Some of you may know that I am from Brazil and I have a Bachelor of Science in Sanitation and Environmental Engineering. Among the subjects I studied was waste management. Considering we are constantly generating waste on this planet, it struck me that only in 2010 a law that concerns waste management was enacted in my home country, the Brazilian National Solid Waste Bill n. 12.305/2010. Even though it was considered a revolution at the time and perhaps even now still is—I think it shows how much we are neglecting the crucial waste management agenda.

Don’t get me wrong, this was not the first bill of its kind in Brazil. However, the absence of clear goals, instruments, principles and rules can cause the accumulation and repetition of automatic actions that may lead to substantial issues in the future. Thus, the bill 12.305/2010 was created with the goal to protect public health and environmental quality; promote non-generation, reduction, reuse, recycling, and treatment of the solid waste; and to ensure the adequately environmental final disposal of the rejects (the waste that could not be recycled, reused or recovered). One important target defined by the Brazilian National Solid Waste Bill was the eradication of dumpsters in the entire country by 2014—a goal that was not achieved and postponed to 2021. Sadly, according to the Cleaning and Special Waste Companies Brazilian Association (Abrelpe), in 2017 dumpsters increased by 1% in the country, while the volume of waste destined to such places also rose in 4%. ¹ Irony can be ironic sometimes… Even with the bill, the waste management issue is not improving in Brazil.

This was supposed to be a short introduction to my review of the documentary “A Plastic Ocean”, but here I am… And indeed, there is a lot to say regarding this “waste disease”. Nevertheless, being now in Germany, I feel impressed, happy and excited when I see how well this country manages its waste. I don’t know what your opinions are if you were born and grew up in Germany. Still, compared to my upbringing in Brazil, Germany sets a great example to several governments in how to successfully implement domestic waste separation and recycling, ultimately supporting an improved quality of life, environment, and a better tomorrow for all. Now, without further ado, I will begin my documentary review, I hope you are still with me.

The documentary “A Plastic Ocean” impacted me in so many different ways. From the start of its first frame which quoted Helman Melville’s Moby-Dick until the end of the movie, it is an honest, heart-breaking, apologizing letter to the planet and to the biota present in it. This documentary was directed by journalist, filmmaker and adventurer Craig Leeson and begins with him talking about his astonishment as an 8-year-old kid when he saw a whale for the first time in a National Geographic magazine. As we are led to the ocean by the coast of Sri Lanka, diving alongside the British diver Rich Horner, the viewer is shocked as plastic and other kinds of waste are found in that area, especially because the beaches in that region have been closed for up to 30 years.

The film continues its trajectory in the ocean presenting several different locations and the environmental problems caused by plastic—up to this point, especially on the marine fauna. It is devastating as the viewer sees footage of a dying Bryde whale that had its digestive system blocked by a 6 square meter plastic sheet. Animals including dolphins, seals and sealions are physically harmed because they had some kind of plastic wrapped around their necks. It is not possible to live having this general thinking that when we throw something away, we are free of it. As some of the interviewers stressed, which is a 100% true, there is no “away.” We live in a closed system, one planet, and at this point we are well aware that nothing simply disappears. How outrageous is it to think that in some places in the ocean there is more plastic than plankton?

“A Plastic Ocean” exhibits didactically the ocean’s function and importance for the planet, as well as how it is possible for plastic to be transported from anywhere to the ocean. With an assembly of doctors and researchers, the viewer is guided through the documentary to understand the role of the currents, the existence of gyres, what is bioaccumulation, toxicity of plastic components and effects of plastic pollution on our health. There is not a moment when the viewer is left hanging. It is an essential documentary for every human inhabitant of this Earth. It emphasizes that we live in an interconnected world; it makes us travel to different corners of the planet and reminds us of social inequalities, sustainable alternatives, technological advancements and essential, immediate action. Besides counting statistical plastic production within the time frame we are watching the movie, as production never stops.

