Podcast explains beach widening in Brazil – Folha – 01/04/2024 – Podcasts

Cities on Brazil’s coast have been racing to widen beaches, in response to the process of coastal erosion that affects around 60% of the country. It is estimated that in the last six years the strategy has used an amount of sand equivalent to the volume of 12 Maracanã stadiums.

A survey of the Sheet, for the Altered Beaches series, identified 24 large-scale interventions carried out between 2018 and 2023 or planned for the coming years. Other resources to contain erosion are also used, such as building groynes made of concrete blocks or stones.

The expansion is defended by some oceanographers to mitigate the problem — but others criticize the high cost of the works, which can reach tens of millions of reais, and the need for maintenance, in addition to urban and environmental risks in a context of climate crisis.

This Thursday’s Café da Manhã (4) interviews oceanographer Ricardo Haponiuk, coordinator of the National Association of Municipal Environmental Bodies. He explains the strategies that have been used to contain erosion on the Brazilian coast and analyzes the effects of ongoing projects in the country.

The audio program is published on Spotify, a streaming service partner of Sheet in the initiative and which specializes in music, podcast and video. You can listen to the episode by clicking above. To access the app, simply register for free.

Café da Manhã is published from Monday to Friday, always at the beginning of the day. The episode is presented by journalists Gustavo Simon and Magê Flores, produced by Carolina Moraes, Laila Mouallem and Victor Lacombe. Sound editing is by Thomé Granemann.