knowledge for sustainability

A new look at the Itajaí Valley

knowledge for sustainability
A new look at the Itajaí Valley
 Bunge Foundation

knowledge for sustainability

A new look at the Itajaí Valley

First print (digital version)

São Paulo

2009
Jacques Marcovitch “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood.
Chairman Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.”
Marie Curie
Carlo Lovatelli
Chief Executive Officer

Cláudia Calais
Social Responsibility Manager

Anna Barcelos
This book is dedicated to the people of the Itajaí Valley,
Communications Coordinator
whose entrepreneurship and community spirit
have been essential tools for meeting challenges.

To those who died,

to those who survived,
and to those who are still to come,
the heirs to a more sustainable Valley.

Av. Maria Coelho Aguiar, 215 Bloco D 5o andar

l l

05804-900 São Paulo SP

l l

tel.: (11) 3741-1288 fax: (11) 3741-1044

l

fundacao@bunge.com
www.fundacaobunge.org.br
© Bunge Foundation 2009

Report
Simone Fonseca and Lalo de Almeida
Text
Simone Fonseca
Institutional Coordination
Anna Barcelos /Bunge Foundation
Editorial Coordination
Alexandre Bandeira /Escala Agency
Text Preparation and Revision
Denis Pierre Araki
Technical Consulting
Carlos Eduardo Cerri and Marcelo Seluchi
Art Direction and Final Art
Andrea Vilela de Almeida
Images
Historical Archives of Blumenau p.33, 34, 39, 44
Ho New / REUTERS /Latinstock p.18
Indio da Costa A.U.D.T p.112, 113, 114, 115, 116, 117
Jim Reed /Corbis/Latinstock p.15 We thank all the people who
directly or indirectly helped us
Lalo de Almeida p.21, 22-23, 42-43, 50-51, 54-55, 60-61, 62, 63, 64-65, 74-75,
to check the contents of this book.
78, 80-81, 84, 87, 88, 89, 90-91, 94-95, 98, 99, 102-103, 118-119, 126-127, 128

Lalo de Almeida /Folhapress p.19

Marcello Sokal /Superstock/Keystone p.14
Moacyr Lopes Junior/Folhapress p.16, 20, 46-47, 58, 59, 77
Smiley N. Pool /Corbis/Latinstock p.17
Infographics
Renan Bulgari
Translation
Maria de Lourdes Soares and Agnes Ann Puntch
Digital Version
Escala Agency
to feed ideas is to sustain the world
The world is aware. In various regions of the planet, extreme climatic events
signal that there is something very wrong in the way we interact with the
environment. Although humanity is not and should not be held responsible
for all the great natural disasters over the last years, a question remains: how
many deaths could have been prevented if the affected regions had counted
on better urban settlement policies for high-risk areas, better early warning
systems for disasters, better emergency action aid programs, better ways to
spread information and knowledge?
Are we prepared to live on this planet? Or are we just contributing to the
problem?
This book proposes these questions, especially in the light of one recent extreme
event in the Itajaí Valley area, in the state of Santa Catarina. The rains, floods
and landslides, which occurred in November 2008, were responsible for 70,000
homeless people and over one hundred dead. This was viewed as the greatest
climate disaster in the state’s history and one of the most serious catastrophes
in the country’s history.
It was also one of the most dramatic episodes in the history of Bunge Alimentos
(Bunge Foods) — whose headquarters are in Gaspar, one of the most affected
towns of the Itajaí Valley — and the Bunge Foundation, which takes a very active
role in the public schools of the region. During those tragic weeks in November,
we collaborators and those responsible for both organizations became directly
involved in the events. And we tried to help the national mobilization for aiding
the victims and recovering the region in different ways.
The Knowledge for Sustainability: Itajaí Valley project is the most recent
collaboration of the Bunge Foundation in this respect. With the emergency
over, the victims aided, one year later there are still families living in shelters,
with much to rebuild and, what is most serious, at the same risk of new floods
and landslides. Thus, both the book and the documentary, as well as a seminar
and a discussion series, which are part of the Knowledge for Sustainability:
Itajaí Valley project, begin with the assumption that the challenge now is no
longer a question of emergency, but one of structure.
Why did this tragedy happen? To what extent could the human element of
the Itajaí Valley — with its lifestyle, history, cultures and agricultural practices
— have contributed to this terrible event? And, especially, how to prevent new
disasters? Above all, this project is mainly oriented towards the present and the
future, the here and now, and from here onwards.
That was the attitude we from the Bunge Foundation took towards the challenge
of sustainability in Brazil and worldwide. Valuing the past, acting in the present
and contributing to a sustainable future.
Some of the proposals presented here by experts in different sciences can help
to radically restructure human occupation of the Itajaí Valley. Some of them
could be models for use in other similar regions, or at least as a starting point.
Of course, none of them are intended to have the last word. There are different
points of view, different experiences and different interests at play, but these
can lead to a point of convergence.
What is important is to start the dialogue. Propose discussions. Feed ideas. This
is only the first, but necessary, step for us to be prepared.
Jacques Marcovitch, Chairman of the Bunge Foundation
Sérgio Waldrich, Chairman of Bunge Alimentos (Bunge Foods)
 contents

man facing nature 013

the valley 031

the weekend 053

joining forces 073

rebuilding 093

knowing to sustain 123

 man
facing
nature
Navegantes, Santa Catarina, Brazil. August 28, 2005.
Life follows its course in the Itajaí Valley. Gulfport, Mississipi, EUA.
Hurricane Katrina approaches,
twelve hours before the tragedy.
November 25, 2008.
Itajaí, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
The worst climate disaster
in the state’s history leaves
the country bewildered.
August 30, 2005.
New Orleans, Louisiana, USA,
after the passing of Hurricane Katrina.
November 25, 2008.
Farm in the Itajaí Valley.
Plantations were flooded,
crops were devastated, and the
frightened cattle had nowhere to hide.
October 12, 2005.
Caapiranga, Amazonas.
Children walk along the dry river bed
of Lake of Membeca. The Amazon region
faces its worst draught in forty years.
November 25, 2008.
Ilhota, Santa Catarina.
The Itajaí Valley under water.
May 16, 2009.
Trizidela do Vale, Maranhão.
It is the turn of the North and Northeast
of Brazil to be plagued by floods
of historic proportions.
are we prepared?

