23
3.1.3 Status of Natural Resources
The survey respondents perceived that the status of natural resources has decreased. As shown in Table 7, a majority of men and women perceived that water has become scarcer and that there
has been a decline in fish availability in both 2009 and 2012. However, a larger percentage of men and women agreed with both statements in 2012. A chi-square goodness-of-fit test indicates
a significant difference in the proportion of men agreeing with the first two statements. For women there is a significant difference in the first statement between 2009 and 2012 Table 6.
This indicates that those living around SANAPA perceive that the status of natural resources has worsened. However, as shown in the last statement, in 2012 more men and women felt that the
sea is not their only source of income, indicating that the dependence on marine resources may have gone down. The increased standard of living may perhaps be a result of increased incomes
from sources less dependent on natural resources e.g. tourism and small businesses. This finding corresponds with the fact that fewer respondents reported agriculture, fisheries, and
aquaculture as their main source of income in 2012.
Table 6. 2009 and 2012 Opinion Statements About the Status of Natural Resources
Statement 2009
Males n
2012 Males
n Chi-
Square χ
2
Goodnes s of Fit
df, n 2009
Females n
2012 Females
n Chi-
Square χ
2
Goodnes s of Fit
df, n
Water is becoming more scarce in this
area 73.3
148 81.3
169 2,208 =
8.828 p = .003
69.4 163
82.6 166
2,201 = 9.334
p = .009 There has been a
decline in fish availability in this
village over the past few years
77.9 109 88.2 127
2, 127 = 9.179
p = 0.010 81.9 127
87.5 119 2, 136 =
2.914 p = 0.233
Sometimes there is not enough food to go
around and the family goes hungry
85.1 171 93.3 194
2, 208 = 12.978
p = 0.002 81.7 192
93.6 189 2, 202 =
19.313 p .0001
Aside from the sea we have other sources to
turn for income 68.4 93
76.9 103 2, 134 =
4.450 p = 0.108
70.4 152 75.0
96 2, 128 =
1.620 p = 0.445
3.2 Public Health 3.2.1