Rio Gringa

Stopgap Trash Clean-up Stalls in Rio's Guanabara Bay

One of the big concerns ahead of Rio's 2016 Olympics is whether the city's waterways will be cleaned up enough to safely hold water sports events, such as sailing, rowing and swimming. The truth is that the Olympics were an opportunity to address a decades-old problem and to find sustainable solutions so that Cariocas themselves can enjoy their cities beaches, bay and lagoons without fearing skin diseases, gastrointestinal problems, or crashing into rusting refrigerators.

That prospect is looking even more unlikely.

Last month, Rio Governor Luiz Fernando Pezão insisted the city is on target to reach its Olympic clean-up goal, after another official said it wouldn't be possible. Pezão says 80 percent of the city's sewage will be treated by mid-2016, and claims Rio is already treating nearly 50 percent.

These comments came shortly before the state environmental agency launched an investigation into a massive fish die-off in the bay, with thousands of twaite shad floating in the water. (A similar die-off occurred in November 2014, which some specialists attributed to the region's drought.)

Treating sewage is one of the major goals of the clean-up, but so is preventing 80 to 100 tons of garbage from entering the bay every single day. Two stopgap measures to address this as part of the Olympics clean-up effort include eco-boats, tasked with trawling and removing trash from waterways, and eco-barriers, lines of floating plastic in the city's rivers to stop the flow of trash into the ocean and lagoons.

But even those efforts are faltering, according to a report in yesterday's O Globo.

According to the newspaper, the state government stopped paying the eco-boat operators, and they have ceased working altogether. The 10 eco-boats are able to remove around 45 tons of trash per month. The government is about four months behind in payments, and owes around half a million reais. The eco-boat's contract with the government is estimated at R$1.8 million for 2015.

Plus, the city's supermarket association was sponsoring the eco-barrier efforts, but it pulled the funding. As a result, of the 14 eco-barrier structures operating in 2012, there are only 7 left. In 2012, the barriers were capturing up to 900 tons of trash a month; now, it's only 150 tons per month.

Image: An eco-boat in Rio. Rio government/public domain from the Programa de Saneamento dos Municípios do Entorno da Baía de Guanabara.

The Olympics Aren't Enough for Rio's Guanabara Bay

One of the main selling points of the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics was the so-called legacy of the games. The events meant the government would have to move forward with investments made in transportation, roads, airports, and other infrastructure, benefitting host cities.

In the case of the Olympics, one of the big legacy elements was the clean-up of the Guanabara Bay. Projects and promises to clean the long-suffering waterway have fallen through for decades. The Olympics was the chance for Rio to finally get definitive action on the bay.

As part of the Olympics budget, the state planned to invest nearly $1 billion (R$2 billion) in clean-up efforts. But last April, the Rio state government slashed the clean-up budget by 95 percent. And the state of the Bay--filled with trash and raw sewage--remains woeful.

So as the Olympics draw closer, what's going on with the bay?

• This week, the Rio state environmental secretary admitted that the goal to cut 80 percent of pollution in the bay by 2016 would not happen. He added that an investment of $3.8 billion is needed for the clean-up. Experts estimate that it will require uninterrupted work over 20 years to fully clean up the bay.
• In December, scientists identified a "superbacteria" in the Carioca River, as well as on Flamengo Beach and Botafogo Beach. The bacteria is associated with hospital waste, can cause a variety of health problems, and cannot be treated with antiobiotics.
• The same month, Swiss sailors training in Rio for the Olympics reported falling ill after having contact with water in the bay, including fever and diarrhea.
• This month, the state environmental secretariat testing found that sand on some of the city's most popular beaches, including parts of Copacabana, Barra, and Arpoador, are not recommended for human contact due to contamination from dog urine and food waste.

So if the Olympics aren't enough to pressure authorities to make the clean-up a priority, what will?

Images: Agencia Brasil Flickr Creative Commons; Gloverbr2008, Flickr.

Rio's Sanitation Situation

This year, I decided that at a time when more foreigners are paying attention to Brazil, I would write at least one freelance piece from the ground. Last month, I traveled to Rio with the idea of working on three stories, but ended up focusing on one: sanitation.

