Perception of climate change effects on water resources: Iraqi undergraduates as a case study

Developing countries suffer from the effects of climate change on water resources more than other countries. This paper aims to specify the undergraduates’ knowledge about climate change effects on water resources. This study was conducted through a questionnaire distributed using Google form in May 2021. Descriptive analysis was used to display the level of awareness, and then the correlation between the respondents’ gender, stage, and scientific specialization were analyzed. The results showed that the general knowledge for all questionaries ranged between 40 and 50 %. Moreover, a weak positive correlation with the highest Spearman’s rho of 0.15 was shown for the students’ gender with their understanding of climate change main cause by 0.06 for the academic stage versus knowledge of climate change causes. Moreover, the results indicated a weak role for university education in exchange for a prominent role for television and social media in raising awareness. The research recommends integrating the Environmental Education (EE) programs into the Iraqi educational systems as it proposes a systematic educational method through which climate change and other environmental problems may be addressed holistically at all educational levels.