Fritz Müller: Caminhos para o Desenvolvimento Regional. Pronunciamento de Carolina Nunes / Humanität na Assembleia Legislativa do Estado de Santa Catarina (ALESC) sobre a proposta de criacão do roteiro turístico “Caminhos de Fritz Müller”, uma iniciativa que combina turismo com uma abordagem científica, ambiental e cultural. Durante sua apresentação, a oradora compartilhou estudos de caso baseados em experiências similares na Alemanha, onde a ressignificação de cidades com base em valores ambientais e culturais está intrinsecamente ligada ao desenvolvimento econômico e à melhoria da qualidade de vida.
Agradecimentos: ACAPRENA e Deputado Padre Pedro
00:00 Introdução
00:51 Início do pronunciamento / Sobre Fritz Müller
03:08 Cidades catarinenses na encruzilhada do desenvolvimento
04:13 Inspirações da Alemanha para Santa Catarina
08:07 Exemplo concreto de aplicação do conceito
10:12 Fim do pronunciamento / Considerações dos Deputados
I am currently interrupting the session for 10 minutes, for Mrs. Carolina Viviane Nunes to speak, at the request of ACAPRENA (Santa Catarina Association for Nature Preservation) to present about the late researcher Fritz Müller and the Routes to Regional Development. I invite Mrs. Carolina to take the floor.
Mr. Speaker of the State Assembly, Deputy Rodrigo Minotto, State Representatives, and Ladies and Gentlemen. I thank Mr. Deputy Father Pedro for making this speech possible. I am Carolina Nunes, an urban ecosystem architect at Humanitat, dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in cities through
Engagement methodologies, projects, and consulting in the field of urban planning. I am going to Rio de Janeiro to participate in a Brazil-Germany Congress that addresses the scientific relevance of documents in the German language produced in Brazil,
Sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, to which I am connected as a German Chancellor Fellow. Fritz Müller was a German-Brazilian naturalist who lived in Blumenau and Florianópolis between 1852 and 1897, where he researched the invertebrate fauna and the flora of Santa Catarina. In his lifetime,
He was recognized as a Dr. Honoris Causa by the Universities of Bonn and Tübingen in Germany, and later, by UFSC and FURB in Brazil. Fritz Müller’s most well-known achievement was his collaboration with Charles Darwin’s theory, in which he collected biological evidence and compiled
It into a publication. He was cited 19 times in the 6th edition of “On the Origin of Species.” But Fritz Müller was a prominent scientist in his own right and was part of a scientific communication network in the 19th century. In Germany, I visited the Alexander Koenig Museum,
Where I learned about a collaborative project between them and Blumenau, for the transcription and translation of cards exchanged with German scientists. A collection of 5 volumes gathers works, letters, and a biography. In this publication, we find the account
Of the expedition he undertook between Blumenau (my hometown) and Rancho Queimado (where I live). Fritz Müller explored several municipalities in Santa Catarina during his excursions. Ecologist Lauro Bacca, from ACAPRENA and the Desterro Fritz Müller / Charles Darwin 200 Years Group, has been researching
The “Routes of Fritz Müller.” I will present the idea of an itinerary that combines tourism with scientific, environmental, and cultural emphasis. Santa Catarina is a state of small and medium-sized cities, facing a crossroads of development.
This is the main street of Rancho Queimado, where I live. A city with enormous potential, especially due to its landscape and ambiance. Where it’s possible to ride horses… And bike through rural landscapes… And stroll with my pony on the main street.
But what economic opportunities are lost when the city becomes like this? This neighborhood in Blumenau, two decades ago, wasn’t much different from Rancho Queimado, but now it has turned into an area without identity, full of billboards and warehouses. This neighborhood has been
Planned since the 1970s, which raises an alert: how are our cities dealing with urban planning to create value? Germany has been through this. This image was once considered synonymous with progress. And so were the cities in the Essen region:
A cluster of coal and steel industries. The Emscher river had its banks concreted and was considered the most polluted in Europe. But with the decline of that type of industry, they faced economic, environmental, and social collapse. And the city needed to reinvent itself,
Adopting a new paradigm based on the environment and culture. Essen was the European Capital of Culture and European Green Capital, and for that, it needed to present results and goals.