THE ITAJAÍ VALLEY, IN THE STATE OF SANTA CATARINA, EXPERIENCED ONE OF

THE GREATEST TRAGEDIES IN ITS HISTORY IN NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER 2008.
ON THE WEEKEND OF NOVEMBER 22 AND 23, AF TER 51 DAYS OF NEARLY
CONTINUOUS RAIN, ENORMOUS LANDSLIDES AND DOWNPOURS CHANGED THE
FEATURES OF THE REGION.
 Hillsides slid down and destroyed houses, schools
and hospitals. Barriers of debris fell on roads and
highways, making it impossible to reach many places.
Entire neighborhoods were displaced by the high speed of
huge mud waves. Light and telephone poles were knocked
down, leaving thousands of people without communication
and in near total darkness. Rice plantations were flooded; crops
were devastated, and the frightened cattle had nowhere to hide.
At the end of the following week, 49 towns were declared to be under a
state of emergency, fourteen under a state of public calamity, and Santa
Catarina counted over one hundred dead, thousands of homeless and 1.5
million people directly or indirectly affected. The scene was devastating
and the community didn’t know how to react, even with the help of the
Federal Civil Defense and the Army, which were promptly summoned to
the region.
24
One of the towns hit by this tragedy was Gaspar, on the banks of the
Itajaí-Açu River, and the headquarters of Bunge Alimentos (Bunge Foods).
The events mobilized the immediate attention of Bunge staff, which asked
for its Management Crisis Committee — formed by professionals from
the company’s various departments — to deal with employees and family
members affected by the situation. And, soon after, all company units
actively participated in donation campaigns inside the country and abroad.
Bunge became part of a national mobilization that included other companies,
governments and civil society.
At first, the actions responded to an emergency challenge, but, after some
days, it became clear that the challenge was far greater and that the emergency
was far from over. Rebuilding houses, repairing bridges, or resurfacing roads
would not be enough. More had to be done. We had to rethink the ways in
which we dealt with land, rain, river, housing, and forest issues.
25
 the challenge of reconstruction
In 2005, Hurricane Katrina, whose winds reached speeds of 142.92 mph
(230 km/h), hit the southeastern coast of the United States and devastated
New Orleans, the American jazz capital, in the state of Louisiana. Seen
as the greatest climate disaster in U.S. history, it moved the whole world
and triggered a serious crisis in the Bush Administration. But the lack
of preparation for emergencies on the part of the world’s most powerful
country is a situation sadly shared by most other countries on the planet.
In the same year, the Amazon region faced its worst draught in forty years.
The region that has 15 percent of the world’s drinking water faced a desolate
scenario, with dry rivers and igarapés (small water channels that stream
off the main rivers), boats stranded on sand banks, tons of dead fish and
completely isolated populations, with no way to move around, no water to
drink, or food to eat. On October 10, the government of Amazonas declared
a state of public calamity in all municipalities. Approximately 250,000 people
were affected.
26
However, in 2009, the North and Northeast of Brazil were plagued by
continuous rains and floods of historic proportions from rivers such as
the Negro, in the Amazon region, and the Poty, in the state of Piauí. Over
600,000 people were affected in six states: Maranhão, Ceará, Piauí, Pará,
Amazonas and Bahia.
In all the cases, mobilizations for rain and flood victims were organized with
the purpose of sending food, water, medicines, furniture and other essential
goods to them. However, in all the cases, it was clear that, although essential,
the initial mobilization was not sufficient. To be effective and sustainable, it has
to be extended and changed into movements for rethinking the relationship
between man and the environment and proposing a positive and creative
agenda that combines scientific knowledge with hands-on experience. This
is so because to bring more harmony to the planet and its population of over
6.8 billion souls, we must learn to hear the messages of nature and prepare
ourselves to deal with them.
27
 knowledge for sustainability
Itajaí Valley
How to go back to the Itajaí Valley’s devastated areas? What to do with the
lots of land that vanished under the landslides? Is it possible to rebuild in the
same place? What kind of crops are more appropriate for the slopes? Bananas?
Peanuts? Eucalyptus? None of the previous above? Can houses occupy the
river banks? What to do with the schools that were destroyed? And what
about the hospitals? Where to take people who are still living in shelters?
What should we do when the river rises? And when it doesn’t stop raining?
Many questions came up in the months following the tragedy. The answers
are not simple and are not yet known, but they are urgent. Less than one
year later, in September 2009, new rains stormed into the towns of the state
of Santa Catarina (and of the neighboring state, Rio Grande do Sul), when
the damages caused by floods and landslides last November had not yet
been totally repaired. Again, the answers will not come from emergency
measures. This requires a broad and deep debate among scientists, the
private sector, government and civil society so that joint solutions can be
found, which take into account the countless variables, consider the multiple
needs and rely on sustainable bases.
The challenge is enormous, but not impossible.
To help to achieve it, the Bunge Foundation created the Conhecer para
Sustentar: Vale do Itajaí (Knowledge for Sustainability: Itajaí Valley)
project. As its name suggests, it starts with the culture and scientific
knowledge about the valley to arrive at proposals for a sustainable recovery
and reurbanization.
The purpose is to gather and spread knowledge and the experience of experts
from different disciplines — climatologists, geologists, biologists, urbanists
28 — and, based on this repertoire of skills, provide solutions that minimize the
social, economic and environmental impacts of the past tragedy to help us
to deal with the current situation and prevent future occurrences.
It is a project designed to last, just as the path to sustainability is long-lasting.
The initial steps have already been taken. The first step was to create a
sustainable urban development project for a neighborhood in the town of
Gaspar, which will provide shelter to many of the people who lost their
houses and those who are at risk. Undersigned by the office of architect Indio
da Costa, this project is being enabled by a partnership between Bunge, the
Bunge Foundation and Gaspar City Hall, and also with the support of other
companies and public agencies. The second step involves the publication of
this book, the launch of a documentary and a seminar cycle. These efforts are
aimed at sharing what was learned after months of reporting, featuring the
point of view and the wisdom of so many people. And the third step will be
to rebuild the Angélica Costa Municipal School in the same neighborhood,
adopting eco-efficient procedures, in 2010.
The purpose is that both the reconstruction of the neighborhood and of
the school become references for promoting successful and sustainable
practices; they should also inspire other projects, in other places, increasing
their range and helping to outline the future steps towards a more conscious
and mature relationship between man and his environment.
But, to reach our tomorrow, we must look at our origins. We must know the
path followed by the Itajaí Valley and learn from errors and achievements of
the past. Only by doing so will it be possible to pave the way for a solution
that makes sense for the region. For that, let’s go back some years, more
precisely, to the mid-nineteenth century. That is when the story we are going
to tell begins. 29
the valley
the man
Settlement of Blumenau, July 18, 1864.

THE FIRST YEARS

1850. ELEVEN MEN, FOUR WOMEN AND TWO CHILDREN CROSS THE ATLANTIC
IN SEARCH OF THE GREAT PROMISE OF AMERICA. THEY BROUGHT IN THEIR
BAGGAGE DIFFERENT SKILLS IN WOODWORKING, BRICK MAKING, WEAVING AND
IRONWORKING, BUT THEY CAME TO EXERCISE A NEW PROFESSION: THEY WOULD
BE THE FIRST SETTLERS OF A LAND IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL. SOME 72 DAYS AFTER
LEAVING HAMBURG, GERMANY, THEY ARRIVED AT THE PORT OF BARRA, IN SANTA
CATARINA. THE CALENDAR MARKED SEPTEMBER 2. ACCORDING TO REPORTS, IT
WAS A SUNNY DAY.

