the Waikato region. The Environmental Awareness, Attitudes and Action Survey was first implemented by Environment Waikato in June 1998 to benchmark environmental perceptions within the region. This survey was repeated in 2000 and 2003, and most recently again in September/October 2006.

The research aims to provide information to:

track public views, attitudes and priorities about environmental issues
raise awareness of the impact and effects of people on natural resources
anticipate public response to environmental policies and programmes
evaluate current policies and programmes
provide information useful to agencies such as district and city councils.

Information from the survey:

provides indicators of people’s environmental awareness, attitudes and actions and how these have changed over time (through comparison with 1998, 2000 and 2003 results)
assists in the evaluation of the effectiveness of policy, education and communications projects
provides indicators of the potential for and the barriers to undertaking environmentally beneficial behaviours for programme design and implementation.

Environmental Awareness, Attitudes and Actions, 2006: A Survey of Residents of the Waikato Region. Part A
(1875 kb, 267 seconds to download, 56k modem)

Environmental Awareness, Attitudes and Actions, 2006: A Survey of Residents of the Waikato Region. Part B
(1596 kb, 228 seconds to download, 56k modem)

Environmental Awareness, Attitudes and Actions, 2006: A Survey of Residents of the Waikato Region. Part C
(1451 kb, 207 seconds to download, 56k modem)

	Executive Summary	i
1	Introduction and Objective	1
2	Methodology, Sample Structure and Reporting	1
2.2	Sample Structure	3
2.3	Reporting	5
3	Environmental Issues	7
3.1	Satisfaction with the Local Environment in General	7
3.2	Most Important Environmental Issue Facing the Waikato Region	10
3.3	Most Important Environmental Issue in Five Years	17
4	Perceptions of Changes Regarding Environmental Issues	21
4.1	Water Quality in Local Streams, Rivers and Lakes	22
4.2	Pollution or Waste Produced by Nearby Businesses and Industries	26
4.3	Pollution or Waste Produced by Nearby Farms	29
4.4	Availability of Waste Recycling Services and Facilities	32
4.5	Soil and Land Erosion	36
4.6	Fencing off Areas of Native Bush or Wetland on Private Property	39
4.7	Fencing Off Streams, Rivers and Lakes	43
4.8	Effluent is Disposed of According to the Rules	46
4.9	Cyclist-Friendly Roading in Local Area	49
4.10	Public Transport Availability	53
4.11	Natural Amenities of Local Town or City	57
4.12	Overall State of Local Environment	60
5	Level of Concern on Environmental Issues	64
5.1	Water Pollution from Industry	65
5.2	Water Pollution from Farmland	68
5.3	Water Pollution from Towns and City Areas	71
5.4	Loss of Natural Beach Character Through Development	74
5.5	Construction of Seawalls to Protect Property from Long Term Coastal Erosion	77
5.6	State of Native Bush and Wetlands on Private Property	80
5.7	Spread of Cities/Towns Across Farmland	83
6	Knowledge of Environmental Issues	86
6.1	Pollution in Rivers and Streams Mainly from Farmland	86
6.2	Oil in Waterways from Industries’ Spillage	90
6.3	Treated Human Sewage a Major Cause of Waterway Pollution	93
6.4	Air Pollution from Home Fires	96
7	Air Quality	98
7.1	Air Quality in the Waikato Region	98
7.2	Activities Damaging Air Quality in the Waikato Region	100
8	Natural Hazards	103
8.1	Awareness of Natural Hazards	103
9	Energy Generation and the Environment	105
9.1	Visual Amenity of Wind Turbines	106
10	Environmental Regulations and Controls	108
10.1	Council Enforcement of Rules and Laws	109
10.2	Protection of Significant Natural Sites	113
10.3	Threat of Urban Sprawl and Subdivisions to Natural Environment	116
10.4	Livestock in Streams and Waterways	119
10.5	Government Restrictions on Private Property Use	122
10.6	Landowners and Their Own Land	125
10.7	Council Provisions for Construction in At-Risk Areas	128
10.8	Sustainable Design of New Developments	130
10.9	Permission to Burn Garden Waste	132
10.10	Index of Attitudes Towards Environmental Regulations	134
11	Economy, Business and the Environment	135
11.1	Healthy Environment, Healthy Economy	136
11.2	Sacrificing Environmental Quality for Economic Growth	139
11.3	Environmental Protection and Economic Development	143
11.4	Business Profit and the Environment	147
11.5	Business and Environmentally Friendly Behaviour	150
11.6	Businesses’ Obligation to the Environment	154
11.7	Business Bearing Expense of Meeting Environmental Standards	157
11.8	Farm Productivity and Waterways	160
11.9	Decline in Farm Economy to Achieve Better Environment	163
11.10	Balancing Economy with the Environment Scale	166
12	Personal Environmental Action	167
12.1	Actions Taken to Protect the Environment	167
12.2	Involvement in Public Actions/Meetings	173
12.3	Actions Taken	175
12.4	Effectiveness of Public Actions Taken	177
12.5	Public Say in the Way the Environment is Managed	180
12.6	Public Action Segmentation	183
13	Conclusions	188
14	District Summaries	190
14.1	Franklin	191
14.2	Thames-Coromandel	199
14.3	Hauraki	208
14.4	Waikato	216
14.5	Hamilton	224
14.6	Matamata-Piako	232
14.7	Waipa	241
14.8	South Waikato	249
14.9	Otorohanga	257
14.10	Waitomo	265
14.11	Rotorua	273
14.12	Taupo	281
	Appendix	289
	Questionnaire	290
	Refusal Analysis	299

Copyright Waikato Regional Council © 1999-2007
Date Printed: 20 September 2007
Page: www.ew.govt.nz/index.asp
Environment Waikato: Box 4010 Hamilton East Fax 07 859 0998 Freephone 0800 800 401

Environment Waikato Box 4010 Hamilton East 3247 Fax (07) 859 0998 Freephone 0800 800 401

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Environmental Awareness, Attitudes and Actions, 2006: a Survey of Residents of the Waikato Region

Abstract

Table of contents