ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND CONSERVATION: A STRATEGY FOR CLIMATE CHANGE AND MITIGATION AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study assessed the role of Environmental Education as a tool for the creation of awareness on adaptation to climate change in Taraba State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was used for the study and the population for the study was 961 out of which 128 students were sampled for the study. Data was collected using questionnaire tagged “Environmental Education, Conservation and Climate-Change Questionnaire (EECCQ)” with a reliability index of 0.73. The three Research questions that guided the study were answered using mean and standard deviations. The findings of this study revealed  among others that the undergraduate students have good level of awareness on climate change education, there is a slight mean difference on the level of exposure on Environmental Education and Conservation between male undergraduate students and their female counterparts. It was concluded that awareness, understanding of climate change as well as participation in Environmental Education and conservation campaigns are indispensable strategies to adopt in mitigating the impact of climate change with its attendant consequences. Recommendations were made amongst which include the introduction of Climate Change studies in university programmes.