Hermann Bruno Otto Blumenau,
founder of the settlement that gave origin
to the city of Blumenau, mid-nineteenth century.
The seventeen immigrants were hired by Hermann
Bruno Otto Blumenau, a German from Hasselfeld who
had already been to Brazil in the name of the Society for the
Protection of German Immigrants in order to learn about the
situation of the German settlers and study the possibility of sending
new immigrants.
At that time, Europe was undergoing a deep, serious social and economic
crisis, and America’s horizons were the hope for many landless and jobless
men and women. Blumenau became especially interested and decided
to cross the Atlantic after hearing enthusiastic reports from the German
naturalist Alexander Von Humboldt, who had taken part in some expeditions
on the continent. After disembarking in Brazil, in 1848, Hermann Blumenau
visited settlements in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, among them
São Pedro de Alcântara, founded in 1829 by immigrants from his native
country. From there he went on an 80.78-mile walking tour (130 km) to
Santíssimo Sacramento do Itajaí, the current municipality of Itajaí, at the
mouth of the Itajaí-Açu River.
He had heard about the “great river” and about the fertility of its banks;
together with his fellow countryman Fernando Hackradt, he planned an
exploratory trip. Thus, guided by Ângelo Dias, of mixed Portuguese and Indian
descent, the so-called caboclo, both embarked on canoes that took them
upstream, towards the unknown. The trip was an adventure — the region
was wild and inhospitable, known only by native people and colonial scouts,
the so-called bandeirantes —, but many of these surprises and dangers were
minimized by the fact that Ângelo was both a native and a very skillful canoeist.
The Itajaí-Açu was a rush of torrential waters, fed by rivers and streams,
bordered by a thick, dense forest rich in hardwood timber. Blumenau was
fascinated and felt that he belonged here. He came back from the expedition
with an idea in mind: ask Brazil’s imperial government to grant a concession
to create a settlement.
Concession awarded, he sent for the first immigrants.
35
 THE CHALLENGES OF SETTLEMENT
“For the most part, the immigrants who came to that region were
not immigrant settlers: in fact, they worked in different professions.
At first, it was a matter of survival and, from then on, when the land
was providing the means for survival, they undertook the activities
they had been trained for, and which they knew about.”
Sueli Petry, director of the Historical Archives of Blumenau
On 2nd of September in 1850, the seventeen Germans had no idea of what
lay ahead. They did not speak the local language, the men were not used
to felling trees, and the women had no idea of what to do with cassava,
yam, sweet potato, corn and the other fruits so plentiful in the new land.
Adaptation was difficult, many wild animals and countless hordes of
mosquitoes preyed on the first settlements on the banks of the Itajaí-Açu
River. Air humidity was high, and the rains were continuous. Moreover, there
were the Xokleng and Kaingang Indians, the old inhabitants of the region,
with whom the Germans were in immediate conflict.
These first experiences were so remarkable that Hermann Blumenau wrote
a kind of manual for future immigrants, describing the positive and negative
aspects of the new world. In that document of 1851, he made a set of
recommendations, spoke of the customs, of the language, of the laws, and
of the climate, talked about the problems and praised the exuberance and
fertility of the land, pointing to various possibilities for growth. His strategy
worked, as the German settlement in the Itajaí Valley attracted many
immigrants over the following years and, even before completing its first
decade of existence, there were already nearly 1,000 settlers there. Gradually,
the first generations of immigrants could finally leave behind the subsistence
activities and find work in their own professions.
According to the Encyclopedia of Brazilian Municipalities, edited by the
Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), in 1860 the settlement
founded by Hermann Blumenau had a population of 947, three brickworks,
one earthenware factory, and one each for vinegar, beer, cigars, a bakery, a
sawmill, 47 sugar mills and 33 cassava flour mills.
36
But to deal with the everyday routine of private enterprise was not easy.
The same river that had been so lavish as a source of food and means of
transportation could also turn into a treacherous neighbor; the Itajaí-Açu
flooded with frightening frequency, the beginning of an over century-long
history of a tense relationship with nature. To make the situation worse, laws
were severe and taxes high. All this led to Blumenau’s decision, in 1860, to sell
his lands to Brazil’s imperial government, which was given responsibility for
settlement affairs, while he remained as settlement director. This remained
so until 1884, the year he returned to Germany forever.
His lands, which encompassed an area of 4,092.68 square miles
(10,600 km2), were broken down into 42 municipalities. His legacy of work,
unity and prosperity ended up being a kind of attribute of the region, a
unique and dynamic characteristic of its inhabitants for many generations.
As Blumenau returned to his home country, Belgian, Polish, Russian, and
especially peasants from northern Italy traveled in the opposite direction
and landed in Brazil, on a journey towards the promised lands of the Itajaí
Valley.
The addition of new faces and cultures would introduce a mélange of
features to the Valley. Gradually, subsistence crops gave way to rice, peanut,
tobacco and sugar cane plantations. The textile industry took off, and the
towns grew in the wink of an eye.
And, from the mid-twentieth century onwards, economic development grew
enormously and produced equally impressive results. Timber companies
intensified the logging of the hardwood timber that had fascinated the
pioneers so much. The forest began to disappear, and today only 7 percent
of its original coverage remains. Land occupation was not done in a proper
way and invaded high-risk areas. The Itajaí-Açu River floods became more
dangerous, and the population became more dense everywhere. Houses,
condominiums, buildings and banana plantations climbed the hillsides.
Until the hillsides came down.
37
the river
Blumenau, November 15, 1879.

FROM HEADWATERS TO FLOODS

DURING THE W HOLE PROCESS O F OCCUPATION AN D SE T TLEMENT, THE

ITAJAÍ-AÇU RIVER WAS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE TO THE IMMIGRANTS.
AS THE FORESTS WERE VERY THICK AND THE SOIL VERY ROUGH, THE RIVER WAS
THE SAFEST MEANS OF TRANSPORTING CARGO AND PASSENGERS, OF EXPLORING
NEW AGRICULTURAL AREAS OR LOOKING FOR NEW SPACE TO LIVE AND WORK.
AT THAT TIME, THE MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN WHO RISKED THEMSELVES
IN THE TORRENTIAL WATERS DID NOT HAVE ANY IDEA OF THE SIZE OF THE
HYDROGRAPHIC BASIN THEY WERE SAILING.
 Today we know that: from its three main headwaters, in
the Serra Geral Mountain Range — in the municipalities
of Rio do Campo, Papanduva and Alfredo Wagner — until
it meets the sea, at the border of the towns of Itajaí and
Navegantes, the largest hydrographic basin in the state of
Santa Catarina runs approximately 124.27 miles (200 km). The
largest water course in it is the Itajaí-Açu River, formed by the meeting
of the Itajaí do Oeste and Itajaí do Sul rivers, in the municipality of Rio
do Sul, and fed by over fifty rivers and streams along the distance.
Santa Catarina’s basins are relatively small, when compared to other Brazilian
basins. The exception is the Itajaí-Açu River basin, whose area is three times
wider than that of the others in the same state. And, because its headwaters
and main rivers form in higher areas, the waters hit the low-lying areas with
great speed.
The Itajaí Valley floods were first recorded at the time of the first human
settlements in the region, in the nineteenth century. According to Sueli Petry,
director of the Historical Archives of Blumenau, “we have recorded over 80
floods above 32.81 feet (10 m) over 158 years. That is to say, one every two
years. It is one of the broadest environmental issues with losses that can be
counted.”
damage in the Blumenau region. In 1983, the floods lasted for fifteen days,
with the river reaching 50.33 feet (15.34 m). Recorded losses: fifty dead,
250,000 homeless and two-thirds of the state under water, with a total of
2.5 million people affected.
Close and frequent contact with floods taught the population important
lessons. The Civil Defense from the state of Santa Catarina, considered one
of the most efficient in Brazil, developed a warning system for river town
populations that varies according to the rise of the river water level. When
the waters reach a certain level, people have to leave their houses. This
procedure worked during the 1987 and 1998 floods, a period in which no
deaths by drowning were recorded.
That was why the residents apparently knew what to do when heavy rains
fell on the weekend of November 22 and 23, 2008. Those living close to the
river moved to higher places. Those living on the hillsides checked the rising
water level along the river and looked with astonishment at the water falling
from the skies. For weeks there was no respite from the rain falling on the
Itajaí Valley.
But, differently from other years, this time the problem was not just with
the river.

