Stakeholder engagement: dinâmica relacional para conservação de solos e recuperação de matas ciliares em sustentabilidade rural

Abstract

This thesis analyzes soil conservation and riparian forest restoration in Nova Santa Rosa (PR), Brazil, through the theoretical lens of stakeholder engagement, focusing on relational dynamics among territorial actors in rural contexts characterized by normative instability. The study addresses a gap in literature: although significant advances have described institutional instruments of environmental governance, limited attention has been given to the relational and institutional mechanisms through which conservation practices are sustained over long term. Methodologically, the research combines an international qualitative meta-synthesis of case studies (n = 7) with a longitudinal empirical analysis, which is based on the Gioia method and supported by in-depth interviews and historical documents. The integration of the metasynthesis and empirical findings allows relational engagement to be interpreted as the central explanatory axis, mediated by mechanisms associated with crisis perception, social legitimation, economic viability, intergenerational learning, productive consolidation of conservation practices, formal regulatory enforcement, and local autonomy. Together, these mechanisms explain the long-term stability of conservation practices. As an analytical synthesis, the thesis proposes the Systemic Collaborative Engagement Framework (FECS), within the relational dynamics of stakeholder engagement, offering an interpretation of how local collaborative structures maintain continuity amid regulatory fluctuations. By shifting the explanatory focus from policy instruments to relational mechanisms, the thesis contributes to the debate on stakeholder engagement in rural sustainability, elucidating how values, processes of social legitimation, and territorial arrangements interact to sustain conservation practices over time.