Assessment and Analysis of Public Perception of Environmental Pollution
A Case Study of Lahore
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58329/criss.v3i2.115Abstract
Abstract Views: 140
This study carried out an assessment and analysis of the perception of public about the extent of environmental pollution in the city of Lahore. The city has been ranked as one of the most polluted cities globally every year from October to December over the past five years thereby posing health challenges for the public due to smog. The study conducted a survey of 120 respondents from different income and age groups. Multinomial logistic regression technique was being used in order to see the impact of income, age and gender on an individual’s Willingness To Pay (WTP) in order avoid pollution while the method of contingent valuation was used to measure the WTP. The survey results showed that 94% of the respondents were concerned about the deteriorating environmental quality and expressed WTP a proportion of their income for better environmental quality. Results from regression analysis showed that there was a high probability of WTP up to five percent of their household income in a month, irrespective of their age and income. The study suggests the government to promote public transport network, improve the collection and monitoring of air quality data and take the WTP into consideration while designing tax policies.
Keywords:
Environmental pollution, Public perception, Willingness to pay
References
Abraham, I. A., Bamedele Sunday, I., Badrudden Saulawa, S., Alfa Abubakar, U., & James Ijimdiya, S. (2022). Public perception on environmental noise pollution: A case study in Zaria City, Kaduna State, Nigeria. Environmental Health Engineering and Management, 9(2), 135–145. https://doi.org/10.34172/ehem.2022.15
Ahmed, A., & Shafique, I. (2019). Perception of household in regards to water pollution: An empirical evidence from Pakistan. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 26(9), 8543–8551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-04273-4
Ahsan, T., Chaudhry, M. A., Huda, N. ul, Mukhtar, N., Ahmad, R., & Ali, M. (2020).
Ain, Q., Ullah, R., Kamran, M. A., & Zulfiqar, F. (2020). Air pollution and its economic impacts at household level: Willingness to pay for environmental services in Pakistan.
Akhtar, S., Saleem, W., Nadeem, V., Shahid, I., & Ikram, A. (2017). Assessment of willingness to pay for improved air quality using contingent valuation method. Global Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 3(3), 279-286. https://doi.org/10.22034/gjesm.2017.03.03.005
Ali, S. M. (2021, November 29). How Lahore became the world’s most polluted place. Foreign Policy. Retrieved December 20, 2022, from https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/11/29/pakistan-lahore-pollution-fossil-fuels-climate/
Bickerstaff, K., & Walker, G. (2001). Public understandings of air pollution: The ‘localisation’ of environmental risk. Global Environmental Change, 11(2), 133–145. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0959-3780(00)00063-7
Bilal, R. (2022, December 14). LHC orders closure of markets, restaurants in smog-hit Lahore by 10pm on weekdays. DAWN.COM. Retrieved December 20, 2022, from https://www.dawn.com/news/1726315
Boso, À., Álvarez, B., Oltra, C., Hofflinger, Á., Vallejos-Romero, A., & Garrido, J. (2019).
Brechin, S.R., & Kempton, W. (1994). Global environmentalism: a challenge to the postmaterialism thesis? Social Science Quarterly, 75, 245-269.
Carlsson, F., & Johansson-Stenman, O. (2000). Willingness to pay for improved air quality in Sweden. Applied Economics, 32(6), 661–669. https://doi.org/10.1080/000368400322273
Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. Retrieved September, 2022, from https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/quantifying-the-economic-costs-of-air-pollution- from-fossil-fuels/
Chen, Y., Zhang, Z., Shi, P., Song, X., Wang, P., Wei, X., & Tao, F. (2015). Public perception and responses to environmental pollution and Health Risks: Evaluation and implication from a national survey in China. Journal of Risk Research, 20(3), 347–365. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2015.1057199
Cobbold, A. T., Crane, M. A., Knibbs, L. D., Hanigan, I. C., Greaves, S. P., & Rissel, C. E. (2022). Perceptions of air quality and concern for health in relation to long-term air pollution exposure, bushfires, and COVID-19 lockdown: A before-and-after study. The Journal of Climate Change and Health, 6, 100137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joclim.2022.100137
Cortés, S., Burgos, S., Adaros, H., Lucero, B., & Quirós-Alcalá, L. (2021). Environmental health risk perception: Adaptation of a population-based questionnaire from Latin America.
Crowe, M. J. (1968). Toward a “definitional model” of public perceptions of air pollution.
Dunlap, R. E., Gallup, G. H., & Gallup, A. M. (1993). Of global concern: results of the health of the planet survey. Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 35(9), 7–39. https://doi.org/10.1080/00139157.1993.9929122
Ecological Economics, 107, 51–58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2014.08.009
Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(6), 6611–6618. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11023-4
Examining Patterns of Air Quality Perception: A Cluster Analysis for Southern Chilean Cities. SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019863563
Fan, S., Yuan, Z., Liao, X., Tu, H., Lan, G., Maddock, J. E., & Lu, Y. (2017). International perspectives: Study of Parents’ Perception of Air Pollution and Its Effect on Their Children’s Respiratory Health in Nanchang, China. Journal of Environmental Health, 79(7), E1–E9. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26330632
Filho, O. B., Ribas, A., Gonçalves, C., Lacerda, A., Riesemberg, R., & Klagenberg, K. (2016).
