The article points to three challenges that arose during initial presentations of the Ilha Grande Ecomuseum project, all of which involved different ways of understanding what constitutes 'nature' and 'culture'. The first issue had to do with balancing environmental protection with the welfare of residents, two aspirations that are quite conflicting at present. Second was the intention to involve the Ilha Grande population in academic research and environmental protection projects. Last was the endeavor to preserve the memory of practices of violence and of ethical and moral irresponsibility, which are either stereotyped or totally ignored by society.
ecomuseum; environment; memory; Ilha Grande; penitentiary