Attitudes and motivations of community mangrove replanting programme participants : a study in Pengkalan Gelap, Terengganu

Abstract

A study was done to find out the attitudes and motivations of volunteers in a mangrove replanting project in Setiu, Terengganu. This replanting project is a joint effort between United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Petra Perdana Berhad (PETRA), and the state government of Terengganu, with the technical assistance of Terengganu Malaysian University (UMT). The project involves 150 selected families from Kampung Film, Kampung Saujana and Kampung Pengkalan Gelap, who provide the bulk of the labour needed for the replanting effort. The purpose of this study is to understand the attitudes of the participants towards the program, to have a bigger understanding of their motivations for participating and finally to note their opinions towards the program. In total, 32 individuals were interviewed during the course of the study, with the assistance of the Gong Batu JKKK. It is found that respondents are mostly female, between 41 to 50 years of age, and have at least primary schooling. Many are 'self-employed' or are housewives. Factors which motivate the respondents are "environmental concern", "family", "better harvests", and "patriotism", while the least appealing to the respondents are "monetary rewards" and "fun". Next, attitudes towards this program are mostly positive, and many are supportive of the continuance of this program.