Projections on buildings call for protection of the Caatinga biome

Action carried out by the Sabiá Center and Greenpeace Brazil marks the week of National Caatinga Day

By Darliton Silva
Sabiá Center communicator

To mark the week of National Caatinga Day, the Sabiá Center and Greenpeace Brazil called for protection of the biome through projections on buildings in the center of Recife. The initiative took place on the evening of Monday, April 29, at Av. Conde da Boa Vista, with the aim of denouncing the predatory model of economic development that is expanding in the semi-arid region.

The semi-arid region is home to the Caatinga, the white forest that occupies 11% of the national territory, an exclusively Brazilian biome, endowed with its own delicacy and characteristics, which has a resilient biodiversity (fauna and flora) that changes according to the annual rainfall cycle.

Climate change, deforestation, fires and large renewable energy projects contribute significantly to this context of aridity, which negatively affects the lives of farming families living in the region. Aridity is the chronic lack of moisture in the climate, indicating a constant imbalance between water supply and demand. According to a study carried out by the National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alerts (CEMADEN), in partnership with the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), characteristics of an arid climate were identified in the north of Bahia.

Centro Sabiá is an NGO that for 30 years has been defending this biome, preserving and conserving its socio-biodiversity, as well as proposing strategies and carrying out appropriate management actions with the environment, valuing the Caatinga and contributing to the strengthening of diverse family farming, developed by countless traditional peoples who live in the territory.

Save the Caatinga Campaign
With the aim of raising public awareness about preserving the Semi-Arid Forest and denouncing the crimes of deforestation and burning, the Sabiá Center launched the permanent “Save the Caatinga” campaign in 2022.

Centro Sabiá’s photographic exhibition portrays the resilience of farming families in Pernambuco’s semi-arid region in the face of climate change
Entitled “A Being So Strong: Resistance and Resilience of Family Farming in the Face of the Climate Crisis”, this exhibition, organized by the Sabiá Agroecological Development Centre, an NGO that for 30 years has been promoting and building fairer food systems in Pernambuco, sheds light on the challenge and resilience of family farming in the semi-arid region in the face of climate adversity. Through 20 striking photographs, we capture the essence of rural life which, although deeply affected by climate change, persists and innovates, adapting to new climatic regimes. Each image tells the story of farming families who, anchored in agro-ecological practices and traditional knowledge, face and overcome bad weather. The exhibition is an immersion in the landscapes of the countryside from Agreste to Sertão, territories of the Pernambuco Semi-Arid extremely affected by the climate crisis and at risk of desertification.

The exhibition is part of the “Climate Expo ABA” program, which is a project promoted by the ABA, in partnership with the US diplomatic mission, with the aim of educating for a sustainable future.

Information about the exhibition
Text: Carlos Magno Morais;
Curated by Carlos Magno Morais and Darliton Silva;
Photos: João Roberto Ripper | Ana Mendes | Nay Jinkings | Luca Zanetti | Túlio Martins | Sabiá Center Collection;
Date: April 30 to May 17, 2024 [Sessões de 14h às 18h];
Location: R. Ten. João Cícero, 301 – Boa Viagem, Recife – PE – CEP:51.020-190.