Participants in the environmental rally hold an inflatable replica of Earth as they walk along Avenida Atlântica, in Copacabana. Photo: Bárbara Dias On May 31, 2025, approximately 500 activists, favela leaders, Indigenous peoples, traditional communities, researchers, waste pickers, and environmental justice advocates gathered along Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beachfront for the Environmental Rally, organized by the Rio de Janeiro State Forum for Environment and Agriculture (

The history of Ary Barroso Park is marked by struggle, but also resilience. Photos by: Arthur Lucena Located in Rio de Janeiro’s North Zone, Ary Barroso Park was inaugurated in 1964 as the largest green leisure area in the Leopoldina region. Designed with lakes, waterfalls, sports courts, playgrounds, and more than 300 plant species, the park once served as an important environmental and recreational space for local residents. However, decades of urban expansion, forced displ

Representatives of Maracanã Village at the Anama Sapopemba Festival, where they showcased their rich ancestral traditions through singing, dancing, and culture. Photo: Sophia Vie Raised in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Mônica Lima Mura Manaú Arawak, PhD, a professor at the Maracanã Village Multiethnic Indigenous University (UIPAM), belongs to the Mura people and speaks Arawak as her first language. Founder of the Ancestral Matriarchal Collective, she states that forest educatio