Enhancing Residents’ Environmentally Responsible Behavioral Intentions: The Role of Awe and Place Attachment in Potatso National Park Communities, Tibet

Abstract

China announced its first policy framework for the construction of a protected areas system centered on national parks in 2019. It is increasingly recognized that the intentions of local community residents to engage in environmentally responsible behaviors are essential to achieving biodiversity goals in area-based conservation. Using an extended theory of planned behavior that incorporates the emotional factors of “Awe” and “place attachment,” this research tested hypotheses and constructed a theoretical model regarding the environmentally responsible behavioral intentions of community residents within and outside Potatso National Park, a pilot park in the new Chinese protected area system. A quantitative questionnaire survey of residents yielded 503 valid responses, and structural equation modeling was used to test the theoretical hypotheses. The results show that Awe has a significantly positive effect on environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. It also has a significantly positive effect on Place Attachment and subjective norms, which also strengthen environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. In addition, Place Attachment was found to be an important mediating factor for the influence of Awe on environmentally responsible behavioral intentions. According to the general model, both rational and emotional factors drive the behavioral intentions of local residents. Moreover, the findings reveal that the regulating effect of Place Attachment plays a greater role among those whose livelihoods are more dependent on the natural environment, while subjective norms play a greater role among those whose livelihoods are less dependent on the natural environment. The results provide a useful theoretical basis and practical reference for the use of rational and emotional factors to drive environmentally responsible behaviors among residents in and surrounding national parks, and for the promotion of the role of protected areas in nature preservation and community development.