Uma história ambiental das florestas nacionais de Três Barras e Chapecó (1944-2000)

Abstract

In the northern and western region of Santa Catarina, the timber sector has been of significant economic importance since the beginning of colonization. Concerns about the lack of wood, consequence of the intense deforestation, led to institutional measures implementation, such as the creation of forest parks by the National Pine Institute. These parks served for experimental activities involving the cultivation of both native and exotic species. Following the dissolution of this Institute, the parks were transferred to the Brazilian Institute of Forest Development and renamed National Forests. This study analyzes the establishment and implementation process of National Forests in the Santa Catarina state, encompassing the Mixed Ombrophilous Forest, considering the prior context of deforestation and the timber industry. The chronological scope is defined from the creation of the first unit in the state, which occurred in 1944, extending until the 2000s when the National System of Nature Conservation Units was instituted. Adopting an Environmental History approach and employing an interdisciplinary methodology, regional periodicals, legislation, official documents, management plans, publications from the Brazilian Journal of Forest Economics and iconography were used as sources. Recognizing that the initial actions of these units were primarily linked to sustaining economic activities, the study seeks to comprehend how the established objectives at different points in time result in diverse forms of interaction with the environment.