Does Interest in Biodiversity Among Children Differ with Ethnicity? A Case Study from Bandarawela Education Zone, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Sri Lanka is a multicultural island nation that forms a hyper-hot biodiversity hotspot together with the Western Ghats of adjacent India, owing to its species endemism and ever-increasing threats to biodiversity. Stakeholders engaged in the conservation of this threatened biodiversity have identified the need for public awareness, especially prioritizing children as one of the main target groups. However, the literature suggests that various socio-demographical and geographical factors affect children’s interests in biodiversity. Children are strongly influenced by the media, notably the internet, to the level of eventually replacing nature-based activities with virtual activities. The present case study was conducted in the Bandarawela Education Zone in Sri Lanka, within a multicultural society, in order to understand interests in biodiversity among children from different ethnicities. A bilingual (Sinhalese and Tamil) questionnaire survey was conducted with the participation of 155, randomly selected students between the ages of 11 to 18 years, representing both the Sinhalese majority and non-Sinhalese minority, from seven different schools. Results indicate that the majority of students are interested in fauna (69.41% of Sinhalese; 82.86% of non-Sinhalese) in contrast to flora (07.06% of Sinhalese; 04.09% of non-Sinhalese). Further, many of the children have a particular species of special interest. Among them, 31.43% of non-Sinhalese children were interested in exotic species (those not found in Sri Lanka or Introduced/domesticated/pet species in Sri Lanka), which was significantly different from only 9.41% of Sinhalese students interested in exotics (two-sample proportion test;z = 3.45, p = 0.001). Results indicate their sources of information have affected their interests, as nearly 95% (94.29%) of non- Sinhalese children were referring to documentary videos available in satellite television channels and the internet as their main sources of information in contrast to 79% of Sinhalese children referring the same sources. The study discusses ethnicity as a factor affecting School children’s interests in biodiversity, providing insights to consider in planning awareness programs and conservation projects, targeting or engaging children in Sri Lanka.