Preservation of Natural Heritage through Official Protection: state public authority actions in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Abstract

The actions for the protection of Natural Heritage in Brazil, in the context of cultural policies, date back to the 1930s, through the application of Official Protection. In this sense, this article has the objective of presenting the actions of the body responsible for this policy in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, the State Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAE, Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico do Estado), on Natural Heritage. Methodologically, the body was consulted for access to all proceedings, either archived or ongoing, involving natural assets. The following data were analyzed: the claimant and the justification presented by them to demand the opening of a process, the values attributed to the goods by the Institute and, in case of archiving without the occurrence of Heritage Listing, the motivation presented. The proceedings were analyzed in chronological order by opening date and spacialized. The results showed that 4.40% of the total Heritage Listings granted by the institution are related to natural assets, with two moments of peak processing (late 1980s, early 1990s and 2010s). The protection requests were made by public bodies or groups bound to universities. The justifications for the heritage listing requests and the values attributed by the IPHAE are quite diverse. The justifications for the archiving of processes present technical fragilities. The study is considered relevant because it is unprecedented research, potentially assisting in the qualification of heritage bodies and offering subsidies to civil society in its actions in benefit of Natural Heritage.