Environmental Awareness as a Factor Shaping the Relationship Between Information Sources and Public Perception of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Services

It would be a critical omission to disregard the role of information dissemination in shaping public perception of sustainable forest management during Silesian Voivodeship’s transformation. Media exposure is often assumed to enhance environmental awareness, but complex internal mechanisms link information sources, public awareness, and ecosystem service valuation, especially in highly industrialized regions. This study investigates how discrete information sources (Media) are associated with public perceptions of forest ecosystem services (ES Perception) and investigates the mediating role enacted by Environmental Awareness (Awareness). Data were collected using a computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) survey conducted with a representative sample of 509 residents of Silesian Voivodeship in Poland. Path analysis (a form of structural equation modeling) was performed with 5000 bootstrap iterations to test the direct and indirect relationships within the Value–Awareness–Perception framework. The findings revealed a significant positive direct relationship between Media and ES Perception (β = 0.288, p < 0.001). However, a notable discrepancy emerged: media exposure showed a significant negative association with Awareness (β = −0.245, p < 0.001). Awareness was significantly and negatively linked to ES Perception (β = −0.229, p < 0.001), partially mediating the total effect. These results indicate a complex decoupling: while media consumption is associated with higher general service perception, it appears to be inversely related to functional Environmental Awareness regarding ecosystem threat.