PCOMMUNITY EDUCATION ON GREEN BELT STRUCTURING AND PARTICIPATORY ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY MONITORING AROUND COAL-FIRED POWER PLANT X
Published:
2026-10-27Downloads
Abstract
Coal-fired power plants secure baseload electricity but expose neighbouring settlements to fly ash, stockpile dust, flue gases (SO2, NOx) and noise, while residents are usually treated as passive recipients of these impacts and have no means of checking air quality themselves. This participatory action research designed, implemented and evaluated an education programme on multi-strata green belt structuring and citizen-science environmental monitoring for communities around Coal-Fired Power Plant X. A one-group pretest–posttest design was combined with Participatory Action Research involving 40 residents from farmer groups, youth organisations and health cadres. Activities covered pollutant-tolerant species selection, canopy zoning, assembly of dustfall jars, operation of low-cost IoT particulate sensors and planting of a 300 m demonstration buffer. Knowledge scores were analysed with a paired-sample t-test and normalized gain. Mean scores rose from 42.00 ± 10.8 to 83.10 ± 7.1 (p < 0.001), with an N-gain of 0.71 (high category). Resident-led monitoring during follow-up recorded dustfall 41.1% lower in the nearest zone behind a 40–50% porosity barrier dominated by Casuarina equisetifolia, Samanea saman and Terminalia neotaliala. Combining ecological education with simple monitoring instruments enabled residents to act as independent, credible environmental monitors and to take part in evidence-based dialogue with the plant operator.
Keywords:
Air quality Citizen science Coal-fired power plant Green belt Participatory monitoringReferences
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