FIELD QUESTIONNAIRE
My name is Sithabile Hlahla. I am currently studying for a MSc in Applied Environmental Science at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. I am carrying out a study to find out how women from urban/peri-urban areas in South Africa are participating in environmental management and in the overall African green economy. The information will be treated as confidential and your participation in my research is greatly appreciated.
Do you consent to participate? Yes No BACKGROUND INFORMATION
1. Area………..
2. House number/ GPS co-ordinates:
Longitude………..Latitude……….
3. Age (years) 16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 (Please tick) 41-45 46-50 > 50
4. Level of education:
5. Marital status:
A. Never married B. Married C. Widowed D. Divorced E. Living together but not married……….
6. If married, do you live with your spouse? Yes No 7. Do you have children? Yes No
8. How many dependents do you have?...
9. What are the sources of income in your household?
10. For how many years have you lived in the area………..
11. Where did you live before?...
LEVEL YES NO If yes, did you
complete it?
Primary Secondary
Higher education
12. Why did you move to this area?
ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS
13. What is your understanding of the term ‘environment’?
14. Do you think the environment in trouble? Yes No 15. If yes, elaborate.
16. Which of the following activities do you think can lead to environmental degradation/
pollution? Please tick ()
ACTIVITY YES NO I DON’T
KNOW
If yes, how?
Deforestation
Cooking with gas, fire or paraffin
Improper waste disposal (litter)
Over-use of electricity Water scarcity
Veld fires
Vehicles e.g public transport
Agriculture: domestic animals
Industry Mining
Population growth
17. Do any of the following environmental problems exist in your area? If yes, how serious are they? (SEE TABLE BELOW)
18. If yes, who do you feel is most responsible for the environmental problems? 1 = Industry 2 = Government 3 =Community 4= I do not know (SEE TABLE BELOW)
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM
YES NO IF YES, HOW SERIOUS?
IF YES,WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
Very |Moderately Not
Deforestation 1 2 3 4
Air pollution 1 2 3 4
Solid waste pollution/
Improper waste disposal (litter)
1 2 3 4
Water pollution 1 2 3 4
Over-usage of electricity 1 2 3 4
Veld fires 1 2 3 4
19. Are you concerned about the environmental pollution and degradation in your area?
Very concerned Mildly concerned Not concerned
20. Do you feel that these problems are harmful to you and your physical wellbeing/ health?
Yes Maybe No I haven’t thought about it 21. If yes, how?
22. Who do you feel should be responsible for solving the following environmental problems and why? You can indicate more than one answer.
1=Government 2= Environmental NGOs 3= Industry 4= Community 5= I do not know
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEM
WHO IS
RESPONSIBLE?
WHY?
Deforestation
Air pollution
Solid waste pollution/
Improper waste disposal (litter)
Water pollution
Over-use of electricity
Veld fires
23. Is the local government (municipality) taking any action to clean the area or prevent environmental pollution and degradation?
Yes No I don’t know If yes, go to question 24
If no, go to question 26
24. If yes, are they doing enough? Yes No
25. If no, what else can they do?
26. If government is not taking any action to clean the environment, what do you think they should do?
27. Before Wildlands Conservation Trust started working in the area, were you doing anything to prevent environmental degradation and clean the environment?
Yes No
28. If yes, indicate which ones? (Please put a X)
29. When you shop- what determines your purchase of an item and how important is it?
1- Very important 2= Moderately Important 3= Not important
FACTOR LEVEL OF IMPORTANCE
Price
Quantity of Product Quality of product
Environmental friendliness Availability
ACTIVITY YES NO
Did not litter
Turned off electricity when not using it e.g lights Recycled cans, papers and bottles
Avoided deforestation
Avoided the burning of waste Used water sparingly
Did not cook with fire, gas or paraffin Did not purchase plastic bags from stores Swept the environment. sweeping
Cleaned the environment e.g. picking up litter Promoted environmentally friendly behaviour by encouraging community members to care for the environment
30. If your consumer choices resulted in a reduction in environmental pollution, would you purchase the more, expensive, environmentally friendly goods?
Yes No Not sure
31. Do you agree that environmental pollution will affect the quality of life/well-being of your children and grandchildren in the future?
Yes No Not sure I have never thought about it 32. If yes, how?
33. Do you feel that you, as a woman, are important for environmental management/protection in South Africa.
Yes No 34. Explain your answer.
35. Have you had any form of environmental education?
Yes No
If yes, proceed to question 36 If no, proceed to question 38 36. If yes, how much?
A lot A moderate amount A little
37. If yes, who educated you?...
38. Would you like to learn more about the environment?
Yes No Not sure
39. Besides environmental issues, what other problems exist in your area? List them in order of importance, starting with the most important. Include environmental problems in the list.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
PARTICIPATION IN GREEN ECONOMY
Wildlands Conservation Trust is an environmental Non-Governmental Organization in South Africa that has launched ‘green-preneurship’ activities in different communities to help alleviate poverty while preventing further environmental degradation. Their aim is to promote an African Green Economy.
40. What does ‘green-preneurship’ mean to you?
41. Wildlands launched activities aimed at unlocking the ‘green-preneurship’ potential of the impoverished and unemployed. Which activities do you participate in and when in which year did you start participating? Refer to table on next page
Please tick ()
YES NO IF NO, WHY? START
DATE (YR) Food
preneurship Tree
preneurship Waste preneurship
42. What is the main reason behind your participation in these activities?
Financial reasons Environmental reasons Aesthetics Others, specify
43. Are there some Wildlands’ activities you want to participate in but haven’t been able to?
Yes No
44. If yes, which ones and why?
45. Do you face any challenges in carrying out the ‘green-preneurship’ activities?
Yes No
46. If yes, what kinds of challenges?
47. In launching such activities, Wildlands hoped to alleviate poverty through job creation and simultaneously prevent environmental degradation. From your experience in the program, do you feel that Wildlands has achieved these goals?
Environmental Goals? Yes No 48. Explain your answer.
49. Poverty alleviation goals? Yes No
50. Explain your answer.
51. Do you think recycling is important? Yes No 52. If yes, why?
53. Do you think it is important to plant trees? Yes No 54. If yes, why?
55. On average, how much do you earn monthly from these initiatives? ………..
56. Is the income you get from green-preneurship activities a major source of income in your household? Yes No
57. What have you done with the income from these projects?
58. Have the green-preneurship activities changed your role in the household? Yes
No 59. If yes, how?
60. Have you noticed a change in your environment since the program began?
Yes No 61. If yes, explain.
62. Are there some people who want to join the program but have not been able to?
Yes No 63. If yes, why?
64. Has anyone quit the program? Yes No 65. If yes, why?
66. Do you see yourself participating in the project for the foreseeable future? (e.g in 10yrs time?)
Yes No 67. Why?
68. Why is the project important to you?
69. What changes would you like to see in the project? Do you have any ideas to add to the green-preneurship program?
70. Is your understanding of the environment and environmental issues different from before Wildlands came to work in the area? Yes No
71. If yes, explain.
72. Do you engage with officials from Wildlands Conservation Trust? Do you have regular meetings to discuss environmental issues? Yes No
73. If yes, how often?...
74. Do you find the meetings helpful? Do you learn anything about the environment?
Yes No
75. Are you sharing environmental knowledge with your children and those around you?
Yes No
Thank-you for participating in this survey.
COMMENTS FROM ENUMERATORS