Special Projects

Environment Interdisciplinary Center (NIMA)

Coordinator

http://www.nima.puc-rio.br/index.php/en/

Environment Interdisciplinary Center (NIMA) is located within PUC’s Ecological Park, an area with plenty of vegetation and with a diversity of rare species. An Atlantic Forest place where the Rainha River passes by, the sabiá-laranjeira sings and where one builds with bamboo, with words and with transforming actions.

Founded by the current rector, father Josafá Carlos de Siqueira, S.J., in 1999, NIMA received the task to become the integration place for the interdisciplinary exchange on environmental studies in the University. Its duty is to close the relationship among the different departments, seeking to build up cooperation to face the social-environmental questions.

In November 2006, NIMA received the Estácio de Sá Award in the Environment category. Its compromise assumed since its foundation was with the environmental ethics, and therefore it acts accordingly to transform the anthropocentric culture, believing in the possibility of creating new scenarios from the communion between the human beings and the environment. NIMA is associated to Vice-president  for Development Office.

Environment Agenda

Coordinator

http://www.nima.puc-rio.br/index.php/en/agenda

The environmental crisis is a global and local reality that must be faced by all of us who inhabit the planet earth. The University must collaborate in the production of knowledge, through teaching and research, looking for sustainable solutions and promoting creative actions that might help society with adaptive processes derived from the climate changes and with the search of minimizing resolutions for current and future socioenvironment impacts. Due to this challenge, we have to put our efforts toward the construction of systems and alternatives ecologically correct and socially fair and solidary.

The power and testimony of local actions are extremely important to illuminate and enrich global proposals of planetary sustainability, contributing to changes of habits and construction process of new habits (ethos). Only this way we will realize the utopia of a world where environmental and social relations are really more balanced to current generations and to those who in the future will succeed us.

In this local action perspective, we believe in the proposal strength of PUC-Rio Environmental Agenda. The agenda is a result of a long discussion and reflexion process of a competent group composed by teachers and students, from different centers and departments, coordinated by PUC-Rio Environment Interdisciplinary Center (NIMA).

We are aware of academic difficulties in summarizing and synthetizing convergent and divergent aspects from the various scientific knowledges. On the other hand, we believe that due to the union of different efforts we will put in practice actions that contribute to the future construction of a truly sustainable university. The socioenvironmentissue is a reference capable of gathering diverse ideas and to suggest practical and reasonable solutions in order to improve patterns that control the fundamental principles of social and academic excellence institution, such as PUC-Rio.

The Environmental Agenda is, above all, a symbolic expression of the institution collective effort of looking for sustainable alternatives in short and long terms.  Its symbolic force is a clear demonstration that the local testimony is fundamental to mirror the global wish of a planet more ecologically well balanced and socially fairer and greater in solidarity.   

Fr. Josafá Carlos de Siqueira, S.J.
President of PUC-Rio