XXXVI Simpósio de História do Vale do Paraíba
On 16 August, Gerson de Freitas Junior* took part in the XXXVI Symposium on the History of the Paraíba Valley, held in Piquete, São Paulo. The researcher delivered a presentation titled “Paisagens em Risco: Patrimônio Ambiental e Natural do Vale” on Panel 3.
The Symposium on the History of the Paraíba Valley is an initiative of the Instituto de Estudos Valeparaibanos (IEV), with itinerant editions across the region that bring together researchers, institutions, educators and civil society around the Valley’s history, culture and identity. In 2025, the event was organised by the Fundação Christiano Rosa under the theme “Patrimônio Valeparaibano: Identidade e História.” This edition promoted debates on environmental and cultural heritage, tangible and intangible, aiming at its preservation and valorisation, and the assessment of challenges posed by modernisation and territorial transformations, with a focus on safeguarding.
The debate highlighted the importance of recognising landscapes as living spaces, where memory, identity and ecosystems intertwine, and of valuing community practices that sustain biodiversity, water quality and the everyday relationship with the territory. The talk also underlined the need to align academic knowledge and local wisdom in protection strategies that are culturally grounded and socially just.
* Societies and Environmental Sustainability Research Group at the Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet, TERRA Associated Laboratory at the University of Coimbra and its Extension at Universidade Aberta of Portugal.