The first great flood in the Valley took place in 1852 and, since then,
periodically, the Itajaí-Açu River has been leaving its bed with frightening
force and speed. In 1911, it rose 55.44 feet (16.90 m), causing enormous

40 41
 “In those days before tragedy, it
rained intensely; it rained a lot. It’s
enough to say that here in Blumenau
it rained around 19.69 inches (500 mm)
in 48 hours. Some even say that it
rained 27.56 inches (700 mm) in the
Morro do Baú neighborhood in 48
hours. Nearly half the region’s yearly
total rainfall. We are talking about
half a year’s rainfall in 48 hours. The
soil was already soaked. With such
an overload of weight, there was no
more room for water to be absorbed;
the forest could not absorb more
water; banana plantations could not
absorb more water; and urban areas
could not absorb more water. Why?
Because the soil was completely
soaked”
Juarês Aumond,
42
geologist and professor of the Regional
Gaspar, Santa Catarina. University of Blumenau (FURB)
1911
1927

the greatest floods

of the Itajaí-Açu River

YEAR Feet (Meters) above normal level

1957

1852 53.48 (16.30)

1855 43.64 (13.30)

1868 43.64 (13.30)

1880 56.10 (17.10)

1961

1891 45,28 (13.80) THE MORPHOLOGY OF THE VALLEY

1911 55,45 (16.90)

Due to its geological and geomorphological features, the Itajaí-Açu basin
1927 40.35 (12.30)
occupies a territory prone to floods. Surrounded by mountain ranges on
every side, it is a water course escorted by continuous mountain faces
1973

1954 40.29 (12.28)

1957 42.19 (12.86)
1961 39.96 (12.18)
1973 40.16 (12.24)
1983
until reaching the sea. The Serra Geral Mountain Range establishes the
limits from west to south; the Moema and Jaraguá Mountain Ranges are
to the north, and the Boa Vista, Faxinais and Tijucas Mountain Ranges are to
the southeast.
The basin accounts for 16.5 percent of Santa Catarina’s territory, which has a

1980 42.72 (13.02) population of over one million people. The climate is subtropical, with a hot,
very humid summer and high incidence of rain.
1983 50.33 (15.34)

1984 50.72 (15.46)

1992 41.99 (12.80)

1984

45

2008 36.15 (11.02)

 “The fact that the headstreams of
the Itajaí-Açu River are at the Serra
Geral Mountain Range produces a
great hydrological impact as this
serra — which reaches an altitude
of 2,296.59 feet (700 m) — acts as a
protective fence to retain the moisture
coming from the ocean. On the face
of the mountain range, the air rises,
cools and condenses out moisture,
which forms clouds and abundant
rain precipitation. And as there is a
mountain range there, the water falls
rapidly, then sudden outburst floods
in the valley of the Itajaí-Açu River are
an absolutely common phenomenon.”
Carlos Nobre,
climatologist from the Brazilian National
Space Research Institute (INPE)

46

November 25, 2008, Ilhota, Santa Catarina.

 (2c)
(2) (2a)
From a topographic point of view, most of the Itajaí-Açu basin area is rough,
and the valley mountains have a great amount of earth over their rock. That
is, soil thickness is very deep, reaching up to 131.23 feet (40 m), a result that
reflects the changes in the rock itself over the centuries. The slopes are very
steep and hollow; the V-shaped valleys, deep (1). As a result, when it rains,
much water is concentrated within these funnels.

Over the course of time, with a lot of water falling upon the sandy earth,
the soil gradually became more and more saturated and unsteady (2). The
situation was further worsened by deforestation (2a) , by the quick and
(2b)
uncontrolled occupation of slopes, by inadequate housing construction (2b)
and improper soil tilling, as banana growing (2c) , for example, whose roots
don’t usually go deep and have little tenacity. All this ended up leaving the
earth even more vulnerable than nature had made it.

(1)

49
With the rain volume on that weekend — rains lasted for
33 hours, reaching 124 percent over the historical average
for the entire month of November —, the soil gave in and
collapsed. Waves of mud invaded the valley.

And waves of mud leave tracks.

51
the weekend
 “Everything began with the school
collapse. It was the Angélica Costa
School, which I had closed down
24 hours before the great landslide.
It had 210 students. Three classrooms
had already been closed since March
because the hillside behind it was
moving. But on Friday they called me
because the hillside had continued
to move...”
Luiz Mário da Silva,
Civil Defense Director in 2008

54

Gaspar, Santa Catarina.


saturday, november 22, 2008
On first sight there was not much to worry about. After all, the Itajaí-Açu
River was only 12.01 feet (3.66 m) above its normal level. For a river that
had already risen 55.77 feet (17 m), that was not much. What was more
upsetting was the persistence of rain. There was no respite for nearly two
months. And to make things worse, weather forecasts were not good for
that Saturday morning. The main weather forecasting agencies warned of
more heavy rain throughout the weekend. A cyclonic vortex formed on the
upper levels of the atmosphere was on the way; it would join forces with
an anticyclone that had remained stationary offshore for days, between Rio
Grande do Sul and Uruguay. It would be a meeting of two phenomena that
do not cause much damage separately, but, together, they can send down
a lot of water from the sky.
People from the Civil Defense of Santa Catarina were on alert. Small landslides
occurred everywhere, and the few telephone lines in municipal offices rang
non-stop, with requests for help and information.
A little over a week earlier, part of a hillside had tumbled down onto a
place called Sertão Verde, in Gaspar, hitting the Angélica Costa Municipal
School. Firefighters had already evacuated the school, before the children
could suffer any harm.
On Thursday 20, it was a slope in the municipality of Benedito Novo that
collapsed on a shed, also without victims. And, in the early morning between
Friday and Saturday, a gas leak had opened a crater on the BR-470 highway’s
asphalt, shutting down the gas supply, causing a fire in an empty house, and
56 closing off the federal highway.
Sergeant Evandro did not stop even for a moment. His voice, usually full of
energy, sounded weak from over exhaustion and his face was marked by
dark circles under the eyes. He had not slept a wink the previous night; he
was worried about the weather forecasts and the possibility of flooding from
the Itajaí-Açu River. Like most of the inhabitants of towns like Blumenau,
Gaspar, Itajaí and others in the valley, he was aware of the level of the river.
He knew how the scenario could get worse, if the river rose higher. He was
used to emergency situations. He had already witnessed many floods and
landslides in his job, but what he didn’t know was that the worst tragedy
ever faced by the Civil Defense of Santa Catarina was just beginning.
At the end of Saturday morning, the river started to rise and reach an alarming
level. Close to midday, the river was 13.62 feet (4.15 m) above its usual level.
At three p.m., the water level reached 16.40 feet (5 m). Ideas were quickly
exchanged and firefighters led by Sergeant Evandro went on a mission to
ask people who lived close to the river to leave their houses and move to
safe places. They were instructed to avoid the areas at risk of flooding and
landslides, plus places that offered little or no protection against lightning
and strong winds. Another important recommendation was for them to be
aware of forewarning signs, such as strange noises, tree decline, and soil
movement or cracks.
While people reflected on where to go and what to take with them, TV and
radio stations from Blumenau and Gaspar sent reporters and cameramen
out on the streets in search of some emergency to record and to help the
population whenever possible. At that moment, they went beyond the usual
media role and became the right arm of the Civil Defense itself. Reporter
Jota Aguiar, from Sentinela do Vale radio station, was one of the players
in this story. He served as volunteer firefighter, helping to rescue people;
later he published a book with the stories he had heard and the images he
had recorded. But this happened months later. At that moment, as daylight
dwindled, the rains grew stronger.
At the end of the afternoon, the Itajaí-Açu River overflowed the dams and,
in a few hours, rose 36.08 feet (11 m) above its normal level. 57
 November 27, 2008.
Blumenau, Santa Catarina.
At six p.m., a strong downpour caused a hillside in Belchior and another
in Morro do Baú, neighborhoods of Gaspar and Ilhota, respectively, to
collapse. And, all of a sudden, little by little, hillsides, slopes and barriers of
debris vanished, one by one, into huge waves of water, mud and rock. And
taking with them everything in their way: crops, light poles, bridges, houses,
animals and people.
At day’s end, the tragedy was set off. 746 people were forced to leave their
houses, either because they had been destroyed, or because they were in
58 areas of risk. 43 municipalities were hit very hard.
November 26, 2008.
Itajaí, Santa Catarina.
Still on Saturday, Santa Catarina State Governor Luiz Henrique da Silveira
declared a state of emergency and, some hours later, a state of public
calamity.
In the Civil Defense classification system, emergency situations mean legal
recognition by public authorities of an abnormal situation brought about
by natural disaster, with damages that can be overcome by the community.
A state of public calamity is also an abnormal situation brought about by
natural disaster, but with serious damage to the community, compromising
security and threatening people’s lives. 59
 “It seemed a Hollywood movie.
You see that silence, only some dogs
barking, no one around, and us
searching, searching... Clothes hung
up there, everyone left quickly.
That got my attention because
the road had now become a crater
on the side from where we came;
the same thing happened 49.21 feet
(15 m) ahead; at that moment, I felt
completely isolated from the world,
me and my staff.”
Sergeant Evandro,
Civil Defense of Gaspar

