The "Last Refuges" of Primitive Nature: The Biological Reserves and the Environmental Militancy of Augusto Ruschi (1940-1970)

Abstract

This article talks about policy strategies for preserving the natural world which were created inside a certain relationship man/nature, historically considered. As a case study, it approaches aspects of the work of the naturalist Augusto Ruschi, from Espírito Santo, regarding the process of idealization and defense of the Forest and biological resources in the State of Espírito Santo. From the scientific and political nets built since the years 1930–1940, Ruschi has become the protagonist of the process of determining the geographic limits for the social-economical exploitation of the natural resources from Espírito Santo. On the other hand, his influence was not so strong in the 1960–1970 when the developing model adopted in that State favored the implementation of great industrial projects. In both contexts, the protection of fragments of “primitive nature” was shown as strategic discourse before a useful perspective of natural resources appropriation without questioning the logic of the capitalist system.