{"id":80653,"date":"2025-03-24T21:56:09","date_gmt":"2025-03-25T00:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=80653"},"modified":"2025-03-27T15:36:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T18:36:19","slug":"storm-hits-model-community-agroecology-project-exposing-lack-of-environmental-policy-and-neglect-of-favela-based-climate-solutions-in-rio-de-janeiro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=80653","title":{"rendered":"Storm Hits Model Community Agroecology Project, Exposing Lack of Environmental Policy and Neglect of Favela-Based Climate Solutions in Rio de Janeiro"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Agroecological<\/a>
Agroecological Provid\u00eancia seen from the Jo\u00e3o Ricardo Tunnel. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/strong><\/i><\/em><\/i><\/em><\/a><\/h4>\n

The heavy storm that hit Rio de Janeiro on March 12, 2025, caused flooding, fallen trees, and other impacts across Greater Rio. One of the affected areas was the most forested part of Morro da Provid\u00eancia<\/a>, located above the Jo\u00e3o Ricardo Tunnel downtown<\/a>. The storm damaged homes and the Agroecological Provid\u00eancia<\/a> socio-environmental education project.<\/p>\n

Jhony Rony\u2019s home, in Morro da Provid\u00eancia, had its roof hit by a fallen tree.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt all happened really fast. We started seeing some lightning, then came the wind, then a loud noise. It felt like the house was going to collapse. We had no idea it would be like this. The day before, a guy had trimmed a few branches from the tree\u2014ones he thought were the most dangerous. Thank God he did. Nothing major happened inside the house, it was mostly smaller branches that broke the roof tiles. But when I stepped outside, into my yard, I was shocked. I said, \u2018Wow, look at how thick these branches are!\u2019 They were huge.\u201d \u2014 Jhony Rony<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Entrance<\/a>
Entrance to Jhony Rony\u2019s home with fallen trees. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maelene Silva is also a resident and works at Agroecological Provid\u00eancia. Although her home was not damaged by the storm, her neighbors weren\u2019t as fortunate.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was home when the whole thing started. I watched the trees breaking. The wind was blowing back and forth, and we actually thought the house might fly away. Then I came down here to the project. By the time I got here, it was already nighttime and the power went out. The whole place was wrecked, with a lot of damage. My neighbor\u2019s house got hit\u2014the roof tiles in his kitchen were broken. I was cooking dinner; it all happened so suddenly. The power went out all at once and only came back two days later. And today, March 14, we still don\u2019t have Internet. Our fan also got fried.\u201d \u2014 Maelene Silva<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Luciana Santana, another resident whose roof was damaged, the storm was brief but strong enough for heavy branches to crash through the tiles of her home.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rain started out like this: a little windy, breezy\u2026 My son was sitting here, and I said, \u2018Go grab the clothes off the line.\u2019 And he replied, \u2018No, mom, it\u2019s not going to rain.\u2019 Then I said, \u2018You know what? I\u2019m going to take them down myself.\u2019 And just as I did, in came the wind, knocking everything down\u2014the gutters; that big branch over there broke the roof tiles. It felt like the world was ending. I was lucky the other trees fell over the house and landed down on the street. Another one almost hit us and cracked the roof. These rains scare us so much, you know? This is the first time [something like this has happened]. We\u2019ve had strong winds every year, but the trees never used to fall. But I always say: \u2018At least trim the branches, right?\u2019 My son keeps telling me, \u2018Mom, come stay at my place in Cordovil,\u2019 but I always say, \u2018No, I\u2019m used to it here. I\u2019m not leaving. I\u2019m not selling my house for peanuts. I\u2019m used to being here on my own, just me and God.\u2019 I like being close to the NGO [Agroecological Provid\u00eancia], the market\u2019s nearby. I like visiting my sister, who lives near me. Sometimes it\u2019s not that cool here because of the heat from the tunnel, but I like living here.\u201d \u2014 Luciana Santana<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"The<\/a>
The trees downed in the latest storm in Rio de Janeiro broke the yard tank at Luciana Santana\u2019s home. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the founders of Agroecological Provid\u00eancia<\/a>, which began its work in 2013, Alessandra Roque says that at the time, the area was a dump. She started going there to collect soil for the plants at her home. She recalls, however, that as she gathered soil, she also took away some of the trash that had piled up. Over time, she ended up reforesting the area, which eventually became the headquarters for the community\u2019s socio-environmental activities, ultimately leading to the founding of Agroecological Provid\u00eancia. Coordinated together with Lorena Portela, the project offers socio-environmental education activities to the community.<\/p>\n

\"Agroecological<\/a>
Agroecological Provid\u00eancia’s space before the storm. Photo: Promotional materials<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although it lasted only about ten minutes, the storm on March 12 destroyed part of the roof of the classroom where Agroecological Provid\u00eancia<\/a> hosts the community-run Machado de Assis college preparatory course. It also broke branches off the trees cultivated in the space. Roque, a forest guide and guardian, deeply familiar with native woods, and traditional healer who uses medicinal plants and spiritual practices passed down through generations, explains that the flooding, fallen trees, and other damage caused by the storm stem from the lack of sustainable urban planning\u2014one that takes into account the role of nature in ensuring urban safety and its importance for social well-being.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
View from the Agroecological Provid\u00eancia space toward Rivad\u00e1via Corr\u00eaa Street before the storm. Photo: Promotional materials<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"View<\/a>
View from the Agroecological Provid\u00eancia space toward Rivad\u00e1via Corr\u00eaa Street after the storm. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Roque, mainstream media narratives place the blame for the negative impacts of storms on nature itself. By framing nature as a \u201cproblem,\u201d these narratives encourage the removal of trees both in the favela and in the formal city\u2014a move that does not produce real solutions.<\/p>\n