60

Gaspar, Santa Catarina.

 the Silva family
The Silva family had been warned by firefighters to leave Sertão Verde. They
lived in a wooden house painted light green, raised on stilts, the so-called
palafitas, with two rooms, a bathroom, living room, kitchen and the so-called
“washing” area, the way local people refer to the area where clothes are
washed. It had been raining continuously for nearly two months and, on that
Sunday, it was no different. Part of the Angélica Costa Municipal School,
which was just behind the house, had already fallen and the hillside could
collapse at any moment. Mr. José could not sleep well with the noise of high
winds, strong rains, and tree branches breaking continuously. At daybreak
62
he would go to the house of some acquaintance. The question was: where
to go? All the places he knew were drenched, covered in mud, and difficult
to access. His wife and five children were worried. At midday, he heard a dry
The house destroyed and the school transformed into a shelter:
nightmare and new beginning.
bang and suddenly he realized that he was floating on a sea of mud. So, all of
a sudden. It seemed a nightmare. Part of the hillside had collapsed and taken
the house, the furniture, the dishes, and the documents with it. Everything
in a matter of seconds. He thought of his family. He looked sideways
and saw the wife, a son, and a daughter; he counted four. What about
the youngest daughter? It seemed an eternity until he found his small
three-year-old girl, nearly drowned. He slapped her on the back to expel
the water; the girl coughed, cried and, then, the family joined hands
together and, with patience, all of them were able to escape. His wife
63
carried the youngest on her lap and some documents she was able to save.
Daiane, the oldest daughter, was able to take two pans and a mug. It was
all that remained.
sunday, november 23, 2008
NELSON RODRIGUES, A BRAZILIAN WRITER BORN IN THE STATE OF PERNAMBUCO,
WAS AT THE MARACANÃ STADIUM, ON JULY 16, 1950, THE DAY IN WHICH BRAZIL
LOST THE SOCCER WORLD CUP TO URUGUAY. SOON AFTER THE WINNING GOAL
GAVE THE TITLE TO OUR RIVAL, NELSON SAID THAT “THERE WAS A DEAFENING
SILENCE” IN THE WHOLE STADIUM. A MIXTURE OF INCREDULITY AND SHOCK. THIS
SAME SILENCE ENVELOPED THE ITAJAÍ VALLEY ON THAT NOVEMBER 23, 2008.
 the Sunday dawned silent and still.
People could not believe what they saw. Streets turned into rivers,
hillsides fractured, houses hanging in the air, roads vanished, gas stations
raised 13.12 feet ( 4 m ) off the ground, rice plantations submerged,
hundred-year-old trees snapped as if they were pieces of kindling,
animals terrified, men, women and children lost.
In the Civil Defense office, it was another night without sleep. Besides the
local Fire Department, the Army was also fully engaged. Many military
officers were involved in high-risk rescues; others tried to organize requests
for help that came through fixed telephone lines, cell phones, and reporters
from Galega TV, FURB TV, and radio stations which were broadcasting 24
hours a day. But it was difficult to define priorities.
The Brazilian Civil Defense follows a code which establishes that in emergency
situations, the places affected are to be divided into four areas of distinct
colors. Nobody is allowed to enter the black area because of the risk of
imminent death. In the red area, only authorized personnel are allowed,
that is, members of Civil Defense, the Fire Department and the Army; in the
yellow area, access is restricted; and, finally, the green area guarantees free
access to all.
Many of the areas affected in the Itajaí Valley were classified as black areas.
Numerous firefighters, soldiers, sergeants, lieutenants, and volunteers went
to these places to rescue possible survivors. They are the anonymous heroes
who emerge in every tragedy.
As the hours passed, aid from other states started arriving. São Paulo and
Minas Gerais sent helicopters. Rio Grande do Sul sent a semi loaded with
mattresses, blankets, food, medicines, and cleaning materials. The Federal
Government made available two Air Force aircraft loaded with supplies.
There was no sign that the rain would end.
Santa Catarina made headlines in the Brazilian press. Climatologists met to
discuss and analyze the weather phenomena responsible for the catastrophe.
66 Biologists and geologists did the same. The streets, roads and alleys of the
Itajaí Valley were full of stories about people that experienced moments
that seemed more like an action movie.
Near midday, at the request of a telecommunications company, Juarês
Aumond, a geologist and professor with the Regional University of Blumenau
(FURB) left his house in Blumenau to assess the risk of the transmission tower
falling. He made a detailed report on tower conditions and his adventure
began upon his return to the town.
I was coming back via Gaspar, driving very slowly because I couldn’t
see even 16.40 feet (5 m) in front of me. As I crossed the downtown
area, I saw that the hillside where the church is located had
disappeared and become a huge waterfall. Then I became aware
that there was no paved road anymore. I looked at the sides and
saw a sea of yellow water; I began to worry and sped up, trying to
follow a straight line. Further on, hillsides began to collapse in front
of me. They were streams of mud. I then drove the car, zigzagging
to escape the mud flowing down the slope. At a certain moment,
a light truck appeared, moving in the opposite direction. The driver
said: “Don’t go any further because you’re not going to get through”,
I answered: “In that direction you won’t get through either!” But if
we stayed there, both of us would be buried. He then followed his
route and I, mine. When I arrived in Brusque, nothing else could be
done; I was detained in a kind of island formed at the entry of the
completely flooded town. I was stuck there for six hours waiting for
the water to recede so that I could finally go back to Blumenau.
During the time Professor Juarês was stuck in his car, the cell phones of
the members of the Management Crisis Committee of Bunge Alimentos
(Bunge Foods) rang continuously, advising each other of the need to find
a strategy of action. The committee is formed by key people from various
departments, who can be contacted to solve crisis and emergency situations
at any time – day or night – including weekends and holidays. It is a diverse
group of people coming from all the fifteen units of the company in Brazil
and its members are empowered to make important decisions. In Gaspar,
this group is especially active due to the historical background of floods
in the Itajaí-Açu River. The first step was to check if there had been fatal
victims among employees. With a negative answer, the next step was to
ensure safety in the factories and to deliver material and psychological help 67
 to employees who had lost family members or their homes. Soon after, help
was extended to the whole community.
At the end of Sunday afternoon, the municipal shelters were already
crowded with victims of the rain. When the municipal department heads
noticed that facilities would be insufficient for the number of people, school
buildings were reserved. Until that moment, there were approximately
7,000 victims who, all of a sudden, had to leave their comfortable houses
and suddenly take up quarters in classrooms, together with people they
had never seen before.
At 9 p.m., the second gas leak took place on the BR-470 Highway. But
now it was much stronger than that of Saturday morning. The noise was
maddening and damage worse still. The asphalt broke up and traffic was
interrupted. Part of the state was completely isolated, without light, gas, or
telephones. An island in the midst of the storm. The weekend ended with
Brazil in bewilderment.
At the same time, 500 military troops or 500 military personnel, sent by the
Federal Government, were arriving in Santa Catarina. They brought four
aircraft, seventeen trucks and twelve boats.
68
the days after
Between November 20 and 24, approximately 300 billion liters of water fell
on the Itajaí Valley, an amount sufficient to supply the entire city of São Paulo
for three months. Just for comparison, if this volume of water were poured
into a tower with a square meter base, the construction would have to be
186,411.36 miles (300,000 km) high — nearly the distance between the
Earth and the Moon. It was too much water for the soil to hold, especially
a sandy soil that had been soaked during so many days of rain.
Until the end of the first week, about 4,000 landslides had been recorded
in the entire state. The number of homeless — including those who lost
their houses and those who could not return to them — reached 70,000.
The number of fatal victims surpassed the three-digit mark. About 63 of
the 293 municipalities in the state were affected, among which fourteen
towns, including Gaspar and Blumenau, were declared under a state of
public calamity. With the Port of Itajaí paralyzed, Brazil lost about 370
million reais (R$) in exports.
At the time, nobody knew how long the situation would last. But, in the
midst of all these infinite and irretrievable tragedies, there was hope.
A feeling of solidarity was present, its greatness, as always, manifesting
itself in donations coming from all over Brazil; in volunteer actions that
helped in the rescue operations, in the transportation of people, and in the
entertainment of children in shelters; in the alliance among governments,
companies and civil society. So there were strong reasons to believe in
better days ahead. 69
what to do during floods or landslides