I would say find time and watch “A Plastic Ocean” today. It is a movie that challenges and confronts us. It opens our eyes to spheres of our planet and the current reality that we either sometimes neglect or are unaware of. We are active agents of change and it is a fact that we can help planet Earth. Bit by bit. One by one. The sum of everyone’s good actions can make a huge impact. And share this documentary or suggest to friends and family because, quoting Craig Leeson, “From knowing comes caring, and from caring comes change.”

Sincerely,

Éverton Souza da Silva

P.S.: “A Plastic Ocean” is available on Netflix.

1 https://ecocircuito.com.br/legislacao/

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Get to know the Pantanal of Mato Grosso

With an area of 160,000 km², Pantanal is considered the largest wetland on the planet. It is mainly located in the Brazilian territory in the states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, having 15,000 km² of its area situated also in Bolivia and 5,000 km² in Paraguay. To the North of Pantanal, we find the Amazon rainforest, and to the west, the Andes Mountain Range. The climate in this biome is characterised as hot with a dry season that extends from May to September and a rainy season in the rest of the year¹. According to Junk et al. (2005)¹, Pantanal was established in a circumglobal belt of climatic instability and this weather conformation drives extreme events of flooding and droughts combined with extensive wildfires that threatens the fauna and the flora of the biome.

Concerning to the biodiversity in the Pantanal of Mato Grosso, records list a total 2,241 plant species, 816 aquatic invertebrates, 263 fish species, 96 species of reptiles, 40 amphibian species, 390 bird species and 130 species of mammals¹. Among these, the Jabiru stork is highlighted for being the largest flying bird in this biome and it is considered the symbol of the Pantanal in Brazil. This biome is also considered a sanctuary for the hyacinth macaw, the capybara, the jaguar and the giant river otter – top predators of the ecosystem –, which are all well adapted to the changing environmental conditions of this big wetland.

The 2020 Pantanal Fire Event

Aiming for a better management and environmental protection, in 1998, the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE²) started a monitoring program to verify and record fires in the country. Last year (2019), in the Pantanal region, the INPE recorded 3,165 hotspots between January and August, corresponding almost entirely to dry season of the biome. As alarming this number might be to you, the scenario this year was not any better. The records of the same period for year 2020 showed that over 10,000 hotspots were recorded in Pantanal, which has led to the biggest fire event ever recorded for this area.

So far, the fire has burned over 15% of Pantanal’s total area. Even though natural fire events are common in the region during its dry season, increasing deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest and in Pantanal has been affecting the movement of the flying rivers and, hence, the rain patterns in seasonality and magnitude. Lower precipitation rates impact the water level in the wetland – as the biome faces the worst drought in 47 years –, leading to exposure of areas and vegetation that typically would be underwater, even during the dry season. As temperatures are high and the vegetation becomes exposed and dry, even small fires can thrive and ultimately develop into major fire events that are difficult to control and predict, e.g. peat fires.

According to the Integrated Multiagency of Operational Coordination Centre of Mato Grosso (CIMAN-MT), the fires of this year were caused by the anthropogenic interferences to prepare pasture lands for livestock, burning trees to acquire honey, and one accidental fire caused by an agricultural equipment. Nevertheless, even though the causes were discovered, the fire remains bringing destruction to the biome, great loss of biodiversity and seed banks, burning plants and trees, killing the animals and summing up to the global carbon emissions. Every action against the environment is a step closer to 1.5°C higher of the global warming.

Red List Assessment for notable species in the area

Pantanal has the largest concentration of jaguars in the world. Having a look at the UCN Red List assessments (2020) for some animal species that have the wetland as a sanctuary, it is noted that the jaguar is classified as “Near threatened” and its population trend is decreasing, according to the assessment dated in 2016. In regards to the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis), assessed in 2014, the report categorizes it as an endangered species. Concerning the hyacinth macaw (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus), that was last assessed in the Red List in 2016, the status is as a vulnerable species, with a number of 4,300 of mature individuals worldwide, presenting a decreasing trend on its population. On the other hand, the Jabiru stork (Jabiru mycteria) is classified as of least concern, having a range of 6,700 to 17,000 mature individuals; and the same classification goes for the rodent capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris).