– 13,000 jobs in innovative, green sector – 95% live within 300m of a park – 3,100 ha of parks and 376 km of bike lanes – 20,000 environmental sector jobs by 2025 – 25% of trips by bicycle by 2035 – Reduce CO2 emissions by 40% and recycle 65% of waste
The river was cleaned up and naturalized. The Emscher River Route was created, a 100km bike path with environmental education narrated by local artists. The symbol of the region became the Industrial Culture Route, with various attractions, landscapes, and events.
An old coal mine is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has become a cultural center. … with a bike itinerary. Art installations that are part of the “Emscherkunstweg,” which means “Art Route of the Emscher River.” And then the city becomes attractive for companies and people who want to live,
Work, and invest, generating appreciation and attracting jobs in the green and technology sectors. And this is the result of an urban redefinition strategy because the economic success of German cities is also related to the quality of life. My proposal is that Santa Catarina seeks development through the environment
And culture. The “Routes of Fritz Müller” are a step in that direction. Everything in Germany becomes a treasure! Everything is valued. The city has sulfurous water and smells like sulfur: this becomes a legend of the devil, which turns into a sculpture, a water fountain,
A tourist spot; a series of elements that enrich and compose the mystique of the place. A person like Beethoven becomes a 1-month music festival. A small town, part of an ecological restoration project, creates an itinerary with environmental education. A distinguishing feature of Germany compared
To Brazil is not only the tourist spot but also how cities are planned. Brazilian tourists travel to Germany and are enchanted, but it’s necessary to translate that into urban design. It’s about centers designed for human scale, where it’s comfortable to be a resident or a pedestrian tourist.
It’s about mobility planning, both for everyday travel or leisure for the population and for tourism. It’s about territorial planning, with public areas, preservation parks, and a profusion of trails – there are 30,000km of trails just from the German Alpine Club. And we have all the potential in
Santa Catarina, and much more. But it’s necessary to establish urban and regional planning guidelines to preserve our future. And to create the conditions for that future to become a reality. Fritz Müller left a legacy in the cities of Santa Catarina he visited,
Indicating various elements in each of them. We can create the “Routes of Fritz Müller,” a tourist route through the state, enriched with cultural and artistic elements, environmental education, and scientific initiatives. To illustrate the feasibility of the proposal, we received an excursion from ACAPRENA, the oldest environmental entity in the state.
Fritz Müller writes about the Troopers’ Path, which we marked with signs, pointing out the path he traveled. “Path of the Cattle Drivers: Road that Fritz Müller walked barefoot in May 1868. <= Florianópolis Lages =>”
Signs with excerpts from the expedition’s accounts. “Between them bloomed fuchsias and the magnificent shrub-like Melastomataceae Pleroma. Their rather large blossoms are snow-white when they bloom, gradually turning dark purple-red; — at the same time, the shrub is adorned with blossoms in white, pink, and dark purple.” (Fritz Müller)
At the location of the plant he comments on. Signage of species found on-site, this one even bears his name. “Ananas fritzmulleri: Specie described by Fritz Müller in 1896 in the journal ‘Berichte der Deutschen Botanischen Gesellschaft’.”
Excerpts from the account… where people can still see the traces of what he found. “Here [Morro Chato / ‘flat hill’] (as well as before and after), we came across several open spaces along the trail where numerous stakes had been driven into the ground, usually accompanied by fire pits nearby. These are places where the ‘tropeiros’ used to camp overnight; the stakes were used for tethering mules.” – Fritz Müller
Fritz Müller walked a lot, so he describes meals with great relish. This can create opportunities along the way. And we can’t forget about opportunities for environmental education. Fritz Müller researched native stingless bees. This is our meliponary, and we need to emphasize the crucial role of these bees in pollination,
Ecosystem preservation, and food production. I brought a concrete example of how the local community can embrace the “Routes of Fritz Müller” based on the accounts he left us. All of this can create income opportunities for small properties, including visits, gastronomy, local products, accommodations,
Events, and much more. Tourism represents one of the state’s greatest economic potentials, and we are wasting it by not taking advantage of the route of an internationally renowned scientist. Fritz Müller was a German-Brazilian who pointed to our natural riches
And gifted us with his routes. Now it’s our turn to follow in his footsteps. Mr. Speaker of the State Assembly, I yield the floor.