How has climate change affected the biodiversity of Guanabara Bay and its surrounding cities? These and other questions lead the exhibition “Futures of Guanabara Bay: Innovation and Climate Democracy”, held by the Science and Culture Forum (FCC) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
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The exhibition will be inaugurated next Tuesday (21) at the Casa da Ciência of the UFRJ, in Botafogo, in the south zone of Rio. With interactive activities for all ages, the exhibition debates and invites the public to think about solutions to the effects of the climate crisis in one of the main postcards of the capital of Rio de Janeiro.
About 12 million people live in the Guanabara Bay Watershed, distributed in municipalities in the metropolitan region of Rio, Baixada Fluminense, Região dos Lagos and Serrana. Landslides, heavy rains, periods of drought that threaten the water supply and heat waves are already part of the daily life of the population.
Christine Ruta, biologist and coordinator of the FCC, comments that one of the objectives of the exhibition is to show how science has created solutions for the future with social impact and in defense of climate democracy.
“It is necessary to remember that poor populations are the most affected and that it is urgent to integrate scientific and popular knowledge to face the crisis”, says the biologist. With an eye on the future, the exhibition brings together UFRJ research and extension projects aimed at slowing down the effects of global warming.
Among the projects that the public will be able to see are the Usina de Ondas, which produces clean energy, ecological concrete, which replaces cement and reduces carbon dioxide emissions, and the robot Ariel, capable of detecting oil spills at sea.
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“We want to bring the public closer to the richness and relevance of Guanabara Bay, a place that is part of the lives of Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian imagination, but still little known in terms of diversity, not only environmental, but also social, economic and cultural “, explains Leonardo Menezes, curator of the exhibition.
The program includes workshops and guided tours for children and young students from public and private schools, university students and community groups, especially from around the Bay.
Other interactive experiences are the Salas das Escolhas and the Mural das Iniciativas, with information, questions and a panel for the public to propose local actions to combat the problems involving the climate crisis in Guanabara Bay in the coming decades.
The Science and Culture Forum is the body that coordinates UFRJ’s cultural and scientific dissemination policies.
Service
Exhibition “Futures of Guanabara Bay: Innovation and Climate Democracy”
From March 21st to May 14th
UFRJ Science House (R. Lauro Müller, 3 – Botafogo)
Tuesday to Saturday, from 9 am to 8 pm; Sundays and holidays, from 10 am to 4 pm
Free entrance
To schedule guided tours visit the website here.
Source: BdF Rio de Janeiro
Editing: Clivia Mesquita