Follow Civil Defense official bulletins through radio

and TV stations, which will keep you informed about
the levels of the river and procedures to be adopted.
If your house is hit, or if it is in a place where there
are already flood forecasts, do as follows:
Gather food, clothes and documents, and take them
to a safe place.
Waste
Start removing furniture and more useful appliances like
• Whenever possible, use boxes,
stoves and refrigerators. newspapers and other paper for
Find the Civil Defense shelter of your region, taking with collecting waste material, later
you food for 24 hours, dishes and knives, forks and spoons, dumping them into holes especially
portable mattresses, bedclothes and pillows, clothes and opened for this purpose
material for personal hygiene, medicines and objects • Keep waste (feces, urine and
of personal use (glasses, hearing aids, dentures, etc.). garbage) from contaminating water,
food and people
• In case of building an emergency
toilet, dig a 31.49-inch-wide hole
with a depth between 3.280 and
6.561 feet (80 cm and 1 to 2 m)
• This hole must be covered with
boards for foot support, and
have a surrounding protection for
preventing rainwater from entering
Dead Animals
• Bury them whenever possible
• If the number of deaths is too high,
spread lime over the animals’ corpses
and then cover them with earth
• If they are already in an advanced
state of decomposition, you can
burn the corpses, spreading ethanol
or gasoline over them and setting
fire to them.
• Important: in the event of finding
human corpses, immediately notify
the Police and the Fire Department
(telephones: 190/193) or the
nearest authority
Water Tank Cleaning
• Empty the water tank
• Sprinkle and brush the walls with
sodium hypochlorite
• Let the clean water flow into the
tank, rinsing the walls
• Remove the water
• Fill the water tank to the top and
add sodium hypochlorite in the
proportion of 1 liter per every 1000
liters of water
• Open all faucets and stopcocks to
sanitize the piping
• As soon as the water tank empties,
refill it with clean water.
• If the water is not treated, add a
10g chlorine tablet per each water
tank of 1000 liters
Safety against Lightning
• Keep away from central heating
units and large metallic objects
• Don’t use appliances such as: irons,
hairdryers, TV sets, telephones, etc.
• Don’t get near wire fences, metal
clotheslines, telephone and power
lines, metal plumbing, and towers
or electric networks
• On the street, look for shelter in
buildings or non-metallic structures
• If you are working with a tractor or
other agricultural implements, stop
and look for shelter
• Stay inside the car when on a trip
• In case there is no shelter nearby, lie
down on the ground
• Keep away from the top of hillsides
or open areas

Occurrence of Landslides Food

or Collapses
• Leave your house quickly
• Ask for the help of friends
and neighbors
• Depending on the seriousness
of the situation, call the Fire
Department or the
Civil Defense
• If you discover that your house
is safe, remove all debris and
start repairing the damages
• Don’t consume food that has been
exposed to flood waters
• Avoid consuming raw food
• Boil foods for 10 minutes whenever
possible
• Opt for the use of smoked and salted
products, canned food in general,
sweets and pickles
• Check if canned food has some
change in quality, such as a change
of color, smell or taste. In case of
doubt, it is best not to eat the food
Garbage
• Garbage must be collected in
containers placed at designated
trash collection points
• As soon as they are full, they must
be dumped in previously prepared
holes in the ground and covered
with soil
Care To Be Taken When
Returning Home
Drinking Water
• Check carefully whether your home
is fit to live in (cracks, pillars, etc.) • If the water is not treated, boil
• Pay special attention when it for 15 minutes

• Avoid packaging without label or
identification, reject packaging that
is broken, creased, rusted or stuffed
• Fruits and vegetables should be
left to soak and washed with water
containing sodium hypochlorite
(5 drops for each liter of water), if
they are not to be cooked
• Remember: the correct disposal of
garbage will prevent flies, rats and
cockroaches from emerging, and,
thus from transmitting diseases
• In places where regular garbage
collection service is not available,
garbage disposal will meet the
criteria established for shelter care
removing furniture, since snakes
and other poisonous animals
frequently invade houses
• Check and clean out the cesspools
• Before turning on electric power
again, clean and dry circuit breakers,
switches, plugs, connecting plugs,
lamps and domestic appliances
• Collect rainwater in a clean
receptacle for consumption
• To treat water, use one of the
solutions below:
a) sodium hypochlorite: 2 drops 71
per each liter of water
b) a chlorine tablet, which can
be found in public health clinics
joining
forces
where to begin?

