Brazil’s Rio mangroves were buried in waste; fishers restored them and 60 species returned

Local fishers collect waste from Guanabara Bay as part of a mangrove restoration and cleanup effort in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Decades of pollution, untreated sewage, industrial activity and waste have placed heavy pressure on the mangroves around Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay in Brazil. Yet in one of the bay’s remaining protected mangrove areas, local fishers and conservationists have been working to reverse the damage. Through Projeto UÇÁ, run by the Brazilian environmental organisation Guardiões do Mar, restoration efforts have helped recover 18.2 hectares of mangrove, while more than 64,500 mangrove seedlings have been planted. Monitoring of restored areas has also recorded more than 60 animal species, including birds, mammals and crustaceans. The work goes beyond planting trees, with local fishing communities involved in restoring habitats and removing waste from mangrove areas. The project shows how people whose livelihoods depend on coastal ecosystems can become important partners in restoring them, while the recovering mangroves provide habitat for wildlife and help strengthen the resilience of communities around Guanabara Bay.How Rio’s damaged mangroves began to recoverGu...