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Sustainability initiatives

Ecovillages

  • Ecovila Cunha, located 20 km from the town of Cunha/SP, Ecovila Cunha on Facebook
  • IPEC - Ecocentro at the Instituto de Permacultura e Ecovilas do Cerrado / The Institute of Permaculture and Ecovillage of the Cerrado is an experimental educational design center and international community located on the Cerrado savanna of Brazil. IPEC began on a bare, degraded cattle pasture in 1998 to teach and demonstrate permaculture and to apply this information in the construction of a prototype ecological village, or ecovillage. The community exists on 25 hectares (60 acres) of land and is located in Pirenópolis, in the state of Goiás, central Brazil. IPEC is connected to the national university in Brasilia as well as many government ministries, schools and other non-profit organizations.
Ecoversidade is IPEC’s educational arm and is dedicated to education for sustainable living by fostering a profound understanding of the natural world, grounded in direct experience, that leads to sustainable patterns of living. Ecoversidade functions as a model of viable rural settlement, incorporating the realities of appropriate technology, living systems and sustainable community life from a holistic perspective.
IPEC is also the host of the 8th International Permaculture Convergence, taking place May 22–25, 2007 to provide a unique opportunity for permaculturalists to set continental and global agendas, make appropriate connections, and share innovative experiences. W
  • Lothlorien, 470 km west of Salvador, in the state of Bahia.

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Initiatives by topic

Biodiversity

Home to 60% of the Amazon Rainforest, which accounts for approximately one-tenth of all species in the world, Brazil is considered to have the greatest biodiversity of any country on the planet. It has the most known species of plants (55,000), freshwater fish (3000) and mammals (over 689). It also ranks third on the list of countries with the most number of bird species (1832) and second with the most reptile species (744). The number of fungal species is unknown, but is huge. Approximately two-thirds of all species worldwide are found in tropical areas, often coinciding with developing countries such as Brazil. Brazil is second only to Indonesia as the country with the most endemic species. W

Even though progress has been made in conserving Brazil’s landscapes, the country still faces serious threats due to its historical land use. Amazonian forests substantially influence regional and global climates and deforesting this region is both a regional and global driver of climate change due to the high amounts of deforestation and habitat fragmentation that have occurred this region. Brazil has established an extensive network of protected areas which covers more than 2 million km2 (25% of Brazil's national territory) and is divided almost equally between protected natural areas or conservation units and indigenous land ("Terras Indígenas"). Despite these measures, environmental protection is still a concern as indigenous tribes and Brazilian environmental activists contend with ranchers, illegal loggers, gold and oil prospectors and drug traffickers who continue to illegally clear forests. W

Wikipedia: Cerrado, Conservation in Cerrado,

Community energy

Wikipedia: Renewable energy in Brazil, Solar power in Brazil

Community involvement

Participa.br

Cycling activism

Critical Mass bicycle rides in Brazil

Ethical consumerism

EcoBrasil

Food activism

Belo Horizonte's Food and Nutrition Security Policy

Recognizing the need to make basic foods more readily available to low-income people, the "Restaurantes Populares" initiative (People's Restaurants, or Popular Restaurants in the original Portuguese) has been a key part of Belo Horizonte's pioneering Food and Nutrition Security Policy (Law No. 6.352, 15/07/1993).

Strategically distributed across various areas of the city to broaden access to the vulnerable population, there are currently four People's Restaurants and one canteen that promote equity over "fast culture." They provide cheap, healthy, safe and accessible food for all, made from fresh local produce. As reported by ICLEI in 2013, lunch costs 3 reals (about $1), half that price to the beneficiaries of the "Bolsa Família" (Family Basket) program, and free to the registered homeless — which represent about 160,000 people per year. In order to maintain the consistency of both price and quality, all the outlets are directly managed and administered by the municipality.

The program has allowed the community not only to make sure that the population is provided with fresh, nutritious food, but also to create a secure market for local farmers to sell their produce. According to Fondazione Giangiacomo Feltrinelli's report, Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, Belo's People's Restaurants serve almost 3 million meals annually. [1]

Other links

Wikipedia: Permaculture projects, Brasil

Solar cooking resources in Brazil

Open spaces

wikipedia:List of national parks of Brazil

Reduce, reuse, repair & recycle

wikipedia:Recycling in Brazil

Sharing

TEM AÇÚCAR

Social inclusion

wikipedia:Homeless Workers Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Teto - MTST)

Instituto Querô, organização da sociedade civil de interesse público que utiliza o audiovisual como ferramenta para estimular talentos, promover a inclusão cultural, transmitir valores, desenvolver o empreendedorismo e dar voz a jovens que vivem em condições de alto risco social. (civil society organization of public interest that uses audiovisual talents as a tool to stimulate, promote cultural inclusion, transmit values​​, develop entrepreneurship and give voice to young people living in conditions of high social risk.)

wikipedia:Landless Workers' Movement (Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra, or simply MST)

Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens, (Movement of People Affected by Dams)

Sustainable transport activism

Walkable city streets are commonly closed on Sunday in major cities (of Brazil), one notable example being Avenida Atlântica in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. [2]

Trees, woodland and forest

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Brazil once had the highest deforestation rate in the world and in 2005 still had the largest area of forest removed annually.[1] Since 1970, over 600,000 square kilometers (230,000 sq mi) of the Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. In 2012, the Amazon was approximately 5.4 million square kilometres, which is only 87% of the Amazon’s original state.