IT WAS A MOUNTAIN OF SHOES. OF ALL COLORS, TYPES AND SIZES. OF LEATHER,

SUEDE, WITH BUCKLES, TENNIS, BOOTS, AND WELLINGTON BOOTS AS WELL. CLOSE
BY, A LARGE NUMBER OF BLACK PLASTIC BAGS, WHICH HELD BLOUSES, SKIRTS,
DRESSES, SWEATSHIRTS, COATS, SWEATERS, TROUSERS, SHORTS, PAJAMAS,
SOCKS, MORE ARTICLES OF CLOTHING THAN ONE COULD IMAGINE.
 November 25, 2008.
Ilhota, Santa Catarina.
The Brazilian Air Force arrives on the scene.

With the roads closed off, the first batch of

donations was shipped by air — by helicopter and
cargo aircraft — but when the highways opened, they began to
be transported by semi trucks.

The tragedy in Santa Catarina triggered an overwhelming, organized

movement of solidarity. It was quickly formed into an intricate network of
collective aid that translated into shoes, clothes, food, and money in cash.
As of Friday, November 28, 2008, the bank accounts opened in the name
of the Itajaí Valley victims accounted for over 3 million reais (R$).

On Tuesday, November 25, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva flew over
the region and, looking with astonishment at the images before him,
announced an aid package of 1.049 billion reais (R$) for reconstruction of
roads, bridges and other items of public infrastructure. He also facilitated
withdrawals from the FGTS (Severance Pay Fund) and credit lines for
reconstruction of houses. And he sent 278 tons of food by Hércules aircraft
from the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) , in flights from Brasília, the Federal
District, to Santa Catarina. At Navegantes Airport, which serves the Itajaí
Valley region, over fifty volunteers were ready to help the military forces
unload the food.

Municipal mayors and department heads tried to establish priorities. At

that moment and faced with such a scenario, everything was a matter of
the utmost urgency. People in the shelters needed not just physical and
material help, but especially psychological support. At the same time, the
streets and roads needed to be opened so that traffic could flow again,
ensuring access to isolated regions and neighborhoods. Also the light and
communication poles that had been knocked down by the rains had to be
rebuilt. And then there was a need to dredge the streams and to deliver
more medicines and beds to the hospitals to care for so much people.
76
 December 18, 2008.
Gaspar, Santa Catarina.
The challenge of making aid reach
nearly inaccessible places.
Where to begin? That was the question many mayors asked themselves.
They decided to set out two parallel lines of action priorities: first, to insure
basic care to people in the shelters and, secondly, to open roads and streets.
Machines began operating, as soon as the rains lessened, trying to clean
up all that mud from the landscape.
As for the shelters, city governments contacted companies of the
regions and asked for donations and transportation. Thus, an alliance
was established among various businessmen to deliver essentials directly
into the hands of over 70,000 homeless people.
Bunge Alimentos offered its sports gymnasium in Gaspar to store the
donations that came from everywhere, including those from other company
units all over Brazil. Its logistics network was directed to transporting all
material to the two shelters in Gaspar, to the 35 in Blumenau, and to
others in neighboring towns.
Volunteers were active wherever necessary. A nurse made her own house
feel like a medical facility for those rescued from flood waters. Even standing
ankle deep in water, she provided first aid and fed the homeless, before
they went to the shelters. A fisherman used his boat to make rounds on
the flooded streets to help rescue people and animals. A teamster went
to a local radio station to announce that his truck was at the disposal
of the community. Luiz Hostins, a lover of off-road trails and member of
the Jeep Club of Brazil, lent his 4×4 car, his courage and his knowledge of
the region’s trails to help many firefighters and military officers to reach
places that people would swear were inaccessible. Bunge Alimentos
(Bunge Foods) employees came early to the sports gymnasium to help
in the difficult job of sorting out: trying to match pairs of socks and
shoes, which at that point were totally separated from one another.
A 16-year-old student from Rio de Janeiro deposited his monthly allowance
into the account opened for the people of Santa Catarina. A businesswoman
from Ribeirão Preto, in São Paulo, donated fifty large bottles of drinking
water. And, in the capital city of São Paulo, SOS Santa Catarina was
organized with shows by musicians such as Ed Motta, Chico César and Leci
Brandão; the price of admission would be a liter bottle of mineral water
79
or a blanket.
Thus, with seemingly disconnected actions, a giant and
invisible network among unknown people was formed.
A net that was woven by sharing a decision: to do the
best to help. Millions of people were involved.
Men and women of different professions and lifestyles.
Physically close or distant. Civil society, the private
sector and government agencies joined forces as they 81

had only a few times in Brazilian history. Mônica Shelter, Gaspar, Santa Catarina.
 above the differences
Between October 5 and 26, 2008, new mayors and city council members
were elected throughout Brazil. In Santa Catarina this situation proved
especially complex. In the end, new local government officials were elected
in many cities and the mayors who had been making decisions in the name
of the population would be replaced by those newly elected who would
only take office on January 1, 2009. This was a period of political transition
in the midst of a time of fundamental definitions for the Itajaí Valley.
Pedro Celso Zuchi, the elected mayor of Gaspar at the time of the tragedy,
was forced to rethink everything planned for the city for the next four years.
During the first week after the tragedy, he convened his team of trusted
advisors and together they reviewed the strategy of their government
program in the light of the events. What would the reconstruction plan
be? Faced with so many priorities, what should be done first? How could
the city budget be reallocated taking reconstruction needs into account? At
the same time, Zuchi, of the PT (Workers’ Party) offered then-mayor Adilson
Schmitt of the PMDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party) his help and
solidarity. At that moment, the initiatives went beyond partisan politics: they
were the citizens of Santa Catarina who had come together to think about
future possibilities for the city they share.
This unity beyond political party affiliation also extended to the mayors of
other municipalities, who found opportunities for common solutions in this
dialogue experience. At the same time, the state governor, Luiz Henrique da
Silveira (PMDB), found support from his peers in other states, as well as from
the Federal Government.
Meanwhile in Blumenau, another alliance of adversaries was shaping up to
help face the tragedy. On Monday, November 24, 2008, the telephone of
82
Galega TV director rang. The call was from rival FURB TV director, proposing to
create a TV and radio solidarity network that would unify broadcasting and
optimize reporting and equipment allocations to extend the area of coverage.
The request was accepted immediately, and the two broadcasting stations
joined with TV Legislativa to create a chain of stations, which became arms of
Civil Defense and of the press offices of the city governments, broadcasting
official news releases and passing on requests for help from the population.
They began to broadcast 24 hours, alternating studios and announcers.
To achieve complete coverage, reporters spent sleepless nights away from
home and because damage to antennas prevented some live transmissions,
many professionals used their cell phones as broadcasting devices. In their
search for news, many went into areas of risk alongside the Army, Civil
Defense and Fire Department personnel, putting their lives in danger to save
those of other people.
Jota Aguiar, a reporter from Sentinela do Vale radio station and a volunteer
fireman, collected so many stories that he wrote a book, Relatos de uma
tragédia (Reports of a Tragedy), which, as its name suggests, contains moving
stories from people who lived through the events of November 2008. In one
of the accounts, Sentinela do Vale Director Leopoldo Miglioli reports that
they spent 211 uninterrupted hours on the air, nearly nine days worth.
Simultaneously, sites and blogs were constantly being created to pass on
information, organize donation campaigns, suggest traffic routes, report on
road conditions and closely follow the first steps in reconstructing the Itajaí
Valley. For the first time in the region, the alternative media served as an
effective source of information to bring people together and broadcast to
the world what was happening there.
83
 Mônica’s shelter
Ana Maria spends most of her time alone, seated in a corner. When asked
why she is sad, she answers that she misses her dolls. Amanda, a talkative,
lively blonde comes over and shows the girl her colored wax chalk drawing.
“This is me, this is my dog and this is my house”. On the paper, in addition
to what she described, there is a huge sun that takes up half the sheet.
Ana tries out a small smile. Amanda reaches out her hands and invites her,
Life in shelters:
after the tragedy,
“Want to paint?”
frailty and waiting.
Ana Maria and Amanda are in Mônica’s Shelter, currently housed at the
Norma Mônica Sabel Basic Education School, in Gaspar. It has been four
months since the tragedy. Families share the classrooms. Curtains made
from sheets and held with masking tape cover the windows to keep out
the light, and there, among the donated mattresses, pillows, bedspreads
and clothing, the mothers and fathers, aunts and uncles, grandparents and
children spend their nights listening to battery-powered TV and radio kept
on 24 hours, sometimes simultaneously. To delimit the territory reserved for
each family, furniture or lined-up desks are sometimes used as partitions.

