Constance Malleret

Brazil’s humpback whale population has risen from fewer than 1,000 in the late 1980s to an estimated 30,000–35,000, bringing the animals back to waters around Rio de Janeiro and even Guanabara Bay. Whale watching is generating tourism revenue and valuable behavioural data through partnerships between operators, researchers and conservation groups. However, marine biologists warn that increasing boat traffic, noise, pollution and weak enforcement could create cumulative stress and human-whale conflicts, making updated rules and closer monitoring essential.

Brazil’s £2.1bn São Francisco River diversion was designed to address water scarcity across the drought-prone northeast and is officially said to serve 12 million people. Yet many families displaced for the project were relocated to planned villages without running water, irrigation or functioning public services. Some communities, such as Vila Lafayette, secured substantial benefits through local campaigning, while Vila Salão remains dependent on wells, water deliveries and reservoir collection. Experts and residents question whether the project has delivered equitable water access, particularly as climate change intensifies drought and desertification.

Women in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas are increasingly turning to muay thai, jiujitsu and other self-defence training as gender-based violence and femicides rise in Brazil. Free classes and programs such as Empoderadas provide not only physical skills but also legal, psychological and peer support, especially for survivors of domestic abuse. Experts attribute part of the increase in misogyny to online communities and warn that strong laws, including the Maria da Penha law, are undermined by weak enforcement and inadequate public investment. Brazil’s Senate has approved a bill making misogyny a hate crime, while protests and demands for stronger state protection continue.

Gabriel Mascaro’s Brazilian film The Blue Trail depicts a near-future authoritarian society that exiles older people, but its rebellious 77-year-old protagonist has resonated with Brazilian women confronting ageism. Older viewers and activists see the film as affirming independence, desire and the right to keep pursuing dreams, while Brazil’s rapidly ageing population raises questions about social preparedness. The film also sits within a broader Brazilian cinematic tradition of strong older female characters and has received major recognition at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Brazil is expanding its network of marked long-distance hiking trails as a way to improve access to protected areas, support rural economies and strengthen environmental conservation. The 186km Caminhos da Ibiapaba trail links national parks in Ceará and Piauí across the Atlantic forest, Caatinga and Cerrado, while helping communities develop tourism businesses and supplementary trails. Supporters say trails can deter illegal activity, aid wildfire control and create wildlife corridors, though effective management will be needed to prevent environmental pressure as visitation grows.

Rio’s carnival leaves substantial plastic waste on the city’s beaches, with research showing that microplastic contamination at Flamengo Beach rises sharply during the festivities and that glitter is a major contributor. Plastic and metallic glitter can enter the sea, harm marine organisms and move through the food chain, while potential human-health effects remain under study. Brazil has yet to pass a bill banning the products, and biodegradable alternatives remain relatively expensive and marginal despite growing availability. Researchers and sustainable-glitter producers are calling for a shift toward less polluting celebrations.

Community-led conservation has helped restore 320 hectares of mangroves in Guanabara Bay, one of Brazil’s most polluted coastal environments. Protected by the APA Guapi-Mirim, the recovering ecosystem supports fishers, filters pollution, protects communities from storms and has brought back around 60 animal species. Local residents developed effective methods for transplanting mangrove propagules and remove rubbish carried into the wetlands by tides and rivers. Despite improvements in sewage treatment and industrial regulation, the area remains threatened by climate change and a nearby Petrobras refinery. Projeto Uçá plans to more than double the 18.2 hectares it has restored since 2013 by 2029.

A 5,700 sq km area in Bahia’s semi-arid northeast has become Brazil’s first officially identified arid zone after sustained declines in rainfall and rising temperatures. The shift is damaging the Caatinga biome, reducing crops and grazing, increasing dependence on purchased food and animal feed, and threatening livelihoods based on goat farming. Researchers warn that desertification could accelerate unless soil degradation and greenhouse-gas emissions are addressed. Water cisterns, trenches and government water deliveries provide some relief but are increasingly inadequate as dry seasons lengthen. The experience of Macururé highlights broader climate risks across Brazil and the need for stronger mitigation, adaptation and rural economic policies.

Profiles of inspiring people across the Global South highlight acts of courage and solidarity amid war, persecution, poverty and institutional violence. Laly Joseph leads women preserving thousands of rare plants in Kerala; Hanadi Dawood became a symbol of resistance before being killed defending Sudan's Zamzam camp; Sonia Bonfim Vicente supports Brazilian mothers seeking justice after police killings; and Senegalese midwife Amy Mbaye provides lifesaving care despite extreme shortages. Gaza journalist Anas al-Sharif was killed while reporting after refusing to leave, Kenyan musician Willis Chimano turned the experience of being outed into LGBTQ+ advocacy, and Ethiopian doctor Abraha Gebreegziabher continues treating Tigray's survivors of wartime sexual violence despite threats and dwindling aid.

Measles cases across North and Latin America have risen sharply after the disease was eliminated in the Americas, putting the region’s measles-free status at risk. Mexico has recorded more than 4,800 cases and 22 deaths, while Bolivia has reported 354 cases, with outbreaks linked to imported infections and unvaccinated communities. Experts attribute the surge to declining vaccine coverage, unequal healthcare access and the influence of US anti-vaccine messaging associated with Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr. Brazil, Mexico and Bolivia have launched intensified vaccination campaigns, but regional coverage remains below the 95% level needed for herd immunity.

