Assessment of the knowledge, attitudes and willingness of communities to participate in frog conservation; case in Kigumba Town Council

Abstract

Knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and beliefs have been identified to pose a significant impact on the utmost willingness of people to conserve nature and biodiversity. The study conducted within KTC assessed the knowledge status, attitudes and practices that influence willingness of community members to conservation of frogs within Kigumba Town Council in Kiryandongo district. A cross-sectional survey using questionnaires was conducted within Kigumba Town Council; involving 243 respondents. Conclusively from the study, results indicated that all respondents (100%) from the study primarily consented to knowledge about frogs. At least 78% of the respondents within KTC were able to significantly know frogs basing on frequency of sightings. Majority of the respondents recorded sightings around their homes 26%. Attitudes of the respondents towards frog conservation were moderate. A significant number of the respondents portrayed positive attitudes towards frogs. Further investigation identified nine factors as important with positive influence on people’s willingness to participate in frog conservation. Specifically, three factors were associated with perceptions whereas four factors were described by demographic characteristics (gender, religion, age, education level respectively in order of influence), with gender having the most significant influence. The other two factors were based on Environmental and agricultural influences. The order of influence of the factors on willingness were Gender of the respondents, religion, influence of agro-chemical use, number of associated benefits, frequency of participation in environmental discussions, beliefs associated with frogs, number of perceived danger associated with frogs, age of the respondents and education levels. Despite the relatively high levels of knowledge on frogs within Kigumba Town Council, there still are relatively lower attitudes towards them thus the willingness to conserve. Initiatives aimed at promoting and enhancing frog conservation should put into focus the factors that influence willingness to conserve frogs within Kigumba Town Council.