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This article discusses Conservation Units in the conservationist perspective, as instruments to protect nature, assuring the maintenance of Brazilian biodiversity and biomes, in order to build an ecologically balanced environment under the terms of the Federal Constitution of 1988. Through deductive method, exploratory, documental, and bibliographic research, and indirect analysis of Environmental Ministry and Environmental, Sustainable Development State Office data, it makes a legal-theoretical appreciation of the issue in Brazil. By looking at the Brazilian scenario, it notices that most part of the Conservation Units were created by the States and were focused, respectively, on Mata Atlântica, Cerrado, and the Amazon, and had sustainability as a legal-political fundament. The conjuncture of Goiás indicates that stating the Conservation Units existence is not enough, since more than half of Conservation Units lack landing regularization. Also, six out of twenty-five Conservation Units still do not have an Administrative Counsel. Twenty Conservation Units do not have a working plan, which, added to financial and staff difficulties may compromise the expected protection of nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, sustainable development represents a global challenge, especially in urban centers. In this sense, it is urgent that, in the public policies implemented by municipal governance, there are strategic actions related to the preservation of the environment (environmental dimension), the reduction of social inequalities (social dimension), the promotion of local economic growth (economic dimension), the conservation and dissemination of cultural traditions (cultural dimension), as well as the search for a balance between the built and natural environment (spatial dimension). Thus, it is urgent and necessary that the design plans of cities contemplate all dimensions of sustainability, thus enabling a concrete and effective sustainable urban development. Indeed, the objective of this study is to verify the relationship of public policies, developed in Fortaleza, with all the axes of urban sustainability, especially the one that contemplates the management of natural assets in the city. The methodological procedure is qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive. A bibliographic and documental survey was carried out (articles, scientific papers, and documents produced by the public power) through which the main sustainability public policies developed in Fortaleza were listed and presented. Then, the alignment of the objectives, goals, and actions described in these legal instruments was verified, as were the practices related to each of the dimensions of sustainability. It was observed that among the actions planned and implemented by the local government, all the dimensions of sustainability are contemplated, and a specific axis for governance is also present in these plans. It is important to emphasize that there are also specific plans or projects for the management of natural resources and maintenance of environmental quality, showing that in the urban space of Fortaleza there is a search for balance between the built and natural environments, focusing on the reduction of socio-environmental vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The demands for a development model that considers the social and environmental dimensions, as well as the economic dimension, has become increasingly imperative, either by society in general or by the initiative of national or supranational bodies, as oversight and regulatory agencies. In this way, the precepts of sustainable development have been gaining more space in political agendas and civil debates. We propose here that this model of development, especially the one linked to strong sustainability (and relative to the branch of ecological economy), would be ideal. For this, based on literature review, we formulate a theoretical model that combines sustainable regional development (as a dependent variable), mediated by the independent variables of entrepreneurship and sustainability. That is, the objective of this paper is the proposition of a theoretical framework that assumes that the sustainable regional development can be reached from the articulation between the foment to the entrepreneurial activity and the precepts of sustainability. As an additive to this model, we also consider the construct of the entrepreneurial ecosystem as a catalyst for entrepreneurial activity at the regional level and sustainable entrepreneurship as a type of business conducive to a more equal income generation, improvement of social structure, and environmental preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a discussion about the current model of agricultural development of cultivated lands in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. We discuss the causes of environmental transformations and the means of production that generate various implications on indigenous peoples, family farmers, and already fragile biomes, as well as the issue of human health and food safety. Finally, the article presents a proposal, based on ecologically correct alternatives, towards the construction of environmental sustainability and social welfare of the state of Mato Grosso do Sul. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the Gross Sustainability Index of the municipalities of Mato Grosso do Sul, prepared according to variables related to the political-administrative structure, instruments and actions developed in favor of environmental preservation. The data were obtained from the Municipal Basic Information Survey (MUNIC), made by the IBGE in 2013. The results indicate that several municipalities are far below the ideal in terms of the political-administrative structure and actions aimed at preserving the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]