The Municipal Department of Environment and Climate celebrates environmental projects created by women.

The Guardians of the Forests program, focused on female community leaders, celebrates three years while the Mutirão Delas initiative completes one year - Photo: Press Release/SMAC

The Municipal Secretariat for the Environment and Climate (SMAC) celebrates this Sunday, March 8th, International Women's Day, the participation of women in various programs aimed at creating a greener city with greater environmental awareness. The date also marks the anniversary of two of the department's projects that reaffirm the strength of women engaged in environmental issues.

One of them is the Guardians of the Forests project, which is celebrating its third year with a focus on training female community leaders. The initiative values ​​and empowers women living in environmental preservation areas to act as representatives of the Rio de Janeiro City Hall in dialogue with residents, associations, businesses, and public facilities. The work includes environmental education actions aimed at the care and preservation of local vegetation.

The Mutirão Delas project, which celebrated its one-year anniversary this Sunday, the 8th, seeks to expand opportunities, promote inclusion, and strengthen the leading role of women in the city's environmental agenda. The goal is to increase women's participation in the Mutirão Reflorestamento Program from 6% to 30% by 2030.

SMAC also emphasizes the importance of waste pickers, who remove tons of waste from the streets and are fundamental in building a more sustainable city. During the last Carnival, they played a decisive role in both the Folia Verde program and the Casa do Catador (Waste Picker's House), located in downtown Rio. After all, amidst the joy of the festivities, these workers ensured that cans, bottles, and other materials returned to the productive cycle.

Another initiative with female participation is Coco no Ponto, which seeks to transform high-impact environmental waste into work and income generation for women in vulnerable situations. In the Hortas Cariocas program, female strength helps promote organic urban agriculture in communities and public schools in Rio. The participation of women in the pursuit of climate justice is also highlighted in the work of researchers at the Observatório do Calor do Alemão, who measure...
Temperature and air quality are monitored, and data is produced that guides public policy.

Secretary highlights training for female leaders.

Secretary of Environment and Climate, Tainá de Paula, celebrates the participation of women in the various programs of the department and congratulates the two projects that are celebrating their anniversaries this Sunday:

– It is very special to celebrate the third year of the Guardians of the Forests and the first anniversary of the Women's Task Force in this month dedicated to women. Our administration has made significant progress in Rio's environmental policy, creating initiatives that, in addition to preserving the environment, train leaders capable of protecting and monitoring our city. The Guardians of the Forests consolidates this collective commitment between public authorities and communities: by acting as Guardians, these women strengthen the
Territorial management and achieve greater economic autonomy, ensuring the execution of excellent work throughout the municipality.

Mayra Assumpção, manager of the Guardians of the Forests program, emphasizes the female presence in different regions of Rio de Janeiro:

– The Guardians of the Forests are present in more than 30 territories in the Central region and in the South, North, West, and Southwest zones. In all these territories, they do exceptional work talking about environmental education, caring for the Atlantic Forest, going door-to-door and speaking with residents about the importance of addressing environmental issues. The Guardians of the Forests are promoting climate justice.

Environmental Restoration Coordinator Camila Rocha emphasizes how the initiative promotes discussion about expanding spaces occupied by women:

– The 'Mutirão Delas' (Women's Task Force) is an initiative that seeks to expand opportunities for women to occupy spaces seen as 'masculine'. These are activities that require physical strength, courage, resilience, attention, and dedication – qualities that are part of what we do best. The project sheds light on the 'place of women', bringing to the discussion why we are still a minority in these positions, thus missing out on this source of income.