The Unfenced Desert Towards a strategy for eco ... - Nwrc.gov.sa

sent copies of the questionnaire for review by colleagues at the NCWCD in Riyadh, and
staff at the ICPL, Aberystwyth. Comments were compiled and a final form readied for
use by early May 1999.
The English version and the Arabic translation of the student questionnaire is
given in Appendix xx.
Tourist Questionnaires
These proved to be more problematical than the student questionnaires as it was not
feasible regularly to assemble a captive sub-sample of male household heads at NWRC. I
initially followed the same procedure as for the student questionnaire formulation:
following discussions with Saudi colleagues and friends I compiled a draft questionnaire
and sent this out for review to NCWCD in Riyadh and ICPL, Wales. The revised version
was translated into Arabic by a Saudi colleague, and the translation cross-checked with
other native Arabic speakers.
The first approach for questionnaire circulation was to leave copies with groups,
such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Coast Guard, and the King Saud University in
Riyadh, that I had made contact with for other aspects of the study. Poor returns from
this approach (2/50; 4%) led me to employ the help of staff within the NCWCD and its
regional centers. I requested that each staff member undertake to canvas friends,
neighbours and other contacts, and aim to obtain between five and 10 completed
questionnaires. I suggested that, to improve return rates, the brief questionnaire be given,
completed and collected in a single session.
The English version and the Arabic translation of the tourist questionnaire is
given in Appendix xx.
Results and Discussion
Student Questionnaires
“One of the principal reasons why protected areas are insufficiently valued by society is the lack of
adequate education about their benefits and their importance in sustaining the world’s ecosystems and
societies.”
Valerie Barzetti (1998)
Between 10 May and 7 December 1999 the student questionnaire was handed out during
14 school’s visits, yielding a total of 360 valid returns, drawn exclusively from schools in
the Mecca and Medina Emirates. It is not known whether a regional bias in student
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