Por Julia Rossi
Today is the National Climate Change Awareness Day and although this topic sometimes seems far from our daily lives, it is closer than we think. The climate is felt by us in many ways, whether in the ambient temperature, in the weather conditions, such as rain, drought and intense sun. These climate variations are natural, but human actions have increasingly intensified these extreme weather events such as floods, landslides and high temperatures.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) last month released a report that details the impacts, risks and adaptation of climate change in cities, where more than half of the world's population lives. We have no doubt that when it comes to the city, favelas are always the most affected territories, and the environment would be no different. In addition to the right to education, health, public safety, we also need to establish the right to the environment in favelas, which is related to sanitation, air quality, water supply, rainwater drainage and proper solid waste management.
In Maré, we have alarming data on climate issues. According to the Coppe/UFRJ document (2016) on climate change adaptation strategies in the city of Rio de Janeiro, which identified the exposure potential and vulnerability assessment of all areas of the city, the region where the 16 favelas of Maré has a very high propensity for flooding and high temperatures. These environmental transformations, which are increasingly clear, already affect the lives of many people and there are actions and policies that can help to ensure that this impact is not so severe for the more exposed populations. Material and human losses resulting from floods and landslides, as well as health complications due to poor air and water quality, are examples of these impacts on the lives of favela residents.
Map of Rio de Janeiro. Maré is in the red region, where temperatures are highest.
The responsibility for ensuring adequate sanitation rests with the State. Civil society, such as Redes da Maré and other institutions located in the territory, have, among other tasks, to demand with the residents so that the State fulfills this role. In this sense, Redes, through the Urban and Socio-environmental Rights axis, has been holding sanitation meetings with specialists and residents to build an agenda for sanitation that materialized in the Sanitation Letter.
This letter is part of the 2030 local agendas - a global action plan that brings together the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to ensure a dignified life for all - in partnership with Casa Fluminense and was directed to candidates for municipal elections. In addition to contributing to the awareness of the importance of the right to sanitation to reduce the impacts of the climate crisis, the letter was built in a participatory way with demands for the implementation of public policies.
The ‘Climão Campaign’ is also an example of an action that aims to draw community attention to climate change in favelas. The characters bring characteristics of the territory and discuss environmental issues from topics such as environmental racism, heat islands, atmospheric pollution, among other issues related to climate change. In addition to the digital materials that circulated through the networks, prints were also made to paste on the streets of Maré.
Characters from the ‘Climão Campaign’: Chuveirão, GuaraVitinho, CarangueiJão and Dona Faveleira.
This year, we will have a series of important events and dates that point to the emergence of policies that serve the most socially vulnerable populations in this context of recurring climatic events. In Rio de Janeiro, the People's Summit will take place from the 25th to the 27th of May, and Rio 2030 from the 5th to the 11th of June, important spaces to discuss and propose effective measures for the favelas populations to have their rights implemented and that they are not so impacted by the climate crisis.
This month, Redes da Maré celebrated its anniversary on International Women's Day, March 8, and is organizing a series of activities. Knowing the importance of the role that women from Maré have played and continue to play in achieving rights in this territory, the Urban and Socioenvironmental Rights axis organized an action to draw attention to climate change. One of the issues that most affects residents is the flooding of streets and houses. As Maré was once the sea, at the time of the stilt houses, we rescued this idea in the paintings and drawings on the culverts, important places for the flow of water. Therefore, the need for periodic cleaning of the culverts by Comlurb and the non-closing of these culverts by the residents.
Street painting for the activity “Maré starts here”.
In addition to the rights that we demand daily for Maré to have the right to quality education, health and public safety, it is a fact that we also need cleaner and better lit streets, that our squares are preserved, that there is adequate sanitation for all, as well as more green spaces in Maré.
To learn more about this intervention in the culverts - “Maré starts aqui”, access Redes da Maré’s social networks and to understand more about climate change in favelas, access our materials »
More images from the activity "Maré starts here".
More images from the activity "Maré starts here".
Julia Rossi – Researcher and project coordinator (Maré Verde and Labsemente) of the Urban and Socioenvironmental Rights axis of Redes da Maré. Maré Online »
Rio de Janeiro, March 16, 2022
