“ASSESSING AWARENESS REGARDING WATER SCARCITY AND CONSERVATION BEHAVIOR AMONGST GENERAL PUBLIC IN ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN”

Abstract

The water crisis is an issue affecting every other household in Pakistan yet collective consciousness regarding water consumption seems to be rather missing. The water crisis is directly related to the declining supply and the ever-increasing demand for water for household and commercial purposes. Pakistan was a water-abundant country, but recent statistics indicate that the water demand will spike to 274m acre-feet by 2025 as opposed to 179.42 million acre feet in 2010. This implies that the impending water crisis in Pakistan can be resolved not only through increasing supply but also by reducing the demand for water in the country. In such a scenario, awareness regarding the gravity of water scarcity and the dire need to conserve water is the need of time. For this reason, this study was aimed at assessing awareness regarding water scarcity and conservation behavior amongst the general public in Islamabad, Pakistan. The study adhered quantitative approach and surveyed a sample size of 350 households by using random sampling coupled with the convenient sampling technique. However, descriptive analysis and Fischer’s exact test were followed to measure the awareness, attitudes and behaviors of the survey respondents towards water scarcity and water conservation practices in their routine activities at households. The analysis saw a correlation between the overall awareness levels of the survey respondents regarding water conservation and their behaviors in context to saving water. Results demonstrated a significant awareness regarding water scarcity amongst the general public which influences positive attitudes and behaviors regarding water conservation in households. These findings and a comparative analysis of various behaviors and attitudes focuses on the value of public awareness campaigns by the government and other stakeholders to evidently resolve the water crisis. The study suggests rather localizing these campaigns to the community level to achieve a positive impact on the attitude and behaviors in households. This will contribute to a reduction in the demand for water and turn will also reduce the water crisis in Pakistan.