An Assessment of Environmental Knowledge and Attitudes Held by Community Leaders in the Hualien Area of Taiwan

Abstract This study assessed environmental knowledge and attitudes held by community leaders in the Hualien area of Taiwan. A 55-item instrument was administered by mailed questionnaire to 250 randomly selected community leaders, with a 70.4% response rate. Significant differences were found in knowledge scores by age, education level, income level, and ethnicity, and in attitude scores by age, educational level, occupation, and ethnicity. The results of stepwise multiple regression indicate that education level is the best predictor of environmental knowledge and attitudes. The overall level of environmental knowledge was determined to be moderately high, and the attitudes appeared to be positive.