Project plants trees in Rio de Janeiro favela – 11/07/2023 – Environment

A narrow alley in Morro do Cruz, in the north of Rio de Janeiro, got a new look. This is because the plants that Thaline da Mata, 31, received from the Favela Viva collective brought greenery closer and even to her own home. Next to her door, the resident sees an avocado tree and other species planted by the project, which seeks to mitigate the effects of the lack of trees in the favela in the Andaraí neighborhood.

“I learned how to plant, how to take care of the little plants. In my house, everyone took this love, because the project brought this feeling to us. Before, the alley was ugly, but not now. It’s greener, there are several plant species”, says the resident.

With high temperatures in Rio due to climate change, the Favela Viva Project has been trying to mitigate the effects of the lack of trees in the community. “The project shows residents that it is not just a tree. It is a fruit, a shade, as shelter or protection for animals”, he says.

The initiative seeks to promote socio-environmental actions and has 17 volunteers, who have already planted 42 species, such as guava trees, avocado trees, among others native to the Atlantic forest, including the jussara palm heart, which is threatened with extinction. The next species the group wants to plant is brazilwood.

According to Ronaldo Rozendo, co-founder of the project and master’s student in Geography at Uerj (State University of Rio de Janeiro), the idea is to plant species from the Atlantic forest to conserve the biome in the favela environment.

“It is difficult to keep environments green. Given this, my concern was to create the project for this rescue. There is a lack of reforestation, trees in the communities”, says Rozendo.

For planting, the collective organizes joint efforts every month with volunteers and residents, in order to engage the community in environmental awareness.

Milena Mota, 21, is one of those who has participated in the planting for a year and a half. “The idea of ​​planting trees in the favela is to bring a better quality of life to the residents. Also to pass on knowledge to children, because, when we have a joint effort, we convey the importance of taking care of the environment.”

According to Paulo Artaxo, professor at the Institute of Physics at USP (University of São Paulo) and member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, vulnerable places tend to feel climate change more.

“It is important to realize that climate change has global, regional and also local impacts, which are the ones that most impact the population as a whole, such as the issue of drought in several communities in the Amazon. Urban areas that have high vulnerability are those that suffer most from climate change”, he says.

“We see communities in Rio de Janeiro being developed without any maintenance of afforestation, which can help a lot in reducing the increase in local temperatures and the urban heat island”, explains the scientist.

For Artaxo, in addition to initiatives such as the project, it is necessary for public authorities to act in these areas. “This has an impact on people’s lives and health, especially children and the elderly”, he highlights.