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High humidity and hot temperatures make the beautiful beaches of Ceará, located in Brazil’s Northeast, a Tourism is an important industryAll year.
But Temperatures risingFishing in the region is being affected by prolonged droughts, extreme rain, and rising sea levels. Farming communities, affecting over 4 million peopleEnvironment and people.
That’s because Brazil’s Northeast is the most vulnerable regionClimate change is a serious problem in the country. And because Ceará, home to 9 million people and numerous Indigenous communitiesBrazil’s poorest country is,
In the days leading up to the 24-hour event Global Citizen LiveColdplay will be available in September 2021 World leaders are being called upon to defend the planet as part of Global Citizen’s year-long campaign, specifically calling on eight Brazilian governors to commit to combat climate change.
This was Protective measuresNearly 60% of the AmazonStopping the rapid loss of valuable rural land and ecologically diverse coastline throughout the country by planting trees Northeastern Brazil. Six states responded, with one being the state of CearáIt is home to vast swathes desert and rolling red dunes. It borders a long stretch on the Atlantic coast.
Today, semiarid states are facing increasing challenges desertificationClimate change is threatening communities who rely on groundwater resources because of rising temperatures. Agriculture is essential for survival.
Climate change is also warming the oceans near coastal cities like Fortaleza. This has caused sea levels to rise and made this once-ecologically rich stretch of ocean uninhabitable. Boto Cinza dolphin Manatee. In the meantime Quilombola — Brazilians of African descent — and Indigenous communities, who have fished the region for generations, are also being badly affected.
Juaci Oliveira, a Fortaleza-based climate activist and researcher, is implementing key programs to address the crisis from the ground up. These programs include programs that target the needs of communities and individuals most affected by climate change.
Oliveira spoke to us about working with local communities in order to create real change, the climate action of young people and how knowledge can empower us all to demand more climate action at the federal, state, and local levels.
What’s unique about Brazil’s Northeastern region, and Ceará, and why are you fighting to protect them?
This is the only coastal zone in the state of CearáThe entire territory, including all its ecosystems is home to a diverse marine biodiversity that is unique to Brazil. These territories are also home of Quilombola communities and various Indigenous communitiesThey continue to fish and farm the land today and rely on it for their survival.
Already there’s a long list of endangered and extinct species of native sea life — I’m working with communities to help preserve and protect their existence.
Could you please tell me more about your environmental and sustainability work?
I started my 1993: The year of the environmental career, in Ceará, after helping to launch the Cetacean [a mammal group including whales and dolphins] Study Group of Ceará, at the Laboratory of Marine Sciences LABOMAR of the Federal University of Ceará.
It was important to bring research knowledge to local communities by using the local knowledge of fishermen, traditional peoples, and eventually stopping the extinction of local Cetacean species.
I worked on the research and conservation of the “Boto Cinza” (the local Guiana Dolphin) developing environmental education projects with local fishermen and coastal communities based in the area, and in 2000, I started the same line of work for the Manatí or Marine manatee. This journey led to me developing two beach cleaning campaigns. I am currently coordinating two projects. Cleaning the World CearáThe Environmental Travel Station.
What’s the main goal of the projects, and why did you start them?
Both projects were launched to continue more than two decades of crucial local conservation work and to promote environmental sustainability to preserve our local coastline. We launched Cleaning the World CearáAs a way of mobilizing society around the urgent need for clean up our local natural areas Fortaleza has a coastline, and the greater Ceará region.
The program is currently in its infancy. Encourages awareness, and reduces and removes garbage from local coastal environments such as beaches, beaches, mangroves and rivers.
The same goes for the Environmental Travel StationThe project also works with local communities to increase awareness about the importance and benefits of ocean conservation.
Our goal is for people to learn how to participate in the transformation of ecosystems in a planned sustainable manner. This includes putting an end to local pollution and helping individuals to see how co-existence can have a positive effect on their local ecosystem.
How has climate change affected your community and what is the public’s opinion about sustainability?
Droughts have affected local fishermen and farmers, affecting their subsistence farming, economic production and livelihoods. Today, [sustainability]It is still a relatively young concept that is not well understood by these communities. But it is luckily. [the communities of Ceará]Continue to practice sustainability through culture
In Brazil, what’s preventing progress toward sustainability, and what approach can be taken to ensure communities get onboard?
We can engage society through education programs, entrepreneurship, economic development, income generation and employment [in sustainability and environmentalism]. We need public programs with high-impact, which are highly focused upon the development of macro-regions [of Brazil]Their biomes, and the needs of the communities and people living in those areas. Small changes could be made by focusing on small areas.
The team from Limpando o Mundo visits a school in Fortaleza, Ceará to educate groups on the climate change and the importance of ocean conservation and preservation. Credit: Limpando o Mundo
How are environmental and sustainability programs promoted and prioritized in Fortaleza and throughout Ceará?
[Programs and policies]Serve the economic interests of the sectors without prioritizing local development.Current programs are slow to implement, lack political direction and fail to address big problems. There is no information base. Artisanal fishing at sea and inland waters — all data today is based on the production and sale of fish, serving only to meet the interest of politicians or corporations.
It’s difficult to secure funding for research projects and programs in the area of environmental education and studies of environmental conservation for, and with, the traditional communities of Ceará.
Why is support from Brazil’s state and municipal governments so important for climate protection?
There are many people suffering from environmental racism. Our defense and that of the planet is dependent on us. These people who depend on nature are suffering, and they are being stripped of their human rights while the destruction of nature goes on.
All plans, programs and economic and developmental decision-making must include support for sustainability.
Why is it important that Brazil’s natural environment and Amazon rainforest be protected?
The Amazon is a “natural engine” of movement propulsion, transport, and displacement of water, and a climate regulator interconnected in the maintenance of life with the entire planet and the oceans.
Brazilians will care more about the forest if they are able to understand its positive effects on their lives.
What were your biggest successes?
The increase in environmental sensitivity has been a major success, as well as the expansion of collaborative networking by individuals, institutions, and groups.
Today, we’re seeing a generation of young people who were impacted by the work of environmental projects like Cleaning the World Ceará and the Environmental Travel Station.
Young people are becoming independent in education and work. They take important jobs in communities that place emphasis on sustainability and environmentalism, and fight for change against the old and current struggles for territories, culture, health, education, and territory.
Credit: Projeto Limpando o Mundo -CE
Join the Global Citizen campaign now to end extreme poverty and take climate action immediately by taking action Here. Join the movement of citizens from around the globe who are joining forces with corporations and philanthropists in making a difference.
Global Citizen is thankful to Re:wildThe Center for Environmental PeacebuildingFor their tireless efforts to protect the planet and the most vulnerable communities affected by climate change. This interview has been translated into Portuguese and edited for clarity.
