Florestas e sociedades: para o estudo do papel das instituições nas mudanças da cobertura florestal

Abstract

First, this work covers the significance and the need of incrementing the content of Human Sciences in higher education, in general, and in Forest Engineering, in particular, by, at least, presenting a good reason for engaging in the fight for this important and necessary change of course. Subsequently, we present the critical interpretation of the book Ecossistemas Florestais: interação homem-ambiente (Forest Ecosystems: man-environment interaction) as fertile grounds for innovating the study of relations between institutions and the changes in earth use and toppings, suggesting a possible direction for this journey. Later, we seek to organize a theoretical framework, which would allow us to frame issues for studying the role of the institutions in the changes of forest toppings from a historic point-of-view. Categorizing the institutions into subjects, ideals and objects, and defining the locations as National State (globally), as States (nationally) and Municipalities (locally), the focus of the analysis must be on the formation, combination and diffusion processes of the institutions inside and between these locations. An example is the economic, social and/or political formation process of these locations, considering as much the local forces as the diffusion of innovations, which might disseminate the institutions individually as well as articulated in economic and/or political structures and mechanisms. The Innovation Diffusion Theory (IDT), performed by Milton Santos, points to pathways that sidetracks the main issues identified by the theory by means of introducing the concepts of connectivity and cultural permeability, redefining the terms of use and occupation and, finally, exposing new issues emerging from this approach and the importance of considering inequalities between social classes. In the end, we present a reflection on the epistemological consequences of this chosen path and constructed theoretical framework, followed by a proposal of a methodological design.