Groot, I. D. E. (1967). Trends in public attitudes toward air pollution. Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association, 17(10), 679–681. https://doi.org/10.1080/00022470.1967.10469056
Hanemann, W. M. (1994). Valuing the environment through contingent valuation. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 8(4), 19–43. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.8.4.19
Inglehart, R. (1995). Public Support for Environmental Protection: Objective Problems and Subjective Values in 43 Societies. PS: Political Science and Politics, 28(1), 57–72. https://doi.org/10.2307/420583
Kim, B., Yoon, E. J., Kim, S., & Lee, D. K. (2020). The effects of risk perceptions related to particulate matter on outdoor activity satisfaction in South Korea. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5), 1613. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051613
Liu, B., Du, H., Fan, J., Huang, B., Zhou, K., & Gong, J. (2021). The gap between public perceptions and monitoring indicators of environmental quality in Beijing. Journal of Environmental Management, 277, 111414. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111414
Liu, H., Liu, H., & Cheng, Y. (2022). Illustrating the multi-stakeholder perceptions of environmental pollution based on big data: Lessons from China. Regional Sustainability, 3(1), 12-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsus.2022.03.003
Liu, R., Liu, X., Pan, B., Zhu, H., Yuan, Z., & Lu, Y. (2018). Willingness to pay for improved air quality and influencing factors among manufacturing workers in Nanchang, China. Sustainability, 10(5), 1613. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10051613
Liu, X., Wu, Y., Hu, Y., Liu, D., Zhang, J., Chen, C., Yuan, Z., & Lu, Y. (2016). Government employees’ perception of urban air pollution and willingness to pay for improved quality: A cross-sectional survey study in Nanchang, China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23(21), 22183–22189. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7204-1
Lo, A. Y. (2014). Negative income effect on perception of long-term environmental risk.
Maione, M., Mocca, E., Eisfeld, K., Kazepov, Y., & Fuzzi, S. (2020). Public perception of air pollution sources across Europe. Ambio, 50(6), 1150–1158. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-020-01450-5
Mukherjee, B. N. (1993). Public response to air pollution in Calcutta proper. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 13(3), 207–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0272-4944(05)80174
Myllyvirta, L. (2021, June 9). Quantifying the economic costs of air pollution from fossil fuels.
Noël, C., Vanroelen, C., & Gadeyne, S. (2021). Qualitative research about public health risk perceptions on ambient air pollution. A review study. SSM - Population Health, 15, 100879. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2021.100879
Obafemi, A. A., Eludoyin, O. S., & Akinbosola, B. M. (2013). Public Perception of Environmental Pollution in Warri, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management, 16(3), 233–240.
Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). Retrieved 2022, from https://environment.gov.pk/
Perception of noise pollution in a youth and adults school in Curitiba-Pr. International Archives of Otorhinolaryngology, 21(04), 313–317. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0036
Pu, S., Shao, Z., Fang, M., Yang, L., Liu, R., Bi, J., & Ma, Z. (2019). Spatial distribution of the public’s risk perception for air pollution: A nationwide study in China. Science of The Total Environment, 655, 454-462. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.11.232
Ruan, H., Qiu, L., Chen, J., Liu, S., & Ma, Z. (2022). Government Trust, environmental pollution perception, and environmental governance satisfaction. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(16), 9929. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19169929
Saksena, S. (2011). Public perceptions of urban air pollution risks. Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, 2(1), 19–37. https://doi.org/10.2202/1944-4079.1075
Shao, S., Tian, Z., & Fan, M. (2018). Do the rich have stronger willingness to pay for environmental protection? new evidence from a survey in China. World Development, 105, 83–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.12.033
Sugathan, M., & Varela, G. (2021, November 18). Pakistan’s policy options to make trade work for Environmental Sustainability. World Bank Blogs, from https://blogs.worldbank.org/endpovertyinsouthasia/pakistans-policy-options-make-trade- work-environmental-sustainability
Sun, C., Yuan, X., & Xu, M. (2016). The public perceptions and willingness to pay: From the perspective of the smog crisis in China. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 1635–1644. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.04.121
Ullah, S., Ullah, N., Rajper, S. A., Ahmad, I., & Li, Z. (2021). Air pollution and associated self- reported effects on the exposed students at Malakand Division, Pakistan. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 193(11). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09484-2
Wang, H., & Mullahy, J. (2006). Willingness to pay for reducing fatal risk by improving air quality: A contingent valuation study in Chongqing, China. Science of The Total Environment, 367(1), 50–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.02.049
White, M. J., & Hunter, L. M. (2009). Public Perception of Environmental Issues in a Developing Setting: Environmental Concern in Coastal Ghana. Social Science Quarterly, 90(4), 960–982. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42940650
Whitmarsh, L. (2008). Are flood victims more concerned about climate change than other people? the role of direct experience in risk perception and behavioural response. Journal of Risk Research, 11(3), 351–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/13669870701552235
World Bank. 2022. The Global Health Cost of PM2.5 Air Pollution : A Case for Action Beyond 2021. International Development in Focus;. © Washington, DC: World
Xie, B.-C., & Zhao, W. (2018). Willingness to pay for green electricity in Tianjin, China: Based on the contingent valuation method. Energy Policy, 114, 98–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2017.11.067
Xu, Z., & Shan, J. (2018). The effect of risk perception on willingness to pay for reductions in the health risks posed by particulate matter 2.5: A case study of Beijing, China. Energy & Environment, 29(8), 1319–1337. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26554634
Yu, K., Chen, Z., Gao, J., Zhang, Y., Wang, S., & Chai, F. (2015). Relationship between objective and subjective atmospheric visibility and its influence on willingness to accept or pay in China. PLOS ONE, 10(10). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0139495
Zhang, Y., Yu, C., Li, D., & Zhang, H. (2020). Willingness to pay for environmental protection in China: Air pollution, perception, and government involvement. Chinese Journal of Population, Resources and Environment, 18(3), 229-236. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjpre.2019.10.00
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 CARC Research in Social Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
