City Hall launches Guardians of Mangroves program on World Environment Day

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall, through the Department of Environment and Climate, launched the Guardians of the Mangroves program on Monday (5/6), World Environment Day. The project aims to restore and maintain the city's mangroves with the participation of residents of the areas benefiting from the program. The launch ceremony, held in the mangroves of Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, in front of Parque da Catacumba, was attended by Mayor Eduardo Paes and the Secretary of Environment and Climate, Tainá de Paula.

– In the city of Rio, the environment is an economic asset. We talk about all the issues related to environmental issues, but the city of Rio is different from the others because of its economic impact. People decide to live and invest in Rio or decide to leave and not invest because of its environmental qualities. This is the city’s greatest asset. If any place should take care of nature, it is Rio de Janeiro. What gives me hope and inspires me here is that this program generates jobs, brings resources to communities and involves the population in environmental discussions. We have a very large social impact – said Eduardo Paes.

Secretary Tainá de Paula emphasized that the biodiversity of mangroves makes these regions a productive ecosystem that is beneficial to the balance of the environment. She also highlighted the role they play in regulating climate catastrophes.

– The city of Rio lacked a specific policy for mangroves. We have dozens of them spread throughout the city, some in favelas and outskirts. This is an important year for discussing the climate emergency, so it is essential to build a discussion on job and income generation, a discussion on climate balance, based on our mangroves. Putting our dedicated guardians in charge of protecting the mangroves is a paradigm shift and environmental reality for the city. Healthy mangroves can help regulate climate catastrophes such as floods, droughts, and weather, in addition to recovering from soil degradation – said the secretary.

In total, eight mangrove areas were mapped in the city of Rio: coves in Guanabara Bay; the banks of the Barra da Tijuca lagoons; Brisa Beach, in Pedra de Guaratiba; around Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon; Guaratiba Biological Reserve; Restinga da Marambaia; and the mouth of the São Fernando and Guandu Channels, in Santa Cruz.

– In the past, mangroves were considered something that needed to be exterminated. Fortunately, over time, we realized that they have many uses, such as carbon sequestration and water purification. The Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, which had a fish kill, has now changed its reality. We even have spearfishing in the lagoon. There are fish and the water is clear. We can clearly understand on this Environment Day that it is possible to recover the important economic and environmental liabilities of the city of Rio. This is possible with the articulation of the government, the private sector and society – declared biologist Mário Moscatelli.

There will be ten work fronts, with four people on each one. The people in charge will receive a monthly allowance of R$1.250, while the other guardians will receive R$1.000. Everyone will be responsible for managing each of these work fronts, protecting and reporting situations to the agencies responsible for maintaining their respective mangroves.

– This is a very important project for the survival of the ecosystem and marine fauna. The mangroves are true filters that keep the water pure and crystal clear, which only increases biodiversity. We were waiting for a project of this magnitude to have an environmental future that would benefit society – said Luiz Claudio da Silva, who is president of a fishermen’s association in Sepetiba and was selected to act as a guardian because he already fights for the environment in his region.

Improvements to the Lagoon water

The environmental management of Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, carried out by the Department of Environment and Climate, Rio-Águas Foundation and Comlurb, among other agencies, has already shown results in the quality of the water surface. The improvement in quality was the result of the Municipal Contingency Plan for Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, which established joint actions for hydraulic, environmental and solid waste management of the lagoon.

With the improvement of general conditions, the area around the lake began to register the appearance of capybaras, moorhens and spoonbills, which is an indicator of environmental quality. The appearance of cormorants was also recorded, which benefit from the abundance of fish.

Category:

• Environment and Climate
• News

June 5th, 2023

Appointments: World environment day Guardians of the Mangroves launch mangos mangroves environment City Hall of Rio