Rio de Janeiro

“Thirty-four of the Sotalia Guianensis species live in the bay. Recently, at least seven females were spotted swimming with their calves in water that many say is too dirty for any traditional aquatic life. The dolphins survive, but barely. in 1985, there were about 400 in Guanabara. in 1995, when Maqua got its first boat and camera to monitor the animals, there were just 70. Pollution, heavy ship traffic and fishing have taken a toll on the species that live mostly in estuaries and coastal waters in the east and north of South America... The animals have been contaminated by mercury, lead, zinc, copper, chromium, nickel and much more, according to a Rio de Janeiro’s state legislature commission studying the bay’s pollution.”

“Known as the first city in the world to be awarded the UneSCo World Heritage Status in the urban cultural landscape category, Rio de Janeiro officially enters Un's list of world heritage sites after four years. in 2012, UneSCo commended the city's 200-year-old botanical gardens, Guanabara Bay, the Tijuca national Park, Corcovado, and the Christ statue which helped shape the city. These natural forests and key features helped earn its spot as a world heritage site during a ceremony held at the Christ the Redeemer statue.”

“Civil society is stepping forward where the government has failed. From all corners of Rio de Janeiro, people are working towards the lasting legacy they were promised... Mario Moscatelli, an environmentalist and biologist, has been reconstructing the mangrove swamp in the most polluted area of the bay for the past two decades. So far, he has planted over 35 hectares. The mangroves surrounding the bay are essential to safeguard long-term improvements and revive a dying ecosystem. The mangroves act as a natural sewage treatment station, feeding off the sewage and filtering the river water. ‘I can say, without a shadow of doubt, that there is only life in the bay today as a result of the protected mangroves,’ says Bruno Herrera, the head of the Guapimirim environmental Protection area.”

“The Tijuca national Park is home of 67 threatened plant species (two of them endemics) that occur in Brazil, representing 16% of all threatened species in the state of Rio de Janeiro. From these 67 species, seven are classified as Critically endangered (CR), 40 are endangered (en), and 20 are Vulnerable (VU). These figures could be even higher, as only 20% of the Flora of the state of Rio de Janeiro’s have been evaluated so far. Considering all threatened plant species found in the state of Rio de Janeiro, the Tijuca national Park protects 11 species that do not occur in any other protected area, and covers more than 50% of known occurrence records for another 11 species.”

“in the summer, the minutes leading up to a storm have a greasy thickness about them. The plants give off a strong, sweet smell. The black sky announces that the world is about to be turned inside out... The city suddenly begins to palpitate when the humidity reaches an unsustainable level, when you know that the hot, heavy, sticky weather is about to come undone in a downpour. and if you are lucky enough to be somewhere safe, you will soon see nature’s strength unleashed, supreme, reminding us of how fragile and fleeting we are.”

"The United nations Conference on Sustainable development, also known as Rio2012, Rio+20 or earth Summit 2012 was the third international conference onsustainable development focused on reconciling the economic and environmentalgoals of the global community."

“despite so little forest surviving, the Mata atlântica remains remarkably rich in biodiversity and endemic species, many of them threatened with extinction. in terms of flora researchers have cataloged over 23,000 plants, 40 percent of which are endemic to the Mata atlântica... a survey of a single hectare in Bahia found 450 tree species. Regarding fauna, scientists have recorded 264 mammal species, nearly 1,000 birds, 456 amphibians, over 300 reptiles, and 350 freshwater fish. in all, 31 percent of these are found no-where else... new species continue to be found inthe Mata atlântica, in fact between 1990 and 2006 over a thousand new flowering plants were discovered. The area has even yielded new primate species. in 1990 researchers discovered a new tamarin: the black-faced lion tamarin (Leontopithecus caissara). in 2006 researchers rediscovered the blonde capuchin (Cebus flavius), not seen—and largely forgotten about—since the 19th Century. Sixty percent of Brazil’s endangered species are in the Mata atlântica. due to a number of threats and species left in small, dwindling fragments, a Brazilian conservationist, antonio Rossano Mendes Pontes, has called species in the Mata atlântica: ‘the living dead’.”

“Here in São Conrado, it is not very difficult to understand this because it is a neighborhood, it is practically a valley, surrounded by forests, on the other side there is the sea and one end of it is occupied by a shanty town. Most of the people here, like me, the majority, came here seeking a greater connection with nature,a different kind of quality of life. So, as the area is, practically, one of the largest open spaces in Rio de Janeiro - land with a large vegetation cover - most of the residents have this concern or came here a little too in search of the green, this quality of life, logically the favela is a great threat. Because the tendency is to grow over green areas, [which] generated a concern and even a despair among the higher class”

“The national Petroleum agency (anP)... carries out the ‘allotment of the sea’ in hydrocarbon and gas exploration, along the whole coast...as part of the government strategy to expand the oil sector in Brazil. a new project was brought to light in 1999 in the press and by increasing complaints by fishing colonies located in the Campos Basin area. This triggered a new conflict, now between fishermen and seismic research companies, and resuscitated old battles over the demarcation of exclusive areas for Petrobras, triggering a wave of contestation by fishermen and organizations representing them.”

"awareness of pollution in Guanabara Bay increased in the 1990’s, triggering governmental efforts to recover the bay’s water quality. “one of the largest actions was the Program for Remediation of Guanabara Bay (PdBG) that began in 1994, as a cooperation between the inter-american development Bank, the government of Rio de Janeiro State, and the Japan Bank for international Cooperation (JBiC). This program planned to implement a large set of sewage treatment plants at strategic locations within the bay’s drainage basin. However, several plants were not concluded and others are not fully functional (e.g., some plants are still not connected to sewage collection and disposal systems).”

“nothing more threatens alto Leblon than the favela-ization of its reserves of native forests ... The reserve of native forests that constitutes Parque dois irmãos have already suffered, when our board of directors allowed for an orchestrated process of favela-ization. The area of risk is twice that for Rocinha, and a favela of these proportions up here would destroy one of the most important ecological reserves of Rio de Janeiro, ending the quality of life of the alto Leblon.We can not be indifferent to this problem. imagine, dear resident, Alto Leblon with toxic waste, high traffic at our doors, municipal bus lines, etc., etc.”

“The region-wide deterioration of the natural environment is shown in the fast pace of deforestation which has led to severe erosion and degradation of water sources... For example, in 1972, deforested areas above 100m sea level was 9,265 ha; in 1978, it reached 10,624 ha; and in 1984, 19,874 ha. Presently, only 40 percent of the original vegetation remains (Prefeitura da Cidade do Rio de Janeiro, 1992). The growing problem of deforestation in the hills has affected the retention capacity of the soil and as a consequence, downstream river systems have water-flows that are excessively high during the rainy season. Furthermore, soil and other debris from erosion have caused sedimentation of riverbeds, aggravating the risk offloading in low-lying areas. Quarries have dramatically reduced slope stability and caused disintegration and stress of the slope which ultimately results in rockfall and avalanches.”