The fewer the trees, she says, the hotter and more unbalanced the environment becomes. As she explains, trees help contain lightning during storms, withstand strong winds, cool the surroundings, and hold the soil in place through their roots. Especially in sloped areas like Morro da Provid\u00eancia, trees help prevent landslides. Roque also explains that the arbitrary removal of trees can increase urban vulnerability in the face of climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are several factors [that contribute to the vulnerability of this part of Provid\u00eancia]. This used to be a garbage dump, so the soil isn\u2019t very stable. We cleaned it up and we\u2019re still reforesting, but there hasn\u2019t been enough time for the soil to become well compacted. The fact that it\u2019s sloped means that [part of the soil] keeps getting washed away. But in other places too\u2014even in [Rio’s upscale] South Zone, or in areas that aren\u2019t on hillsides\u2014trees also fell. And that\u2019s also [important] to talk about\u2026 the trees around us are what protect our homes. When the trees fell, you can see that the houses remained standing. On this side over here, where there are no trees\u2014the roof flew off. Our other neighbors who don\u2019t have trees, their houses were damaged\u2026 we don\u2019t realize that the trees sacrificed themselves to protect us, you know? There\u2019s a whole way of looking at things, a whole other way of seeing: you see that all these trees fell, all of them so big, and they were so generous with us. If these trees hadn\u2019t fallen, hadn\u2019t formed this protective barrier, how many [more] houses would\u2019ve collapsed? How many people would\u2019ve died? You know?\u201d \u2014 Alessandra Roque<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For Roque, the damage caused by this storm reveals the troubling lack of environmental policies focused on mitigation and urban adaptation\u2014especially policies focused on favelas. This gap results in a lack of infrastructure to respond to the severity of such events.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou come here and you see an agroforest. Even after the storm, there\u2019s still no policy that allows us to create an agroforest within an urban setting. When we apply for public funding, for instance, we have to enter Agroecological Provid\u00eancia into calls for proposals for herb workshops or for making medicinal syrup\u2026 Sure, that kind of funding helps us keep our activities going, but it doesn’t help us access funds to do all the pruning, or to carry out the structural containment work we need. We cannot access public policies that actually support what we\u2019re doing\u2014even though we\u2019re planting, even though all these trees are already here. To the State, it\u2019s as if they didn\u2019t exist.\u201d \u2014 Alessandra Roque<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

For this reason, after the March 12 disaster, Agroecological Provid\u00eancia launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise the resources needed to cut and remove damaged trees that are preventing the continuation of their work<\/a> and posing risks to both activities and residents.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
View from the Agroecological Provid\u00eancia space toward Rivad\u00e1via Corr\u00eaa Street after post-storm pruning. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On March 12, the Rio government’s Operations Center (COR) recorded high levels of rainfall, fallen trees<\/a>, and structural collapses in South Zone neighborhoods and in the central region, including Avenida Presidente Vargas. There was, however, no official record of the storm\u2019s impact that day on Morro da Provid\u00eancia.<\/p>\n

The Agroecological Provid\u00eancia Project and Its Relevance to Environmental Justice in the Community<\/h3>\n

Despite the public authorities\u2019 neglect of the climate crisis\u2019s impacts on favelas\u2014and the lack of support and visibility for local solutions to address these impacts\u2014projects like Agroecological Provid\u00eancia continue to grow in adaptive and autonomous ways. There, children from the community take part in socio-environmental education classes, and activities such as embroidery and sewing workshops, yoga sessions, and a community-run college prep course are also offered.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The heavy rains on March 12 tore off part of the roof of the classroom where the Agroecological Provid\u00eancia college entrance prep classes take place. Photo: Amanda Baroni<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

According to Portela, the project also teaches about the importance of trees and of preservation tied to food production in the context of increasingly unpredictable climate events. It also emphasizes the need for environmental education that fosters harmony between nature and the urban environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it rains, when there are strong winds, or when\u2014like now\u2014we go a long time without any rain and then it suddenly pours all at once, the trees need pruning, they need maintenance. So, with the lack of public services, many trees couldn\u2019t withstand it, and branches fell. Still, I think we’re better off with the trees than without them. We always say this: it seems like the tree is the problem, but it\u2019s not. The roots help hold the soil together. It could\u2019ve been worse\u2014there could\u2019ve been a landslide (if it weren\u2019t for the trees). They take the brunt of the rain and the wind, so the houses stay better protected. It\u2019s still better with the trees. In Rio, a large part of the favelas are on hillsides, so trees play a crucial role in water drainage systems. They absorb the impact of the rain and keep it from hitting the soil directly. Their roots allow water to seep into the ground slowly, which helps prevent flooding and landslides\u2014they do a huge job of containment. Trees save lives and need to be present. There\u2019s this ongoing, daily work of trying to take care of that, but even so, sometimes people still cut down the trees, and there\u2019s nothing we can do.\u201d \u2014 Lorena Portela<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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Uma publica\u00e7\u00e3o compartilhada por Uma escola em constru\u00e7\u00e3o (@providencia_agroecologica)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n