ABSTRACT
This paper adds to debates in the 1980s and its perspectives for the preservation of cultural heritage. It focuses on the possibilities for the knowledge of cultural references, for the expansion of heritage itself and for the reinforcement of the diversity of meanings and agents related to heritage during a decade marked by the resuming to a democratic regime. Thus, it focuses on Environmental Licensing, created in 1981 by Law No. 6,938 as an instrument of the Brazilian National Environmental Policy. Thus, this paper analyzes such instrument regarding the discussions on development and preservation, nature and culture, as well as on threats to all cultural assets, regardless of their official status as heritage. It also encompasses the understanding of heritage as part of the environment, as a human right, and as a resource to citizenship.
KEYWORDS:
Environmental licensing; Cultural heritage; Environment; National Environmental Policy; 1980s