Ecological Behavior of the Population in Arctic Territories: A Case Study of the Municipal Districts of Vorkuta and Usinsk

BACKGROUND: The Arctic zone of Russia is an economically and geostrategically significant but ecologically vulnerable macroregion, which increases the risks to its sustainable development. The single-industry structure of local economies makes Arctic territories dependent on the environmental policies and social responsibility of city-forming enterprises. Under these conditions, the ecological behavior of the population becomes an important factor in stabilizing and implementing environmental protection initiatives. At the same time, the stage of enterprise development and the accumulated environmental damage determine how residents perceive ecological problems and their own responsibility. Therefore, analyzing the differentiation of environmental attitudes of population in Arctic single-industry towns in the socio-economic context is of particular relevance.

AIM: The work aimed to identify the specific features of environmental attitudes among residents in areas with varying levels of accumulated environmental damage and different stages in the life cycle of city-forming enterprises.

METHODS: It was a cross-sectional survey based on the norm activation theory (model) proposed by Schwartz. The authors developed a sociological questionnaire to assess environmental attitudes and ecological behavior practices among the population. The empirical basis of the study consists of survey data from residents of two municipal districts of the Komi Republic—Vorkuta and Usinsk (n = 513). The main research methods included statistical analysis and structural equation modeling.

RESULTS: The study revealed territorial features of how residents perceive the environmental situation in Vorkuta and Usinsk municipal districts, as well as differences in their assessment of the components of ecological behavior. Environmental issues are not a top priority for residents; however, the population expressed dissatisfaction with household waste pollution and the consequences of industrial activity. At the same time, it was found that fostering awareness of environmental pollution consequences, clarifying responsibility boundaries for solving ecological problems, and strengthening confidence in the possibility of personal contribution positively affect environmental attitudes. Using the case of Vorkuta municipal district, the study verified the correspondence of the developed questionnaire to the norm activation theory, and a norm activation model for environmental protection was constructed for the studied population.

CONCLUSION: Thus, although the environmental attitudes of residents in territories with different levels of accumulated environmental damage and at different stages in the life cycle of city-forming enterprises share common trends, they differ in terms of the attribution of responsibility for solving ecological problems. Future research will focus on improving the questionnaire, considering a broader range of factors, and extending the study to new territories.