Researchers: Venerable Eustáquio Amaro, Afonso Celso Vanoni De Castro, Ana Marcelino
Summary:
Brazil's coastal areas, of high ecological and socioeconomic importance, are vulnerable to climate change, especially sea level rise, which exacerbates erosion, flooding, and saline intrusion, affecting infrastructure, agriculture, and fishing communities. In the Northeast, wave energy is intensifying, with extreme events such as storm surges and heavy rainfall, threatening mangroves, estuaries, and coastal infrastructure.
Rio Grande do Norte stands out for not having recognized Indigenous territories. In this context, families from the coastal area of Sagi, Baía Formosa, are demanding recognition as the Potiguara de Sagi ethnic group. The process at FUNAI faces obstacles such as a lack of consensus on territorial boundaries and the effects of the pandemic. The historical lack of studies on Indigenous people in Rio Grande do Norte contributes to this situation.
The Sagi Trabanda community, with 232 families, has an economy based on fishing, agriculture, and tourism. Environmental degradation threatens these activities, with mangrove deforestation, expansion of sugarcane monoculture, damming of lagoons, and pesticide contamination, in addition to the construction of infrastructure that impacts tides and access to fishing resources, compromising their survival.
The Sagi Jacu community, with 41 families, occupies a riverside area on the banks of the Pau-Brasil River. Difficulties with access and basic services have led residents to move closer to the city. They face land conflicts with agricultural and shrimp farming companies, which affect their agricultural production and subsistence. The lack of formal territorial demarcation creates constant insecurity.
Finally, the integrity of coastal ecosystems is vital to the subsistence of traditional communities. Land demarcation and respect for the rights of these populations are essential for preserving biodiversity and ecological resilience. A sustainable development model must integrate traditional and scientific knowledge, with territorial planning and effective environmental management.
To this end, a group of geologists and architects, guided by Indigenous leaders, conducted studies of the territory, defining areas at risk from tides and sea level rise, and determining safe and immune areas for relocating the tents. The team developed co-creation workshops with the community, applying the EMR methodology.
Considering the socio-environmental conditions, we worked in partnership with indigenous communities seeking to build dialogues that rescued ancestral knowledge and proposed SBNs for the installation of tents.
Considering the risk vs. cost ratio, it was decided that rigid structures (such as kitchens) must be protected outside of risk areas, while soft or flexible structures (such as service and lounge balconies) can be closer to the beach, eliminating the need for physical integration between kitchen and service areas.
In indigenous culture, the management of spaces and resources is generally communal and articulates collective and family management rules, hence the development of the hypothesis of a “central kitchen”, preserving an individual space composed of a kitchen and storage for each family, as in a fish market.
This kitchen will have sanitary infrastructure consisting of Evapotranspiration Basins (BET) or Evapotranspiration Tanks (TEVAP) with absorption and evapotranspiration from plants, such as banana trees, to filter wastewater, helping to reduce pollution in the region's aquifers. Other NBS devices will be implemented, such as green roofs, a cistern system for storing rainwater for garden irrigation, floor cleaning, and other uses that do not require potable water.
Regarding construction techniques and materials, the use of vernacular techniques is proposed: clay constructions, structures in raw native wood and roofing with natural straw; with adaptations to meet safety and health requirements.
By adopting decolonizing alternatives to maintain the Sagi Indigenous communities that challenge the dichotomy between nature and culture, the proposal promotes resistance and racial and environmental justice.
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