Five Indigenous women leaders in Papua New Guinea, Cambodia, Guyana, Guatemala and Tanzania are protecting ancestral lands, cultural traditions and community livelihoods while expanding women’s access to income, education and healthcare. Their work includes defending sacred territory from development and land grabs, preserving Indigenous languages, supporting weaving and farming cooperatives, opposing child marriage and domestic violence, and helping communities adapt to climate change. The women’s experiences underscore the continuing discrimination and insecurity faced by Indigenous communities and the need to recognise women as leaders in land and climate action rather than merely as victims.

Brazil plans to auction exploration rights for 172 oil and gas blocks covering 146,000 sq km, including 47 blocks in the Amazon basin, shortly before hosting the Cop30 climate summit. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva supports expanded oil production as a source of economic development and funding for the energy transition, while environmental groups, Indigenous communities, federal prosecutors and oil workers’ unions seek to halt the sale. Critics cite outdated environmental studies, inadequate consultation, overlaps with Indigenous territories and conservation areas, and the incompatibility of new fossil-fuel development with climate targets. Instituto ClimaInfo estimates that production from all the blocks could ultimately generate more than 11 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent.

Brazilian photographer Sebastião Salgado has died aged 81 after developing severe leukaemia linked to complications from malaria. Renowned for stark black-and-white images of human suffering, environmental destruction and the Amazon rainforest, he worked across more than 130 countries. With his wife, Lélia Wanick Salgado, he founded Instituto Terra, which has reforested more than 2,000 hectares in Minas Gerais. Tributes from Brazil’s president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and the French Academy of Fine Arts highlighted Salgado’s artistic influence, humanitarian concerns and environmental legacy.

Brazil’s Senate approved a so-called “devastation bill” by 54 votes to 13, sending it back to the lower house, where passage is expected. The legislation would simplify environmental licensing, allow some permit renewals through self-declaration, and reduce scrutiny of high-impact projects in mining, energy, farming and infrastructure. Environmental groups warn it could threaten more than 3,000 protected areas and put 18 million hectares of forest at risk, undermining Brazil’s deforestation and net-zero commitments ahead of the COP30 climate summit. Environment minister Marina Silva condemned the measure, while other government officials support it as a way to attract investment; a Senate amendment could also accelerate permits for priority oil projects near the Amazon River.

Boca de Rua, a quarterly street newspaper in Porto Alegre, is written, reported, photographed and sold by people with experience of homelessness. The project provides modest income while helping participants gain visibility, community and a sense of purpose. Its members have reported extensively on police violence, healthcare barriers, poor shelter conditions, a fire that killed 11 people and devastating floods, with their coverage influencing mainstream media and contributing to scrutiny of the shelter fire. Founded by journalist Rosina Duarte and Cristina Pozzobon, the nonprofit initiative has involved around 400 people since 2000 and adapted to the Covid lockdowns through online subscriptions.

Community-led solar projects are expanding access to clean electricity in remote areas of Latin America while supporting education, communications, tourism and Indigenous autonomy. Examples include a solar system in Alto Mishagua, Peru; Colombia’s La Loma agricultural college; and solar-powered boats developed by the Achuar people in Ecuador. Advocates argue that these initiatives can deliver a more just energy transition than large wind and solar farms, which have often been criticized for failing to consult or benefit local communities. Colombia’s Comunidades Energéticas programme offers an ambitious policy model, but implementation has been slow. Campaigners are urging governments, financial institutions and the Cop30 climate summit to give communities greater control over energy planning and renewable development.

A free Lady Gaga concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach attracted an estimated 2.1 million people, surpassing Madonna’s 1.6 million attendance record from the previous year. Fans traveled from across Brazil and South America for Gaga’s first Brazilian performance in 13 years, with the show celebrating her music and LGBTQ+ audience. Rio’s civil police said they had prevented a planned bomb attack targeting young and LGBTQ+ spectators and detained two suspects. City authorities expect the event to generate about 600 million reais for the local economy and plan to stage similar free concerts annually for the next four years.

In Rio de Janeiro, mothers whose relatives were killed by police are working with Raave and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro on a pioneering programme to document their experiences and design nationwide support policies. The programme treats 100 participants as paid researchers, provides training in human rights and mental health, and maps access to healthcare, legal aid and social assistance. Their work responds to Brazil’s persistent state violence, which kills more than 6,000 people annually—mostly young Black men—and to the high rate of cases shelved without investigation. The project is intended to deliver recommendations to Brazil’s justice ministry in 2026, while the gatherings offer participants solidarity, practical support and a collective voice.

The Wauja people of Brazil’s Xingu region have inaugurated a life-size replica of the sacred Kamukuwaká cave after ancient petroglyphs at the original site were vandalised in 2018. Built in Spain using 3D-imaging technology and reconstructed with the help of Wauja elders, the replica gives younger generations safer access to stories, rituals and artistic traditions tied to the cave. Housed in an Indigenous museum and cultural centre, it also symbolizes resistance to land pressures, illegal logging, extractive industries and the inadequate protection of Indigenous heritage.

Rio de Janeiro’s Refloresta Rio programme, launched by the municipal government in 1986, has trained about 15,000 local workers and planted 10 million seedlings across 3,462 hectares. The project has restored forests, mangroves and restinga around the city, improving biodiversity, water regulation, erosion control and protection from urban heat. Initially focused on preventing landslides and limiting settlement on dangerous slopes, the programme now emphasizes native species, ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation. Its progress has survived successive mayoral administrations, although some sites have been abandoned because of insecurity or weak community engagement. Staff and local workers say insufficient funding and low pay remain major obstacles, while growing community attachment is helping protect restored areas from fires and further degradation.