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PRESENTATION

Welcome to UFRGS Graduate Program in Ecology

The UFRGS Graduate Program in Ecology was created in 1978.

Mission

Produce and disseminate basic and applied scientific knowledge in Ecology at the local, regional, and global levels, based on the qualified training of masters and PhD students, and thus enable the use of scientific knowledge in the sustainable development of Brazil.

Program Goals

The UFRGS Graduate Program in Ecology has the broad goal of training and qualifying teachers, researchers, consultants, and technicians at an advanced level to carry out teaching, research, and outreach activities in the area of Ecology. The program aims to provide conditions for master's and PhD students to:

a) produce advances in the scientific knowledge of excellence in the area of Ecology, searching to strengthen the theoretical and applied extisting knowledge in relation to the proposition of new fields of research;

b) share the results of the research carried out through highly recognized academic publications (scientific journals, books), as well as through social media for decision makers and society in general (blogs, social networks , printed promotional material);

c) to propose solutions for environmental problems based on the use of scientific knowledge in Ecology, through the development of innovative proposals for monitoring, diagnosis, and environmental management compatible with the current scientific knowledge; d) advise

d) advise government agencies and private initiative institutions to issue opinions and advise on solutions for environmental problems;

e) promote the values of dialogue, critical thinking, mental health, and sustainability in the academic community.

History and context of the program

Ecological research at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul had an initial impulse in 1974, with the creation of the Interdepartmental Center for Ecological Studies (NIDECO), linked with the Biosciences Institute. In 1975, in order to implement teaching at the Postgraduate level, the Specialization Course in Ecology was organized by NIDECO. Between 1976 and 1986, an agreement signed with the Special Secretariat for the Environment of the Brazilian government made it possible to implement the Ecological Stations of Taim and Esmeralda. In 1978, the recognition of the Post-Graduate Course (CPG) in Ecology by the National Post-Graduate Commission has implemented post-graduate teaching at the master's level. Several CPG Ecologia master's thesis projects were developed at the newly created Ecological Stations. 

In 1979, the agreements signed between UFRGS and the University of Saarland (active until 1987), in the Federal Republic of Germany, and between UFRGS and SUBIN / SEPLAN, reinforced teaching and research at CPG, through the arrival of German professors and equipment of field and laboratory, and of teachers going to doctoral programs in Germany. At the end of this period, three lines of research were consolidated: Aquatic Ecology, Terrestrial Ecology, and Urban Ecology. In 1987, the agreement signed between CPG and PPG in Ecology and Natural Resources / UFSCar enabled cooperation in teaching and research, including guidance on dissertations and theses.

In 1990, new facilities were opened at CPG Ecologia and the Ecology Center (formerly NIDECO), meeting the growing demands for teaching and research in the course. In 1992, the "Environmental Sciences" emphasis was created, meeting the demand for the training of qualified human resources for the treatment of environmental problems. In this context, 18 master's dissertations defended at CPG until 1997 and linked to the interdepartmental project "Energy and Environment - the question of coal in Rio Grande do Sul" (Notice PADCT - CIAMB) generated subsidies for socio-economic-environmental planning and management

In 2000, the recognition of the doctoral course by CAPES made the now Graduate Program (PPG) in Ecology expand both scientifically and structurally. The renewal of the teaching staff of the Department. of Ecology at UFRGS made it possible to create the research areas Quantitative Ecology and Landscape Ecology, Ecotoxicology, and Bioindication at that time. New agreements were then made with numerous teaching and research institutions, in addition to maintaining a traditional relationship with companies and government management bodies. During the 2000s, the academic production of PPG Ecologia was consolidated. In 2008, Dr. Leandro Duarte, a graduate of the Program in 2007 under the guidance of Professors Valério Pillar and Sandra Hartz, was awarded the Capes Thesis Award in the area of Ecology for the first time in its history.

In 2018, Dr. Renan Maestri, an egress of the PPG in Ecologia at 2017, under the guidance of Prof. Thales Freitas, was awarded the Capes de Thesis Award in the area of Biodiversity. Thus, PPG Ecologia received, for the second time, national recognition for academic excellence in the training of human resources and intellectual production.