Download This PaperEnvironmental Concerns and Uncertainty Communication for Building Public Trust in Environmental Risk Management: A Case Study of Maptaphut Municipality, Thailand
International Journal of Development and Sustainability, Vol. 3 No. 5, pp 1152-1173.
22 Pages Posted: 7 May 2020
Date Written: April 12, 2014
Abstract
The study aims to examine the role of uncertainty communication in increasing public trust in the capability of public authorities and industrial agencies to provide effective risk management. First, the study demonstrated the relationship between social trust and environmental concerns held by lay people in contaminated sites. Then, relationships between trust and lay understanding of uncertainties associated with technical risk assessment and potential health impacts caused by environmental contamination were examined. Data was collected through the distribution of questionnaires to 181 people who currently live in the area examined in the selected case study, i.e., the Maptaphut municipality in Thailand. The results showed that trust in public authorities and industrial agencies could slightly predict environmental and health concerns because people become more knowledgeable and rely less on institutions when judging risks. In addition, trust was influenced by lay understanding of uncertainties associated with risk assessment and outcome uncertainty. Under the current risk communication, i.e., poor communication of information related to uncertainty, people with the ability to conceptualize uncertainties tend to have lower trust in public authorities and industrial agencies. The study concluded that explicit communication of uncertainty could increase perceived transparency of environmental risk management, thereby contributing to social trust.
Keywords: Social trust, Uncertainty communication, Environmental communication, Environmental concern
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