Date of Award

2013

Advisor(s)

Edward Van Buren

Abstract

This study was conducted in the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem in the towns of Mto Wa Mbu, Kilimamoja, Esilalei, Losilwa, and Baraka. The purpose of the study was to see what the wildlife and environmental conservation awareness levels were among people in local communities, and to determine what socioeconomic factors affected awareness levels among people. The relevance of this study was to determine what factors influence, hinder, and encourage conservation awareness among people. With this information, communities may be able to spread conservation education more effectively. The study also examined what factors increased or decreased awareness levels among people. The study was carried out by interviewing people and filling out a questionnaire about people’s awareness levels and socioeconomic backgrounds. There were also group discussions with environmental committees from each village to determine what the committees were doing to spread awareness. The data was then analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) to find any correlations between socioeconomic factors and awareness levels. The main findings showed that there was a significant difference between awareness levels among men and women, and that tourism influenced people's awareness levels about environmental and wildlife conservation. Since this data shows that women are not as educated about environmental issues as men, communities should specifically target women in their environmental education programs so that women will have the same levels of awareness as men about these issues. The data also showed that people who benefited from tourism were more environmentally aware, therefore, communities should try to increase the amount of benefits that people receive from tourism.

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