Environmental Perception of Urban Wetlands: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed-Methods Study in the District of Pisco, Peru
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18800/kawsaypacha.202602.A019Keywords:
Urban wetlands, Environmental perception, Environmental values, Pro-environmental behavior, Wetland conservation, Pisco, PeruAbstract
Environmental perception influences how people value, use, and relate to urban wetlands, thereby affecting their conservation and sustainability. This study analyzes environmental perception of the Pisco Playa wetland (Peru) using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design. In the first, quantitative phase, a survey was administered to residents (n = 483) to operationalize the construct through an Environmental Perception Index and to examine its structural patterns and associated psychosocial factors, drawing on the theoretical frameworks of Environmental Preference, Affordances, the Value–Belief–Norm model, the Theory of Planned Behavior, and Place Identity. In the second, qualitative phase, 20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with adult residents of the district of Pisco, seeking diversity in terms of sex and age groups, to interpret the quantitative findings and explore the meanings attributed to the wetland. The integration of both approaches identified, among the study participants, a predominantly negative environmental perception, characterized by recognition of the wetland’s ecological potential but conditioned by perceptions of neglect, insecurity, and pollution. Furthermore, the findings suggest that the intention to engage in conservation actions does not always translate into effective behavior and may be associated with weak social norms and limited symbolic appropriation of the place. These findings contribute to understanding the environmental perception observed among the participants as a multidimensional phenomenon shaped by cognitive, normative, identity-related, and contextual factors.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Luis Enrique Vargas Mayer, Carlos Francisco Cabrera Carranza, Gina Chambi Echegaray, Jesús Alberto Torres Guerra, Mario Dominico Rodríguez Delgado, Juan Carlos Montero Chirito
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