Um olhar sobre o processo de transformação da paisagem na bacia do rio Santa Rosa (NW do RS), de 1915 até os dias atuais

Abstract

This research had as purpose to analyze the transformation of the landscape in relation with dealing with the forest, the land use and hydric resources in the watershed of Santa Rosa s river (NW of RS), since 1915; when the beginning of colonization and occupancy by European immigrants and their descendants. Starting with the hypothesis of the progress idea, by immigrants, was associated to the gap of agricultural areas in regions of native forests. From this, people started to understand the first immigrants motivations and feelings on the building of new space and the perception of their descendants, regarding to the reflections nowadays, the replacement of native vegetation to the agriculture production. The research held up on the search by informations of preserved materials in museums (objects, pictures and newspapers), on interviews, on the scenery observations and in bibliographies researches. The actions of the European immigrants and their descendants, could be considered as the landmark to the abrupt transformation of the landscape in the study area, descharacterizing intensively the original landscape putting in evidence an unsustainable civilization model and unbalanced the environmental and social point of view; which, disrupted the natural environment for its implementation. Basically, the native vegetal (forest) replacement in agricultural areas, had two moments with distinct characteristics, especially, regarding to techniques, rhythm (speed) of natural space intervention and numbers of involved people; the first, previous to agricultural mechanization and the other one, posterior. The adopted procedures in both moments resulted in growth and economic dynamism and on the same time, in a sequence of negative results to the elements of natural space, to the society and to the culture. The reflections of this behavior are currently seen. The embrittlement and the imbalance of the natural space, result of homogenous landscape view and abolishment of elements, as fauna and flora produce negative effects, which ones, called environmental imbalances, in the ground, in the water and in the absence of diversity (animal or vegetable). Socially, the modernization model implanted on the small properties, reflected in the people exclusion of agricultural productive processes and, culturally, meant the elimination of knowledge and techniques, which ones, were synthesized with the monocultures production, specially the soy. The space intervention, after 1915, disrespected the dynamics and the limits of natural elements, compromising the identity of the landscape in the study area. Interpreting the landscape transformation for the anthropic action in the building process, construction and reconstruction of the space have a fundamental importance to evaluate and understand the reflections currently, having as bias the Environmental History. The systematization of this research resulted in the construction of the Environmental History of the Santa Rosa River basin (NW of RS), though unfinished, but timely as it provides the notion of construction and destruction of the natural space. Knowledge of this reality, it may be possible to build paradigm changes, aimed at social and environmental care.