Youth Engagement and Climate Change Awareness in Terengganu's Island Communities: A Case Study of Perhentian Island and Redang Island
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37231/jmtp.2025.6.2.448Keywords:
Climate Action, Island Communities, Youth Engagement, Climate Change Awareness, Climate Change AdaptationAbstract
This study investigates the role of youth engagement in enhancing climate change awareness, facilitating climate action, and strengthening community resilience within the island communities of Perhentian and Redang Islands, situated in Terengganu, Malaysia. These islands face escalating environmental pressures resulting from climate change, including coral reef degradation, sea-level rise, extreme weather events, irregular rainfall patterns, and ecosystem disturbances that collectively threaten both ecological stability and the tourism-dependent local economy. Despite the increasing global discourse on climate change, awareness levels remain inconsistent, particularly in developing countries such as Malaysia, which generally exhibit lower awareness compared to industrialized nations like South Korea. Youth are widely acknowledged as key agents of change in addressing climate-related challenges; however, empirical evidence regarding the extent of their involvement, the depth of their knowledge, and their contribution to resilience-building in these island contexts remains limited. Accordingly, this research seeks to address three core questions: (1) To what extent are youth in Perhentian and Redang Islands engaged in climate change awareness and action? (2) What is their current level of climate change knowledge? and (3) How does youth engagement contribute to environmental and economic resilience within these communities? Employing a quantitative research design, the study utilized structured questionnaires administered to 148 youths aged 12 to 30, selected through stratified random sampling to ensure representativeness across demographic groups. The findings reveal that youth engagement is significantly influenced by both climate awareness and knowledge, with awareness and action explaining 20.6% of the variance in engagement, and knowledge accounting for 28.3%. Moreover, youth participation contributes to resilience-building, explaining 18.8% of the variance in resilience outcomes. These findings underscore the pivotal role of youth as catalysts for climate adaptation and mitigation, emphasizing the importance of targeted educational programs and community-based strategies to enhance youth capacity and participation in fostering sustainable island resilience.
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