A Social Representation of the Guará (Eudocimus ruber) in Speech and Perceptions of the Local Population of Guaratuba Bay (PR): Environmental Education Required

Abstract

The guará (Eudocimus ruber), a typical bird of the region of mangroves, remained for a period of about a century away from the coast of Paraná. The factors that led to its decline in the state are linked directly to human actions. In 2008, a single bird of the species was sighted feeding in mangrove Guaratuba (PR). After this first record, flocks of guará have been observed repopulating the region, especially the Guaratuba Bay. The research highlighted here is the social representation and the place that this bird occupies in the collective imagination of the local population of Guaratuba Bay. It is, therefore, an Environmental Education activity. The research involved forty residents bordering the locality. The objective of the study focused on the analysis of historical issues, behavioral, social and environmental factors that relate to the disappearance of the guará in Guaratuba Bay, with emphasis on the study of social representations and symbolism of the bird to the imagination of the resident population. The study was developed in line with the qualitative ethnographic research, and informal pre-structured conversations were conducted with river dwellers. Analysis of the information collected allowed us to identify the social representations and collective imagination about guará for these communities, reassembled in the joy of the residents for the return of the bird in the mangrove forest. It was noted the need to develop effective environmental education actions to preserve the bird in the region.