Young people in Uzbekistan have not yet formed a conscious, careful attitude to water and water resources – this is the conclusion reached by researchers of the Center for Media Research and Educational Development (Mediadatalab) of Uzbekistan. However, the overwhelming majority – 74.1% or three quarters of the surveyed young people – are ready to use the advice, which they consider rational, in practice.
Mediadatalab analyzed the attitudes of the country’s youth toward the topic of the water crisis. The study “Suv Bormi?” (translated from Uzbek as “Do you have water?”) revealed the behavioral characteristics of young people regarding water conservation in their daily lives.
The researchers conducted an online sociological survey among young people from 15 to 25 years old from all regions of Uzbekistan. A total of 1,583 respondents took part in it. It was aimed at identifying behavioral characteristics of respondents in the issue of conscious attitude to water, environment, and water crisis. Also, the authors of the research tried to study the interest of the audience to the topic of water resources in mass media and to the transfer of knowledge on careful attitude to water consumption.
Due to climatic changes in the world and in Central Asia, the relevance of the topic under consideration is increasing many times over. According to Vakhob Rafikov, Director of the Institute of Seismology of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, every minute 9 square meters of the territory of Uzbekistan turns into a desert.
Ecological and geo-ecological problems are increasing every day. The borders of the Karnachul, Mirzachul, Sherabad, Dalvarzin and Karakalpakstan deserts continue to expand. In recent years, the youngest desert Aralkum, which is forming on the site of the drying Aral Sea, has been added to their number. Experts estimate that by 2040, fertile land may remain only in the Tashkent region and the Fergana Valley.
The survey showed that young people are generally aware of the problems related to climate change and water problems in the country. However, despite the general awareness of water problems (according to the survey, 88.8% of young people believe that the shortage of drinking water is quite real for Uzbekistan), this is not reflected in the behavior of young people to conserve water in everyday life, the researchers conclude.
A general idea of the scale of existing problems related to water losses in the next 10 years has not yet been formed. According to the data obtained, young people are not accustomed to counting how much water they take from open sources.
Almost half of all respondents constantly save drinking water in their everyday life (washing, washing, cooking and so on). While only 1% of respondents did not think about this issue or did not know that it is possible to save water. Only 30% answered “yes, to a greater extent” and 14% – “yes, to an average extent”. This indicates that young people in the country admit cases of non-saving water handling in everyday life.
Almost half of all respondents constantly save drinking water in their everyday life (washing, washing, cooking and so on). While only 1% of respondents did not think about this issue or did not know that it is possible to save water. Only 30% answered “yes, to a greater extent” and 14% – “yes, to an average extent”. This indicates that young people in the country admit cases of non-saving water handling in everyday life.
At the same time, the majority of respondents are concerned about the possible threat of drinking water shortages throughout the country. This is the opinion of 40%, with 29% attributing this problem to most regions of Uzbekistan, and another 19% seeing such problems only in some regions of the country. That is, 88% of young people believe that the problem of drinking water shortage is quite real for Uzbekistan.These concerns serve as a psychological motivator that young people in Uzbekistan are willing to save water, the researchers conclude.
The majority of those surveyed - 65% - are ready to reduce water consumption in order to save and prevent water shortages, 2% - do not agree to reduce water consumption and 5% answered "rather not".
At the same time, to the question: "How can water consumption be reduced?", the vast majority of respondents answered: "not to keep the taps constantly open when washing dishes" - it was highlighted by 886 respondents out of 1,583 people. "Reduce the volume of water when watering the yard area" is suggested by 746, "not to clean vegetables under running water" - 517. One in ten suggested "not using drinking water for cooling or defrosting food", slightly fewer - 391 - think they can "save water during hygiene procedures". 90 respondents answered "don't know". This and other similar indicators of this survey show that the educational work in the sphere of careful attitude is being carried out, but now it is also necessary to improve its quality.
There is a deficit of useful information in this sphere (18.4%), and 3.8% of respondents "do not see any information". All this suggests that the country's mass media need to further improve their information policy towards greater consideration of the needs and requirements of young people in the field of ecology ("feedback"), as well as its diversity, the study notes.
Considering the processes of climate change, increasing desertification and droughts in Central Asia, the study recommends taking a number of measures to raise awareness of environmental and water issues among young people.
They believe that if knowledge is well received by youth, it becomes a guideline for their behavior in the future. The findings suggest that the youth are conscious about the issue of water consumption for personal use if they are given convincing arguments. Therefore, more extensive work is needed to highlight water scarcity issues and its rational use.
"Thus, most of the respondents are ready to reduce water consumption in order to save and prevent water scarcity (85.1%), which is quite a high indicator for sociology. Consequently, young people in Uzbekistan are ready to take note of the rational arguments of campaigning campaigns. The overwhelming majority - 74.1% or three quarters of young people in the country are ready to use those tips that they consider rational in practice. In general, when conducting outreach, it is important to use information channels, with targeting young people, through modern technologies and online platforms to demonstrate the real situation with water losses at the national level, which will help to strengthen public control over the solution of such problems", - the study says.