Rio Favela Fights Blackfly Infestation Without Public Support: ‘If Other Associations Joined Us… We Could Clean the Whole River’

Community organization mobilizes residents to clean up the stream and fight a blackfly infestation, without adequate materials and in the face of public neglect. Photo: Support and Integration Network

Clouds of blackflies are part of daily life for residents of the Mata Machado favela, in Alto da Boa Vista, near Tijuca Forest in Rio de Janeiro. To try to contain the proliferation of the insect, which has been negatively affecting their quality of life, residents organize monthly collective actions to clean up their stream, while realizing there is also need for government action.

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This article is part of a series created in partnership with the Behner Stiefel Center for Brazilian Studies at San Diego State University, to produce articles for the Digital Brazil Project on environmental justice in the favelas through RioOnWatch.