The story of Rio's sanitation problems is no secret, but hasn't gotten much coverage in the foreign press. I'd been researching it for months, and managed to make some great contacts in Rio. My husband/photographer and I were lucky enough to connect with one of Rio's top environmental activists who arranged a helicopter flyover of the city, which resulted in some impressive photos. GlobalPost picked up the story, which was published today.

Here's the lede:

Brazil’s “Marvelous City” will play host to around 400,000 tourists during the World Cup next month. And there’s one thing visitors may be unable to avoid, be it on their way to the airport or at the beach: human feces.

Read the full story here.

Update: Given the World Cup peg, the story has begun to spread, appearing Australia, France,  Italy, Romania, and the UK, as well as other sites in the U.S. It's also appeared in several news sites in Brazil, including O Dia and Época.

Brazilians and the Environment

With Rio+20 rapidly approaching, all eyes are on Brazil and its environment. But what do Brazilians actually think about environmental issues?

One of the most controversial environmental issues, the Forest Code, was passed by the president and seems to be plowing ahead. Dilma made a number of modifications and vetos, and after she sent the bill back to Congress, it received over 600 amendments. (Given how contentious the bill became, Dilma herself didn't actually announce the changes she made; she sent her ministers to do it.) With Dilma's changes, the bill is still fairly ambiguous and left both environmentalists and agribusiness interests unhappy. One of the biggest points of contention dealt with amnesty for deforesters; while she vetoed amnesty for large deforesters, amnesty for small-scale deforesters remained in the bill. Things took another strange turn today when some of the ruralistas tried to get the Supreme Court to block Dilma's changes to the law. Now, Congress says it won't have a final vote on the final changes until July. But some question whether the changes to the law will matter in the long run, given that the parts of the country most affected by deforestation are areas with weak rule of law where many already ignore the rules.

Given that the Forest Code has gained a lot of negative attention both in Brazil and beyond, the government has made some last-ditch efforts to produce some environmentally friendly news. This week, the government announced that according to the state-run agency INPE, the Amazon has seen the lowest deforestation rates since 1988 and that over 81 percent of the original forest has been preserved. The time period in question is between August 2010 and July 2011, but deforestation also reportedly fell between August 2011 and May 2012. The crux of the announcement--about the 2010-2011 numbers--were actually just a rehash of an announcement already made last year. But Dilma also took the opportunity to announce the creation of two new nature reserves (in Paraná and Rio Grande do Norte) and seven new indigenous reserves in the Amazon.

                Source: INPE

But as the hosts of one of the most important global environmental events, what do Brazilians think about the environment, the Amazon, and deforestation?

• Knowledge about the environment is on the rise in Brazil. Over the past 20 years, consciousness about deforestation, environmental protection, and other issues have steadily grown, as more and more Brazilians believe a healthy environment is good for the country. According to a survey released today, though only 22 percent of Brazilians know what Rio+20 is, more Brazilians are concerned about the environment. The study showed that Brazilians listed the environment as the number 6 concern for the country; in a similar study in 1992, the environment didn't even appear on the list. Interestingly, of those who said they were "very proud" of the country, most listed the environment as the number one reason for feeling proud of the country, above socioeconomic development and the Brazilian people. Also, 65 percent said it is important to protect the environment for "survival." It's also interesting to note that in 1992, 47 percent did not know or didn't give an opinion on Brazil's main environmental problems; in 2012, it decreased to 10 percent.

        Source: Ministry of the Environment

• More Brazilians are taking action about the environment. Though only an estimated 2 percent of household trash is recycled in Brazil, the environment survey released today indicated that 48 percent of Brazilians separate their trash for recycling. One in five Brazilians have taken environmental action, including separating the trash, planting trees, and group clean-ups. Around 76 percent of those who live in cities trying to reduce plastic bag use said they have committed themselves to the campaign. Brazilians also mobilized against the Forest Code. A petition signed by nearly 2 million people--of which 1.5 million were Brazilian--was delivered to Dilma asking her to veto the entire bill. A number of high-profile celebrities ranging from Gisele to Rodrigo Santoro to Fernando Meirelles mobilized support among Brazilians to protest the law both on the streets and on the web.

