Emergence of the international environmental debate and its repercussions in Brazil

Abstract

This article presents a summary of the 20th-century international debate on the environment, aiming to analyze the relationship between socio-environmental issues, the national political-administrative apparatus, and society's environmental demands. It is based on a qualitative documentary analysis (Godoy, 1995) of texts resulting from United Nations Conferences on the Environment (1972; 1992; 2002; 2012). The history of the discussion and the actions of environmental movements have shown that social participation is decisive in defining national environmental policy. The analysis indicates that the goals of environmental sustainability will only be achieved when society works to cultivate ecological balance through practices that respect the limits of nature (Boff, 2014). Furthermore, it highlights the need to educate communities, promoting environmental education as an ongoing process of critical awareness that questions the current development model, which is incompatible with environmental sustainability.