Click here to go the UCN Red List so you can check the status of other species too!

Know how to help

The NGO WWF-Brasil is one of the many organisations that are fighting to revert this tragedy in Pantanal. If you want to know how to HELP, click HERE!

Get to know more about the Pantanal and check the biodiversity photo gallery here!

References

¹ Junk et al. (2005)

² INPE (2020)

The post SOS Pantanal: The fire that ravages the world’s largest wetland appeared first on Global Change Ecology.

Over several years, he showed his culture to Thomas Fischermann, a German journalist writing for the German newspaper Die Zeit. Now, the two men wrote a book about their journeys, called “The last Guardian of the Amazon”. Yes, both men. Madarejuwá Tenharim is listed as the first author in the book, Fischermann as the second. This is something that makes this book special in my eyes. It’s not the typical story of a foreigner visiting a foreign culture, collecting data and information to leave for good and write a book about this culture, not giving back anything to the people.

“The last Guardian of the Amazon” is different. The book is written from Madarejuwá Tenharim’s perspective: he takes the reader onto a journey through the Amazon, showing him his daily life and telling him which problems his community is facing. For example, deforestation which is destroying the rainforest. Or Brazilian loggers threatening him and his family because they want to exploit the Tenharim’s land. Or his own balancing act living between two completely different worlds – the Brazilian life with cities, buses and smartphones, and the Tenharim life with hunting animals, learning from the elders and listening to the birds.

The 184 pages of the book are a source of knowledge for the reader and a guide to understand the Tenharim culture. The reader also learns why the Amazon rainforest is so important for the indigenous communities living in and off it. Not only is it the provider of food, but it is also the main part of the people’s identity and spirituality. If the Amazon gets destroyed, the indigenous people inhabiting it are dying both physically and mentally. But it also gives an impression of how determined and resolute Madarejuwá Tenharim and other indigenous people are to protect the forest.

Unfortunately, so far, the book is only available in German but there is an English preview on the book’s website where still some important parts of Madarejuwá’s story are available. (Maybe, if enough English speaking persons insist on a translation, there will be an English version, who knows…)

A few days ago, Madarejuwá’s message became more important than ever: Paulo Paulino Guajajara, a 26-year old member of the Guajajara indigenous group was killed in the Araribóia reserve located in Brazil’s North-East. He was one of the most prominent indigenous activists fighting for the protection of the Amazon rainforest in the country. Under the far-right government of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil has become one of the most dangerous countries for environmental and indigenous activists. Bolsonaro wants to open indigenous territories to exploitation. This is fatal in various ways: indigenous communities rely on the intactness of the surrounding nature since it provides their daily life; also, indigenous people are one of the most important players when it comes to environmental protection in the Amazon rainforest. Large parts of the Amazon forest were burning in August and September 2019 due to wildfires which were in parts caused by human activities, especially by land clearing for farming. After the burning was controlled in October, deforestation has increased extremely. This year, the deforestation rate of the first nine months has been 85% higher than the one of the respective time span of last year.

The Amazon forests seem to be far away. Many may say: Why should I care? The Amazon rainforest is also called the “lungs of the planet” because its innumerable trees and plants are providing oxygen and working as a CO2 sink – which in times of the global climate crisis is of incomparable importance. Therefore, we should all care about what is going on in Brazil.

Indigenous communities are fighting, risking their lives to protect the forest which is the center of their culture, traditions, and lives. There are various institutions and organizations supporting the indigenous groups’ resistance against the exploitation of the Amazon forest, here are some: Amazonwatch, Amazonfrontlines, The Amazon Conservation Team, Amazon Conservation, and others. 

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