Rumos para a formação de ecólogos no Brasil

Abstract

The first graduate programs in Ecology started in Brazil 30 years ago, and this science in Brazil is fastly growing up since then. Many young Brazilian ecologists have graduated both in Brazil and abroad and there was a significant increase in the number of indexed paper published by Brazilian ecologist. Despite this progress, biodiversity-rich regions such as the Amazon forest, the cerrados and the semi-arid are threatened by large scale activities that cause a dramatic reduction of natural habitats and provoke ecosystem disturbances. The importance of publishing relevant scientific papers is obvious for the advancement of Ecology in Brazil and elsewhere. Nevertheless it is also very relevant that ecologists engage in discussions about our environmental problems in order to proposal effective ways to transform this undesirable reality. A productive way to reach this goal is to stimulate ecologists to engage in national meetings to discuss the integration between scientific ecological competence and its application in real situations. The next important step should be an effective ecologist’s participation in public policies formulation and application.