NATURAL HERITAGE AND HISTORIC GARDENS IN BRAZIL: REPRESENTATIONS OF DISPARITIES IN IPHAN COLLECTIONS (1938–2026)

ABSTRACT
Analysis of the Brazilian cultural heritage registered between 1938 and 2026, focusing on the categories of natural heritage and historical gardens, to evaluate representations of sociocultural, historical, and geographical disparities in primary sources from the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN). Designed as a basic qualitative and quantitative approach, with exploratory objectives and bibliographic-documentary procedures, the research was limited to documentary sources from IPHAN. Data collection included a literature review in databases such as SciELO, Periódicos Capes, and Web of Science, as well as a thorough examination of the list of national heritage registered by the Brazilian State, with focus on the aforementioned categories. As analytical tools, bibliographic, documentary, and statistical analyses were used, focusing on data related to national heritage registered between 1938 and 2026, available in the IPHAN collections. Among the central concepts, expressions such as tombamento, natural heritage, and historical gardens stood out. The first, understood as the main official instrument for protecting national heritage in the context of the Brazilian State (Chuva, 2009; Oliveira, 2016), and the last two based on the works of Winter (2007); Mongelli (2011); Crispim (2016); Magalhães (2018); Pereira (2018), and Bispo (2022), especially in the scope of natural heritage registration processes in Brazil. Concerning the antagonism between the concepts of nature and culture, in Brazilian and South American territories, the works of Sevcenko (1996), Pesavento (2020), Moraes (2006), Kok (2009), and Krenak (2020) were considered important contributions. In terms of expected results, the research may reveal characteristics of the quantitative dimension of registered heritage in Brazil, focusing on the categories described as natural heritage and historical gardens, as well as aspects that allow the elucidation of disparities related to the concepts of autochthonous and Iberian heritage, which resulted from the colonization process, historically marked by the exaltation of elements of European culture, concomitantly with discrimination against indigenous, Afro-diasporic, and Afro-Brazilian cultural elements and references. In terms of conclusions, it is expected that it will be possible, on the one hand, to point out essential measures and/or adaptations that allow the improvement of heritage policies focused on natural heritage in Brazil, favouring the establishment of more appropriate mechanisms for the protection and safeguarding of indigenous and Afro-Brazilian cultural heritage and, on the other hand, to promote the appreciation of ancestral knowledge and practices of traditional communities that resist in natural areas and/or areas of interest to the Brazilian State, in terms of environmental preservation.
Keywords: Natural heritage; historical gardens; Brazil; disparities; collections; IPHAN.