Environmental knowledge, attitude and sustainable behaviour of the people have become
fundamental elements of sustainable forest management. Kashmir Himalayas is an ecologically
fragile region, inhabited by various ethnic and tribal communities with low levels
of education and heavy dependence on forest resource utilization. The lack of adequate
environmental knowledge and appreciation of ecological values among the inhabitants has
negatively affected the forest resources. The study aims to ascertain the levels of environmental
knowledge and identify the factors that influence attitude and sustainable behaviour
among forest dwellers. The study is based on primary data, with a sample size of 600
households, which was analyzed with the help of Weighted Average Index (WAI), and the
Binary Logistic Regression Model (BLRM). The findings indicate that forest dwellers in
the region exhibit low levels of environmental knowledge, along with a moderate attitude
and moderate levels of sustainable behaviour. Environmental knowledge regarding emerging
global environmental issues such as the role of forests in combating global warming,
greenhouse gas emissions, climate change, and ecological imbalance was found to be very
low, primarily on account of low levels of education. In addition, the attitude towards wildlife
conservation was non-congenial due to increasing man-animal conflicts in the region.
The study reveals that education, age, and gender were key determinants influencing people’s
environmental knowledge, attitude, and sustainable behaviour. This study validates
that knowledge, sustainable behaviour, and attitude scales could be used as premier tools
for monitoring sustainable forest management initiatives in similar environments across
mountainous regions.