The role of a social marketing campaign in promoting environmental behavior change in Yuhe Provincial Nature Reserve, Gansu Province, China.

摘要

People seldom participate in sustainable behaviors, even when they are aware of the environmental problems. In order to fill this "knowledge-action" gap, a social marketing campaign was conducted to reduce fuel wood consumption in the Yuhe nature reserve, Gansu, China. This campaign included 1) informing villagers of the problems caused by fuel wood overconsumption, and 2) removing barriers to change by funding the construction of energy efficient stoves. Pre- and post-campaign questionnaires were conducted with nature reserve residents at the campaign site and the control group site. The theory of planned behavior was used as the theoretical framework. Variables included demographics, media exposure, knowledge, attitude, barrier removal toward behavior change on fuel wood consumption. The results of the study indicate that social marketing provides a systematic method for behavior change. While the social marketing campaign was a success, the impact of barrier removal still needs further exploration.