Environmental Education in the Brazilian Amazon, in Pará State: The Meanings of Environmental Governance

The Brazilian Amazon is at the very core of current economic disputes driven by different versions of capitalism, which have determined a history of environmental devastation, and commercial and environmental exploitation. Accordingly, we thought about elaborating a study based on the following research aims: getting to know the environments' social representations and the Environmental Education giving meaning to environmental governance concepts, in the context of Pará State's Amazon. In methodological terms, this research was substantiated by the Theory of Social Representations, based on the ethnographic approach. It counted on the collaboration of 121 teachers trained in Pedagogy who work in municipal public schools in Castanhal City--Pará State. We used questionnaire, focus groups and participatory observation to collect data. Based on the main results, the environment's social representations and the Environmental Education elaborated by teachers provided powerful elements for natures' defense aimed at environmental awareness and citizenship participation in decision-making processes. Due to an adverse environmental scenario--of nature's commercialization and aggressive exploitation--the herein approached representations can help the population to redefine its history and, simultaneously, to set environmental governance processes to preserve the forest and the life of local communities.