Conhecimento e poder na ecologia e conservação: análise das estruturas históricas do conhecimento e propostas de integração disciplinar rumo a uma ciência plural

Abstract

Ecology and conservation are disciplines that have changed in response to the social transformations and environmental conflicts we are experiencing. This thesis is the result of reflections on the construction of science as a space of power that is influenced by the historical, political and social context it experiences. The general aim is to conduct a critical analysis of the construction of knowledge in ecology and conservation based on the History and Sociology of Science and to propose new paths for building a plural science. Specifically, we seek to: (i) understand the relationship between knowledge and power in the scientific field, from a perspective situated in the South, (ii) advance integration between the social and natural sciences, and (iii) propose ways of overcoming historical inequalities in order to diversify science and pluralize knowledge. To this purpose, in chapter 1 we critically reflect on the historical and social dimension of ecology from the point of view of the social studies of science, seeking to move forward from the discussion around the object of ecology to placing ecology under the academic magnifying glass. In chapter 2, we critically reflect on recent proposals involving (de)coloniality in ecology and discuss the need to recognize and use theories produced in the Global South. In Chapter 3, we propose the Ecology of Absences as a theoretical-methodological tool for building a plural science. Chapter 4 aims to understand the construction and evolution of knowledge in the scientific field of Ecology, through the study of conceptual and collaborative networks, comparing Tropical Ecology and Temperate Ecology. In chapter 5, we defend the understanding of biodiversity conservation in the context of historical-sociological and local-global relations through World System Theory, initially proposed in the field of social sciences, and we apply this framework to the analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, arguing that it must be understood as an emerging phenomenon of the society-nature dynamic of the world system. Finally, in chapter 6 we analyze the power relations linked to conservation research and practice, and argue in favor of a Critical Conservation Science. We argue that criticism as a tool for analyzing reality is fundamental in the field of conservation, in the face of a reality that is in constant movement. We build our argument on the principles of the Frankfurt School and Latin American critical theory.