‘Nature-based Solutions in the Favelas’ Presented in Parallel to the G20
On November 14, the Sustainable Favela Network (SFN)*, in partnership with the National Secretariat for the Peripheries (SNP) of Brazil’s Ministry of Cities, hosted the launch event for the publication Nature-based Solutions in Peripheral Areas: Advances in the Regulation of a New Public Policy. With support from GIZ Brasil, the Expanded Monitoring Working Group (GTAA) has been developing this initiative since October 2023. In addition to the Sustainable Favela Network, the project involved the Sustainable Peripheries Institute, the University of Brasília (UNB)’s Peripheries Research and Extension Group, the National Observatory for the Right to Water and Sanitation (ONDAS), the Urban Bioconnection Alliance, SEMASA Santo André, the World Bank Brazil, the Network for Antiracist Adaptation, and independent researcher Erich Wolff.
The launch event was held in parallel with the G20 Social Summit in Rio de Janeiro’s Gamboa neighborhood, at Zona Imaginária—an atelier featuring a permanent exhibition of images portraying the history of Brazil’s first favela, Providência, located nearby. The event aimed to expand the discussion on public policies for climate adaptation in peripheral areas through the Living Peripheries Program and marked an important step towards innovation in urban development using Nature-based Solutions (NbS).
The event brought together practical NbS experiences implemented in favelas by members of the Sustainable Favela Network. These were represented by Alessandra Roque (Agroecological Providência), Luis Cassiano (Green Roof Favela) from Parque Arará, Otávio Alves Barros (Vale Encantado Cooperative), Roberto Fonseca (Horto Natureza), and Alan Brum (Roots in Movement Institute) from Complexo do Alemão. Raissa Monteiro (GIZ Brasil), along with National Secretaries Adalberto Maluf (National Secretariat for Urban Environment and Environmental Quality, Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change) and Guilherme Simões (National Secretariat for the Peripheries, Ministry of Cities), also attended the event. They emphasized the federal government’s commitment to advancing solutions to address the climate crisis in peripheral areas and favelas, which are disproportionately vulnerable to climate impacts.
