NITERÓI, Brazil, Jan 9 (IPS) – “We have moved from a context of social-ecological exclusion to a context of environmental justice,” said Dionê Castro, coordinator of the Sustainable Oceanic Region Program which led Brazil’s largest nature-based solutions project.
After winning national and global awards, the Orla Piratininga Park (POP) has created 35,000 square meters of filter gardens and improved the water quality of the Piratininga Lagoon, in the oceanic south of Niterói, a municipality in the metropolitan Rio de Janeiro, across Guanabara Bay.
The project, named after the late Brazilian environmentalist Alfredo Sirkis, began in 2020 and aims to ecologically restore an area of 680,000 square meters on the banks of the lagoon, whose waters cover an area of 2.87 square kilometers.
The core of the project is the treatment systems for the water of the Cafubá, Arrozal and Jacaré rivers, which flow into the lagoon. Sedimentation and pollution deteriorated the water supply and quality of life in the area.
A weir, which collects the river flow, a sedimentation pond, which removes solid waste, and the filter gardens form the chain that partially cleans the water before it is discharged into the lagoon, reducing its environmental impact, in a process called phytoremediation.
The gardens are small reservoirs where aquatic plants called macrophytes are planted, which feed on the nutrients from the pollution, explains Heloisa Osanai, the biologist specialized in environmental management of the Sustainable Oceanic Region Program (PRO Sustainable).
Three polluted water treatment plants are located in the neighborhoods crossed by the rivers, based on natural resources, “without the use of electrical energy, chemicals or concrete,” explains Castro, the coordinator of PRO Sustainable.
In addition, some macrophytes produce abundant flowers. Only native Brazilian species are planted, prioritizing biodiversity, Osanai said.
Together with these water purification systems, 10.8 kilometers of cycle paths, 17 recreation centers, a 2,800 square meter Eco-Cultural Center and other environmental works with social objectives were built.
The bike path, usually along a pedestrian path, is suitable for physical and recreational activities, but is also a factor in protecting the lagoon’s shoreline by blocking urban occupation and property invasion, the officials explained.
The area where the water system was constructed at the mouth of the Cafubá River was severely affected by an open dump and flooding. A reformed ‘belt channel’, in some parts also reinforced by macrophyte islands, corrected the flooding.
On the other side of the lagoon, 3.2 kilometers of wadis improve rainwater drainage. They are trenches with pipes, rocks and other materials, plus vegetation, that speed drainage and prevent pollutants from reaching the lagoon.
The most important result, according to Castro, was that the local population reconciled with the lagoon. The old houses that “turned their backs on the lagoon” are being joined by new buildings facing the water, some with balconies overlooking the new landscape, says Mariah Bessa, the engineer in charge of the hydraulic aspects of the project.
The local population was deeply involved in the design and construction of the new environmental and social facilities that transformed the lagoon’s coastline. This led to new attitudes, such as not leaving litter on the ground or in the water and preventing others from doing so, Castro said.
The Ecocultural Center promotes continuous environmental education, with films, children’s games, audiovisual resources and a large space for visits and lessons.
“We have moved from a context of social-ecological exclusion to one of environmental justice”, said the coordinator of PRO Duurzaam.
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