O uso do fogo mediatizado pela educação ambiental : revelando indicadores potenciais

Abstract

This study was conducted with the community which resides on the Amazonia Farm, organized in 1985, in Nova Mutum, in the State of Mato Grosso, a forest area. The objective of the research was to understand the interaction between the people and their environment in the rural area. The focus of the investigation was the understanding of the use of fire by man as a tool in agriculture and also the investigation of how he views environmental education in the processing, conservation, and preservation of natural resources. The methodology used was qualitative research, a case study, using semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, and the informants were 16 subjects, residents of the chosen area. Thus, with a view to understanding the people’s concepts on the topics in the questionnaire: environment, use of fire, environmental education, and management of natural resources, and also with the understanding that the dialectic process in which information, scientific knowledge and new experiences bring about reflections and perceptions of a person’s own being, developing actions, abilities and activities toward correct, effective and continued development, the analysis of the data presents significant aspects for reflection about environment and environmental education on the use of fire in the rural area. The data also show that little attention in this aspect is given by the authorities in the Municipal, State or Federal level, where there should be continued and effective education for the rural producers in order to promote fundamental mechanisms towards citizenship and sustainable development, so necessary in present times. This research, therefore, contributes with important information for those interested in environmental preservation and life in its wholeness. Environmental education is the mechanism that makes these actions possible.