Construction of the index system of water literacy and application in a case study of four Chinese communities

Abstract

Launching the evaluation of water literacy is important for promoting conscientious participation in the construction of a water saving society. This paper established an evaluation system of 3 first-level indices (water knowledge, water attitude, and water behavior), 10 second-level indices, and 27 third-level indices of water literacy. The analytic hierarchy process was used to establish weight index and the Likert scale was used to design a questionnaire that evaluated water literacy in four geographic regions of China: Zhengzhou, Beijing, Hechi, and Qingtongxia. Our results indicate that water behavior is the core of water literacy. Participants got a very strong sense of water environment in the background of environmental pollution. Furthermore, water knowledge, water attitude and water behavior scored differently in different regions, consistent with level of economic development. However, across all regions water literacy scores were low, with water behavior scores, the core of water literacy, ranking the lowest. Therefore, there is still a long way to go to improve water literacy in China.

Keywords:

• Water Knowledge
• Water Attitude
• Water Behavior
• Water Literacy