EcoClima

Maré is made up of a group of 16 favelas. It has more than 140.000 people distributed in approximately 50.000 homes. It is a territory that has a high population density, as the territory is less than 5 kilometers long, and is located between three major expressways for automobile circulation in the city of Rio de Janeiro and Guanabara Bay. Therefore, it faces a series of socio-environmental problems, namely: high thermal temperatures, atmospheric and noise pollution, accumulation of solid waste, lack of sewage treatment and increasingly, lack of green areas, in addition to mangrove (or mangue, in portuguese) degradation. Such problems that manifest themselves on a local scale are also often problems on a global scale, hence the importance of thinking about local solutions that can be scaled. Our solutions start from dialogue with the population and diagnostics in the territory and therefore address the real problems faced by residents. For example, we know that the temperature difference within Maré can reach 2 degrees Celsius and 4 degrees Celsius in relation to a neighborhood located right next to Maré.

As a solution to the problems presented, the EcoClima project is setting up, together with young residents of the territory, who are therefore aware of the dilemmas experienced, a circular economy center in Maré. To achieve that,, we are carrying out training processes on various environmental issues, together with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, civil society organizations, social movements and public authorities for these young people. We are also working on communication about environmental issues for the residents of Maré, this is a very important dimension in the mobilization of these environmental topics. Carrying out diagnoses on the problems faced, to better think about solutions and in addition, 4 pilot projects for climate action in Maré were considered. For the issue of high thermal temperatures, we considered the green roof, for the issue of accumulation of solid waste we considered the compost bin, for the issue of lack of sewage treatment we considered the biodigester/Wetlands and, finally, to face degradation of the mangrove was thinking about recovering the mangrove. Therefore, our solution consists of training young residents of the territory to be climate agents, promoting diagnoses that support our actions and training them as researchers, so that, based on the prototyping of four solutions, they can be replicated both inside and outside Maré, but mainly in the favelas (slums) and periphery spaces.

More directly, young people. We are training at least 24 young people, who are strategically distributed across the 16 favelas in Maré. According to the 2018 Maré Census, 61.6% of Maré's population is up to 34 years of age. The potential of working on these environmental themes and causing a paradigm shift in the territory proves to be more effective if worked with the youth, with them being prepared to participate more actively in decision-making processes for the city. To achieve that,  training and communication processes promoted and designed by young people are necessary, in addition to practical actions such as the prototypes.

Redes da Maré has extensive experience in territorial mobilization on issues involving environmental issues, in addition to promoting the fight for socio-environmental rights in the favelas of Maré. It is also worth highlighting that Redes da Maré has extensive and consolidated work with local organizations and leaders, in addition to having a large audience reach with its actions.

The leaders of the solution are residents of Maré and contact with Redes da Maré occurred when they were users of projects developed by the institution. Today, still as residents, they coordinate actions that seek to build solutions with the local population to mitigate the impact of climate change in the region. These actions involve practical activities, such as cleaning the mangrove forest and building prototypes such as the green roof, compost bin and biodigester, but also research into air quality, heat islands and other aspects that may interfere with the quality of life of the community. population. The results of these studies make it possible to propose actions that are more targeted to local needs, based on advocacy actions and partnerships with public universities.

A training process lasting 16 months was carried out, aiming to provide a basis for socio-environmental awareness and awareness actions, in addition to the dissemination of prevention and remediation practices for environmental impacts, all within the scope of increasing awareness and human, technical capacity and institutional efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change in the Maré Favela Complex. We then move towards building a technical and social diagnosis to establish a baseline, identify risk factors, map local actors and develop action strategies, as well as a pilot action plan to mitigate the local impacts of climate change. . To achieve this, it was necessary to coordinate with strategic local actors around a pilot climate action plan in Maré and consolidate a network of local and external partners. Finally, we are in the last stage, which consists of applying a pilot circular economy model to mitigate the effects of climate change in Maré, through the development of four environmental technologies: Composting Module, Biodigestors with Wetland, Green Roof and Replanting of Mangrove.

Redes da Maré is a local institution that has as one of its methodological strategies the creation of cooperation networks to develop collective actions, with community participation, that can guarantee or expand the rights of the 140 thousand residents of the group of 16 favelas in Maré.

Therefore, the participation of a collaborative network like Solve, which enables dialogue with other institutions, including those from other countries, and support to qualify our actions is of fundamental importance.

It is worth highlighting that the group of favelas in Maré is larger than 92% of Brazilian municipalities, in terms of population, but that the state's presence is precarious in offering quality public services in different areas such as health, education, culture and leisure. Furthermore, Maré suffers from the presence of armed criminal groups that results in brutal actions by police forces that impact the daily lives of residents. This entire context makes Maré a challenging territory but, precisely for this reason, it is a space for creating methodologies that can be replicated in other regions. Being connected to other solutions and obtaining support from other partners to improve the actions already carried out will make all the difference in our operations.

These are innovative techniques and technologies that are not widespread, mainly in favela and peripheral areas, whether due to infrastructure issues or the stigmatization that these spaces suffer socially. Its potential for application on a larger scale in other favelas for better use of waste (composting) and rainwater (green roof); recovery of native vegetation and the lack of sewage treatment, in themselves would be innovative, when we talk about applying such technologies in favelas, even more so.

For the Composting Module pilot project: Monitoring the daily amount of composted waste and participants involved; identification of challenges such as the presence of vectors and leachate; measuring the quantity and quality of the compost generated in relation to the waste used. For Biodigesters with Wetland: Analysis of effluent parameters such as BOD, COD, SS, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus and coliforms; quantification of organic load reduction; assessment of plant biomass in the Wetland and ratio of CO2 captured per plant mass produced. For Green Roof: Monitoring the filtration of solid particles and effluent flow; visual inspection of the roof structure and sealing; monitoring the internal temperature of the residence. For Mangrove Recovery: Greenhouse cleaning and assembly procedures; team formation and propagule collection; planting and maintenance of areas; cleaning effort on World Cleaning Day with community mobilization.

For the Composting Module pilot project: Monitoring the daily amount of composted waste and participants involved; identification of challenges such as the presence of vectors and leachate; measuring the quantity and quality of the compost generated in relation to the waste used.

For Biodigesters with Wetland: Analysis of effluent parameters such as BOD, COD, SS, ammonia nitrogen, total phosphorus and coliforms; quantification of organic load reduction; assessment of plant biomass in the Wetland and ratio of CO2 captured per plant mass produced.

For Green Roof: Monitoring the filtration of solid particles and effluent flow; visual inspection of the roof structure and sealing; monitoring the internal temperature of the residence.

For Mangrove Recovery: Greenhouse cleaning and assembly procedures; team formation and propagule collection; planting and maintenance of areas; cleaning effort on World Cleaning Day with community mobilization.