"Pra onde a gente olha, tem natureza": conexão com a natureza e comportamentos ambientais de crianças na Floresta Nacional do Tapajós, Brasil

Abstract

To think about the relationship between human beings and nature is also to immerse oneself in different historical and cultural moments. As a social subject of history, human beings establish meanings and significance for nature, creating connections that guide their way of thinking and acting in the face of the environment. The main objective of this dissertation was to understand the connection to nature and environmental behaviors of Amazonian children in a riverside community in the National Forest (Flona) of Tapajós, Brazil. . The first part of the research consists of a qualitative systematic review, using the PRISMA recommendation, to identify and critically select the literature on the main constructs of the dissertation in the Web of Science, SciELO and Scopus databases, using the descriptors: “Connect* OR Behavio* AND Natur* OR Environmen* AND Child*”. The structured methodological procedures for data analysis and synthesis were based on the Qualitative Evidence Synthesis - SEQ protocol. The data were tabulated and are presented in descriptive tables and graphs. The second part of the dissertation comprises an empirical study with 20 children between 8 and 11 years old, living in the São Domingos riverside community, located in Flona Tapajós, state of Pará. Data from this stage were collected through the use of focus groups and, later transcribed and analyzed using the Collective Subject Discourse technique - DSC. Scientific production in Latin America is evolving in terms of quantity, diversity of countries and authors. SEQ demonstrates that studies on the connection between children and nature highlight this connection as a factor that positively influences the development of children, especially in the sense of self-perception with nature. The case study generated 76 CSDs for the set of questions, which reveal that the child perceives himself in nature and connects with it, as well as mentioning possible actions that suggest pro-environmental behavior, either in the care with the destination of the garbage or with plants, in contact with animals, with approximations in affective, cognitive and experiential dimensions. The case study dialogued with SEQ on the relationship between child and nature, on the importance of this interaction for a child's full development, which may result in pro-environmental behaviors in the studied conservation unit.