Hilgard O'Reilly Sternberg, a Pioneer in Research on Environmental Issues in Brazil

Abstract

In the end of the 1930s the first generation of geographers graduated in Brazil, although until the 1960s they had to go to the USA or Europe for post-graduate courses. One of the pioneers in geographical research Hilgard O'Reilly Sternberg held the chair of Geography of Brazil at the University of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro and later as Vice-President of the IGU, he linked Brazilian Geography to international research networks. O'Reilly Sternberg was -- besides his other research priorities -- one of the most eminent Brazilian representatives in analyzing the natural and human conditions of tropical rainforest regions of Amazonia. He favored a holistic approach as the preferred method for exploring man-environmental conflict in Brazil. From 1964 onwards he became a professor at the University of California in Berkeley and conducted basic research on the possibilities of sustainable regional development in Brazil, integrating the traditional know-how of the region's inhabitants and securing their identity against influences of misdirected state-controlled regional planning and globalization. With expert knowledge, scientific ethics and critical awareness, Sternberg contributed to the international acknowledgement and reputation of Brazilian geographical research.