BRAZIL: Accelerated coastal erosion caused by rising temperatures destroys small Brazilian town of Atafona

Local fishermen bet on divine fury, scientists raise theories, but the fact is that the town of Atafona is disappearing. Located in a delta in the state of Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil, this small town of sand is being swallowed by the ocean as rising temperatures speed up the process of erosion. The apocalyptic landscape seems to have emerged from a science fiction movie. According to researchers, a total of 183 buildings have been destroyed and the Marine lighthouse moved twice in the past 30 years. The north-eastern wind blows strongly and the sun heats up the heads of fishermen who live at the mouth of the Paraiba do Sul river, which has lost the vigour it once had. Researchers from the Federal Fluminense University (UFF) created the Atafona Project in 2003 to study the causes of accelerated coastal erosion in the region. The geologist Gilberto Ribeiro, head of the research team, said stronger winds caused by global warming, are generating more powerful waves and thus accelerating erosion. "Global warming is a fact, it is happening and nature is responding. One of the answers, for example, is the strengthening of the winds. The winds are stronger and in this region (Atafona) we saw here, the winds provoke the waves which will provoke sea erosion," he said, pointing to data charts that hang on the walls of his office. This photo shows Atafona in 1974, when many houses and buildings were built near the coastline. This photo shows Atafona in 2003, when the ocean advanced, covering up large portions of land. Erosion rates have risen steeply in the past years, forcing many to move out from their homes and build new ones further from the sea. The fishermen's village was recently rebuilt after the ocean took down their simple houses. The town seems to be constantly asleep. Only the wind and crushing waves can be heard in the more affected areas. Guilherme Nunes, a fisherman born in Atafona, appears among the ruins to point out the damages caused by the ocean. "We woke up with the ocean invading (houses). We had to remove our furniture and everyone helped, the neighbours… It was when we had to move and buy another house because the ocean took away ours," he said, recalling the day he had to abandon his home. Although erosion is an intrinsic and natural process, researchers of the Atafona Project believe human action is aggravating the situation. One of the main problems they pointed out was the loss of water volume in the Paraiba do Sul River. Once a powerful river, today the Paraiba do Sul flows with less intensity because of nearly nine thousand factories that lie on its margins. According to geologists, the river plays an important role in taking sand to its mouth. But with declining water volume, the sand has been failing to reach Atafona. This small island at the mouth of the river used to hold 30 families in the 1950s, but today only eight houses remain standing. Seventy-nine-year-old Belita Pedra, the island's oldest resident, has been forced to move six times because of erosion. "This house right there, is my sixth home. The ocean took everything away. People had very good houses here, but the ocean swept everything away. My son-in-law became tired of building houses and losing them," she said, pointing towards her small house. Despite the signs that erosion in region may be cyclical, researchers are investigating what may happen in the future as temperatures and sea levels continue to rise. Atafona's destiny is uncertain, but the prospects are bleak for Pedra and her neighbours, as the ocean besieges their sandy island.

ITN Source | December 3, 2007

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