Explaining the intention to practice “Leave No Trace” in Hong Kong's country parks: The roles of environmental self-identity, personal moral norms and awareness of consequences

Abstract

The persistent littering in Hong Kong's country parks, despite the “Leave No Trace” (LNT) programme initiated in 2015, highlights its limitations. This study, guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), extends the model by adding three new variables–environmental self-identity, personal moral norms, and awareness of consequences–and aims to identify the drivers of LNT intention among park users. Through a questionnaire survey conducted in 12 country parks, 596 valid responses were collected and analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The results showed that the extended model had enhanced explanatory power. Personal moral norms emerged as the strongest direct factor driving LNT intention, while subjective norms lost their direct influence, and only had an effect on intention when mediated by personal moral norms. Environmental self-identity played a limited role, and awareness of consequences indirectly affected LNT intention, primarily through personal moral norms and to a lesser extent through attitude. These findings deepen the understanding of LNT behaviour, especially highlighting the crucial role of personal moral norms, and provide policymakers and park managers with evidence-based solutions to refine the LNT programme.