 

• The Amazon is ours, Brazilians sometimes say when asked about who is responsible for one of the world's largest rainforests. But for many Brazilians who live in the country's largest cities, the Amazon is something of a faraway concept, even though the Amazon rainforest accounts for between 40 and 50 percent of Brazil's total area. Still, the rallying cry of maintaining sovereignty over the Amazon--a Amazônia é nossa--may not take into complete account the fact that the Amazon basin is spread over nine countries, and around 40 percent of the total area is located in Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. There's also a lot of sensitivity around criticism and pressure from abroad to protect the Amazon, and some believe that foreigners should have no say in Amazonian protection efforts.

 

• Brazilians are very protective of the Amazon, and beyond sensitivity to outside influence, some are even suspicious of foreign intervention there. There's a long-running urban myth that foreigners are trying to take over the Amazon, a conspiracy theory that has persisted to this day. While a number of experts have tried to debunk this myth, there is evidence that foreigners support stronger restrictions on Amazon deforestation. A January 2012 survey of foreigners from 18 countries asked about their perceptions of Brazil showed that 40 percent believe the Amazon should be administered according to international law rather than Brazilian law. Plus, 65 percent said they'd be willing to donate money to help preserve the Amazon. But since Brazilians are wary of foreigners' involvement with the Amazon, would those unaware of the event--around 80 percent of the population--support Rio+20 if they knew what it was? In the end, it may not matter, since setting legally binding targets seems very unlikely. The good news is that more and more Brazilians are becoming more invested in the environment, which will hopefully mean that more people willl seek to hold leaders accountable for environmental protection and sustainability.

Rio's Waterfall

Yesterday, a story about a project to build a massive artificial waterfall in Rio made its rounds on the blogs (I found it via The Good Blood, via Treehugger). Swiss architecture firm RAFAA entered the project in the International Architecture Competition for the 2016 Olympics by proposing the construction of a solar panel operated artificial waterfall on one of the small islands off the coast of the city, right off the tip of the Leme neighborhood.

 
The structure, called the Solar City Tower, runs on solar power, pumping ocean water into the cascade over the island. Besides providing clean energy, the building would have observation decks, shops, dining, an amphitheater, and a bungee-jumping deck. The idea seems to be to make it both an environmental landmark as well as a tourist attraction.

 

I looked around to see if I could find any other entries for the competition, but this was all I could find. While I think it's a wonderful idea to strive to be the first zero-carbon games (good luck with that, by the way), it seems a little wacky. And despite the intent on creating something semi natural, Rio's beauty lies in its real natural wonders, and this thing just looks weird.

A better idea might be to get working on the World Cup venues, which are due sooner and are apparently behind schedule. There's no reason solar energy can't come into play there, too, even if it's not as flashy.

 

James Cameron in Brazil

James Cameron is in Brazil for the second time this year, lobbying the Brazilian government to block the construction of one of the world's largest hydroelectric dams, which environmentalists oppose.

From the New York Times article about the director in the Amazon:

"Now, Mr. Cameron said, he has been spurred to action, to speak out against the looming environmental destruction endangering indigenous groups around the world — a cause that is fueling his inner rage and inspiring his work on an “Avatar” sequel.

“Any direct experience that I have with indigenous peoples and their plights may feed into the nature of the story I choose to tell,” he said. “In fact, it almost certainly will.” Referring to his Amazon trip, he added, “It just makes me madder.”

Cameron brought Sigourney Weaver along this time, and both will protest the Belo Monte project in Brasilia this week. He wrote a letter to Lula, though it would seem he was denied a private meeting with him, unless it was held secretly, which I doubt.

The Belo Monte project has been in the works for a long time, and indigenous groups have fought against it since the idea came to light. It's one of the classic Amazon struggles: development to benefit Brazilians with jobs and energy vs. environmental destruction and further marginalization of indigenous groups. Despite protests against the dam, it looks as though the project is going to move forward. But with such a high profile celebrity on the ground, allied with Brazilian protesters, he just might have thrown a wrench into the process, at least temporarily.

What do you think about a big Hollywood star using his fame for this cause? Is he fighting a good fight, or is he just a gringo metido?

Charcoal

Though it would be amazing if Jose Padilha himself wrote a guest entry, I stumbled upon a short film he made for Live Earth last year, and as usual, it's interesting and thought-provoking, albeit a lot shorter and simpler than his other documentaries.