Understanding Environmentally Significant Behavior Among Guides in the Garhwal Himalaya

Abstract

A gap currently exists in research pertaining to the utility of low impact outdoor ethics in non-Western societies. Many non-Western societies rely on their own religious beliefs, cultural perceptions, and traditions to serve as the foundation for conservation and environmental protection and influence related behavior. This notion also includes guides, who have been identified as effective in altering client behavior and minimizing environmentally destructive behavior. Exploratory research was conducted in Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India in 2009 applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to identify those cognitive factors that lead whitewater and trekking guides to pack out trash, bury human waste, and cut living trees for firewood. Results suggest that the foundational constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior are capable of predicting intention to perform pro-environmental behavior in a non-Western population of guides; however, their utility depends on the behavior performed. The implications of these results are discussed.