Rainforests have decreased in size primarily due to deforestation. Despite reductions in the rate of deforestation in the last ten years, the Amazon Rainforest will be reduced by 40% by 2030 at the current rate.[3] Between May 2000 and August 2006, Brazil lost nearly 150,000 square kilometres of forest, an area larger than that of Greece. According to the Living Planet Report 2010, deforestation is continuing at an alarming rate, but at the CBD 9th Conference 67 ministers signed up to help achieve zero net deforestation by 2020. W

Wikipedia: List of Brazilian National Forests, National Forest Tapajós

Urban sustainability

The Open Source City, Part 1: Curitiba, wikia:Wethink:Chapter 11

Porto Alegre, Goiânia and Curitiba are often cited as examples of urban sustainability [3] See also: Strategic Plan for Belo Horizonte (2010–2030) on Wikipedia

wikipedia:Urban planning#Curitiba

News and comment

2017

Every Tree Matters: Brazilian Cities Prioritize Urban Restoration, Feb 2 [4]

Why Women in Brazil Are Turning to the Solidarity Economy, Jan 17 [5]

2016

From the favelas: the rise of rooftop solar projects in Brazil, May 24 [6]

Brazilian State Becomes First in the Country to Set Carbon-Neutral Goal, April 14 [7]

A snapshot of Transition in ... Brazil. April 5 [8]

Solar is changing lives in Brazil. Here’s how. February 3 [9]

2015

Collaboration and changing beliefs are two keys for a degrowth economy, November 23 [10]

Tracking trees: How one Amazon Indigenous community is using tech to fight illegal logging, September 10 [11]

Promise Tracker launches civic monitoring campaigns across Brazil, March 22 [12]

2014

How Brazil Has Dramatically Reduced Tropical Deforestation, July [13]

2013

Brazil plans Amazon tree census to assess deforestation, [14] January 27

Paying with 'kisses' as Brazil’s social currencies spread, January 2 [15]

2010

Clean Up the World weekend 2010: Members of the Brazilian Institute for the Protection of Nature will join with their communities to restore Parque Ecológico do Tietê in São Paulo, the largest linear park in the world. They will also conduct a clean up along the iconic Amazon River in the city of Manaus. [16] September 15

'Rio plus 20' to be held in Brazil in 2012, [17]

Blogger Cristiana Soares, in collaboration with net-citizens, launched Projeto Enchentes [Project Floods, pt], a platform for tracking — and gathering information about – floods in Brazil. The project counts with a collaborative map created by Henrique Brandão. [18] January 4

2009

Grid fails in Brazil. Massive power cuts in several Latin American counties highlight the dangers of relying on centralised power production, [19] November 12

In Brazil, desertification has increased in the Caatinga, in the zones of droughts in the Northeast and North of the state of Minas Gerais, as well as in the states that didn’t suffer of droughts nor desertification before like in Rio Grande do Sul. The Amazon River has been through a major drought just a little time ago, with a large amount of fish dying because of this. [20] November 4

2009 SEED Award Winners, [21] May 12

"One Million Cistern Program (P1MC)". Local NGOs and local community associations have joined forces with the national government and international agencies to develop and build one million home cisterns to collect and store rain water in the semi-arid region, bringing access to potable water for poor rural families.

"The sustainable use of Amazonian seeds". Regional development in the Brazilian Amazon is the aim of the partners, achieved by encouraging the organization of the local communities as a co-operative, and by transferring technologies and training the community in the production of oils made from Amazonian seeds, resulting in increased incomes for these communities.

"Eco-Amazon Piabas of Rio Negro". A national NGO, a cooperative of small producers and public authorities are working together to build a niche market of specialty ornamental fishes and to introduce a fair trade system through socio-environmentally responsible fishing.

Flooding, drought and cyber-activism in Brazil, [22] May 11

Brazil: A private nature reserve – Is it possible? [23] March 24

The City that Ended Hunger, A city in Brazil recruited local farmers to help do something U.S. cities have yet to do: end hunger. [24] Frances Moore Lappé, Feb 13. “To search for solutions to hunger means to act within the principle that the status of a citizen surpasses that of a mere consumer.” CITY OF BELO HORIZONTE, BRAZIL

2007

The only way to save the rainforest is to save the Indians, by recognising their land rights, says Brazilian shaman, [25] October 10

Resources

Maps

commons:Atlas of Brazil

Video

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Error in widget YouTube: Unable to load template 'wiki:YouTube'

more video:

Água Potável on youtube

Gelo a partir do Sol on youtube

Local communities in Brazil community action

Interwiki links

Wikipedia: Brazil, Transport in Brazil

External links


References Template:Attrib sca ref

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