One of the goals of COP30 is to share experiences and technologies that bring us closer to achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations (UN). By implementing sustainable solutions in campus management, universities can act as living laboratories for experimentation, demonstration, and validation of innovative practices that can be replicated on an urban scale.
The book “Ecological Transformation Plan (PTE) and Higher Education Institutions: experiences in the UniSustentável Network”, launched this Tuesday (the 12th), at the University Pavilion, during COP30, brings together accounts of experiences of ecological transformation and sustainability aligned with the axes of the Ecological Transformation Plan (PTE) in Brazilian universities. Launched at COP28 in 2023, the PTE is an initiative of the Brazilian federal government, focused on sustainable economic and technological development, which aims to modernize the country's industry, agriculture, energy and finances.
Since 2022, Unicamp has been part of the UniSustentável Network, which promotes sustainability in the university environment. According to Thalita Dalbelo, Unicamp's sustainability coordinator, the network operates through cooperation among its members and encourages the exchange of experiences between them. "The book's objective is precisely this, and launching it here at COP30 increases the visibility of the actions adopted in our institutions," said Dalbelo, who, along with part of the Sustainability Coordination team (CSUS), authored the chapter "Reconnecting Urban Green Areas: Ecological Corridors at Unicamp".
The Ecological Corridors Project, developed in partnership with the Secretariat for Climate, Environment and Sustainability of Campinas (Seclimas), will connect conservation areas and compensation polygons on the campus with each other and with external vegetation fragments, allowing the gene flow of fauna and flora. In the panel “Green Areas and Climate Action in São Paulo,” which took place on November 11th at the University Pavilion, Ângela Guirão, technical advisor at Seclimas, explained that the Unicamp project is a component of the Reconecta RMC macro-regional plan. “The Unicamp corridor is the first of five corridors that we want to implement in the city to connect the forest fragments of Campinas with each other and with green areas in the Campinas Metropolitan Region.”
Also geared towards ecological transformation and the recovery of green areas, the Federal Institute of São Paulo (IFSP) conducted a project to identify trees and map trails in two forests, Cambuí and Santa Marta, in the city of São Carlos. According to Fabriciu Veiga Benini, professor of the Aircraft Maintenance Technology course at IFSP, São Carlos campus, who coordinated the project, despite the ecological and social functions of these green areas in São Carlos, there was no systematized information on tree biodiversity, nor mapping and signage of the trails. “The absence of easily accessible informational materials limited the visitor experience and hindered the use of the forests as living laboratories for environmental education,” wrote Benini.
The mapping of the trees, which involved the use of drones, was carried out by students and staff of the Institute, some of whom had scholarships from the Pro-Rectorate for Extension of IFSP, and in partnership with the Association of Residents of Parque Santa Marta (AMPSM) and the NGO Veredas: Caminho das Nascentes, which were already working on conservation initiatives and promoting activities in these locations.
One of the project's outcomes was the creation of maps and visitation itineraries for the forests. Furthermore, as Benini explained, the initiative increased awareness of biodiversity and the responsible use of the forests, supporting AMPSM's actions and strengthening its connection with residents. Better equipped, the spaces began to be used for local events, expanding their educational use. "The main success was the development and validation of a participatory methodology for mapping trails and identifying trees by mixed teams," Benini pointed out. Confirming the premise of the university's potential as an experimental laboratory, this methodology is ready to be applied in other urban green spaces.
What role can culture play in the climate agenda?
"We're going to need everyone!" It was with this excerpt from the salt of the earth Brazilian Minister of Culture Margareth Menezes opened the panel “Narratives and Storytelling to Confront the Climate Crisis” this Tuesday, November 12th, in one of the auditoriums of Apex Brasil at COP30. Menezes recalled that in 1981, the year the song was released, composers Beto Guedes and Ronaldo Bastos were already warning about the need to care for the planet to build a better future; and that at Rio-92, the conference on environment and climate that consolidated the concept of sustainable development, the evidence of climate change was already in place. “Even so, we have done very little to repair the impact of human activity on nature and the climate. What we are seeing and experiencing today – the heat waves, the intense rains, the floods – are the result of our inaction,” stated the minister. “What is the power of art in the climate agenda? How can culture propel us to action?” she questioned.
