Conservação de cavidades naturais subterrâneas enquanto patrimônio cultural brasileiro: escrutinando o posicionamento do IPHAN a partir do estudo do caso da Paleotoca situada na Serra do Gandarela/MG

Abstract

The conservation of caves aims to maintain these important environments that enrich geodiversity and biocultural diversity. With the objective of investigating whether caves can be protected as cultural heritage, the dissertation's object of investigation is the Brazilian National Policy of tangible cultural heritage regarding the protection of speleological heritage, established by IPHAN. This policy will be analyzed through the case study of the heritage listing process of the Paleotoca located in the Serra do Gandarela, Minas Gerais. The theoretical frameworks of the research are the Theory of Conservation Based on Values and the Federal Constitution of 1988. The dissertation conducts an extensive literature review and, through critical analysis, addresses the international trend of recognizing the interrelation between nature and culture and argues that a wide range of values can be attributed to natural assets, elevating them to cultural heritage. It explains that, at a national level, Brazilian legislation allows for the protection of natural assets as environmental and cultural heritage, but, on the other hand, IPHAN has a hesitant stance on its role in their conservation, as evidenced by the decision in the case under study. After presenting physical, ecological, and social usage characteristics of caves, the dissertation constructs a complex matrix of scientific and educational, cultural (in a strict sense), historical, socioeconomic, and/or environmental values attributable to these assets, which is why it argues that they can be considered natural cultural heritage. Finally, scrutinizing the decision of IPHAN, it explains that values can be attributed to the Paleotoca that confer significance and elect it for protection as cultural heritage, and concludes that IPHAN’s limitation on the range of speleological assets that can comprise the national cultural heritage is neither technical nor supported by Brazilian standards.