INVESTIGAÇÃO SOBRE AS CONCEPÇÕES E PRÁTICAS DE EDUCAÇÃO AMBIENTAL NA GESTÃO PÚBLICA

Abstract

The history of Environmental Education (EE) reflects its growing importance in addressing the environmental crisis that has been worsening in the current context. EE has emerged as a fundamental pillar in public management, being recognized for its crucial role in promoting public policies for a more sustainable society, aware of current environmental challenges. The integration of EE into public policies and management practices not only broadens understanding and appreciation of the natural and built environment but also fosters a culture of socio-environmental responsibility. Through awareness, education, and action, formal, non-formal, and informal EE plays an important role in shaping citizens, and its three-dimensional approach allows different segments of society to be reached and engaged. Thus, the present research focused on public management executed by the Municipal Department of the Environment of Guarapuava (SEMAG) in the city of Guarapuava, Paraná, Brazil, aiming to verify the conceptions of Environment, EE, Conservation Unit (CU), and how EE permeates different sectors, with the purpose of developing an educational product in the form of an ebook to support the integration of EE in all departments. This research adopted a qualitative exploratory approach, involving 25 employees from the departments of Environmental Licensing and Inspection, Environmental Education, Animal Protection, Solid Waste, Environmental Projects, and Plant Production, with the participation of SEMAG’s legal advisory team. The results were obtained through questionnaires and analyzed according to Bardin (1977), and the data were interpreted based on Layrargues and Lima (2014), revealing that most employees hold a naturalistic conception of the environment and a conservative view of EE, recognizing the importance of EE in all actions.