The Ministry of Culture (MinC) has intensified the integration between the themes of culture and climate, leading global initiatives such as the Friends of Culture-Based Climate Action Group and promoting debates and policies that recognize culture as a tool for mitigating and adapting to climate change.
Organized by the Ministry of Culture, the panel featured Janja Lula da Silva, the First Lady of Brazil; Claudia Roth, former Minister of Culture of Germany; Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, writer and indigenous leader; Juliano Salgado, filmmaker and cultural producer; Kumi Naidoo, South African human rights and climate justice activist; and Klebber Toledo, Brazilian actor and activist. The panel was moderated by actress and presenter Giovanna Nader.
The participants defended the power of art as a tool for mobilization and transformation. Roth mentioned another musician, the rapper El General, who, at only 18 years old, released an anti-regime rap that became an anthem of the Tunisian revolution and one of the catalysts of the Arab Spring of 2011. The former minister also mentioned Augusto Boal (1931-2009), with his Theatre of the Oppressed. “Music, art in general, doesn't have the role of commenting on reality. It's not just to soundtrack our good moments; on the contrary, art has a function of filling the silences, of telling the stories we need to hear, of moving and of criticizing,” stated the former minister.
“Only culture reaches people’s hearts and mobilizes them in a way that science and politics cannot,” he added. During his time at the ministry, Roth created cultural initiatives and festivals around the theme of sustainability to promote connections between researchers and artists. He also created manuals for producing more sustainable cultural events – such as concerts and theatrical performances.
As special envoy for women at COP30, First Lady Janja Lula da Silva highlighted that culture has been a central focus of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's government, including when the topic is climate change. "Bringing COP30 to Belém is a way to bring negotiators closer to Brazilian reality and to ensure that the Amazonian peoples are heard," she said.
Kopenawa also reinforced the role of ancestral narratives in rebuilding our relationship with the planet. For the indigenous leader, the main lesson of COP30 in Belém will be to shed light on and give voice to indigenous culture. Lamenting the advance of urbanization and agribusiness on the forest, he stated: “Our culture emanates from the Earth, and it is not simple to understand what Mother Earth is saying. The Earth asks for silence because only in silence is it possible to dream.”
One of the world's leading figures in so-called artivism, a movement that unites art and activism around social, political, and environmental change, Naidoo stated that all change is driven by emotion. For the activist, the use of fossil fuels is the main cause of climate change. "Without stopping oil exploration, there is no future. I call on all artists to support indigenous peoples in their fight against oil exploration at the mouth of the Amazon River," he said, after kneeling before the audience.
For 10 years, Toledo has been part of the ReSurf project, which promotes environmental education initiatives. In November of this year, the actor organized the Mãos Dadas Festival, a beach cleanup effort at Barra da Tijuca Beach in Rio de Janeiro. “After the Covid-19 pandemic, we now have another epidemic of misinformation, where we see world leaders spreading fake news that generates disbelief and paralyzes people,” he stated. “Art has this role of being a link between people, an art capable of restoring hope and the will to act and change.”
The son of photographer Sebastião Salgado, Juliano Salgado leads the Instituto Terra, dedicated to environmental restoration initiatives. The filmmaker also highlighted the importance of indigenous culture in teaching us to better care for the planet. “It was my contact with them that helped me understand the importance of the land and trees,” he stated. In 2020, the Institute planted 500 trees; next year, that number is expected to triple. According to Salgado, in addition to tree replanting initiatives, Instituto Terra has invested in projects that combine agriculture and standing forests. “I believe that only solutions based on cooperativism can guarantee a future with access to water, food, and social justice,” he concluded.
Read more:
Project to implement ecological corridors and recover springs is approved at Unicamp
Ecological corridors project wins international award
Unicamp opens its program at COP30.
Universities discuss sustainability management; Unicamp announces its board of directors.