Women take turns preparing meals in the kitchen. There is no lack of food.
Plain flour, sugar, rice, beans, margarine, cans of milk, oil, mineral water
and cookies are the basic ingredients of the menu, which varies according
to the creativity of the cook on duty. To avoid fights about dividing up
cleaning tasks, rules were worked out together and written on a paper
hung on the wall.
85
 On the school patio, there is an exhibit of drawings done by children in
workshops led by volunteers from the Comunidade Educativa (Educational
Community) program, run by the Bunge Foundation in conjunction with
The sun appears
the Municipal Secretariat of Social Action and coordinated by teachers and in the children’s
drawings, dispersing
social workers. Twice a week, men and women laden with guitars, paper, the cloud of sadness.
colored pencils, brushes, water colors, scissors, glue and books show up.
They spend a few hours of their day entertaining children and adults. Telling
stories, organizing sessions for drawing and painting, and singing and
dancing. A bit of leisure and entertainment to help disperse the enormous
cloud of sadness that hovers there.

There was heavy traffic in the shelter in the first days. Amidst the coming
and going of volunteers and temporary residents, a military police corporal
was assigned to provide security, to make sure that rules were followed and
avoid possible misunderstandings. Civil Defense personnel were constantly
bringing in boxes and more boxes of donations: clothing, food, blankets,
mattresses, armchairs, tables and chairs.

As time passed, visits became less frequent and food donations, which had
been arriving daily, dropped to once a week. The rooms began emptying
out. And the halls reverberated with the echoes of children’s voices.

Some families had their houses released by Civil Defense and left. Others
were transferred to shelters which were better prepared to receive them.
Those with no place to go remained. They had lost their homes and their land.
They literally have no ground to stand on. They are awaiting a decision that
is out of their hands. While they wait, they watch their children draw, paint,
sing and listen attentively to the stories that volunteers Marilda or Ângela
tell. At these times, even those who feel most desperate and hopeless,
smile. Perhaps, deep down, they know that even after the heaviest rains,
the sun always rises again.
86
 January 7, 2009, Gaspar, Santa Catarina.
let’s rebuild
During the entire month of December, the towns of Santa Catarina which
had been affected by the floods, torrents of rain and landslides set the stage
for many efforts at solidarity. Government authorities, the private sector and
civil society organized to meet the countless demands coming from all sides.
In Blumenau, what became known as Operação Esperança (Operation Hope)
was organized. This movement brought together over 3,500 civil servants
from various departments and agencies, such as the Civil and Military
Police, the Army, the Fire Department and Civil Defense. All the members,
independently of their functions, worked hard during the thirty days that
followed that weekend.
88
Aid in the form of donations arrived from every corner of Brazil and the
rest of the world. Day after day, the residents of the Itajaí Valley began to
January 7, 2009, Gaspar, Santa Catarina.
erase the marks of the waves of mud. Groups of people organized to clean
up houses, build new rooms and house more people, to replant the fields
and open the streets. Very few people stood by with their arms crossed. If,
on one hand, one could see a devastated region, on the other, intense
determination was evident. It was visible and palpable.
On December 31, everyone wore white. Mayors, municipal department
heads, civil defense directors, military officers, firefighters, men, women and
children. All met in the main square of Blumenau to mark the moment of
reconstruction. This was a pact made with a good, loud sound. The clock
on the square marked one minute after midnight on January 1, 2009 when
thousands of people held hands and shouted together: Let’s rebuild!
The echo of their voices still resounds. If Hermann Blumenau were around,
he would certainly be proud of the will and courage of the people who 89
inherited his lands.
 “We went through moments that
made us think about the purpose
of our lives. We chose to live in this
valley; it is our cradle. We are joining
forces and strengthening our bonds.
We are a people who struggle; we
never give up. We are going to write
a new history, and become the city
of everyone’s dreams. Rebuilding
is a task for everyone, the duty of
every citizen.”
Sérgio Waldrich,
President of Bunge Alimentos

90

August 11, 2009, Ilhota, Santa Catarina.

rebuilding
learning a new relationship

IN JANUARY OF 2009, THE SUN BEGAN TO SHINE AGAIN ON THE ITAJAÍ VALLEY.
LIKE THE OTHER TIMES THEY HAD SUFFERED FROM FLOODS, MANY FAMILIES
BEGAN TO CLEAN UP THEIR HOUSES. WHILE WOMEN AND CHILDREN SCRUBBED
THE FLOORS AND WALLS STAINED WITH BROWN MUD, FARMERS TRIED TO
DISCOVER WHAT TO DO WITH THEIR DEVASTATED CROPS.
 At universities and research centers all over the country,
ex p e r t s p o r e d ove r b o o k s , s y n o p t i c m a p s , a n d o t h e r
documents to try to decipher the tragedy. Diagnoses would be
essential for future predictions.
In the city offices, mayors accumulated mountains of paper on their desks.
The department heads’ phones rang non-stop with priorities coming in from
all over. Developing an action strategy was like playing a game of chess.
Millions of variables appeared simultaneously, but it was necessary to choose
a first step.
Opening the streets and highways. Rebuilding bridges. Removing barriers
of debris. Recovering light poles. Moving families lodged in city schools:
classes had to begin. Expanding hospitals. Reopening businesses. Beginning
recovery operations for the port. Removing buildings along the river.
Isolating the hillsides vulnerable to new landslides. Preventing residents from
returning to their houses when located in an area of risk. Defining areas
of risk. Building new houses. On what land? Investing in Civil Defense and
the Fire Department. Replanting native trees. Recovering riparian forests.
Rethinking the countryside. Rethinking the cities.
In those first days of 2009, it became evident that one of the greatest
challenges to rebuilding was to design an action plan that included short-term,
medium-term and long-term activities for each municipality, taking into
account the multiple variables involved. Another big challenge was acquiring
the human and financial resources to make this strategy viable.
96
Given the magnitude of the tasks and the plurality of actions, it became
clear that the public authorities would not be in a position to act alone.
It was necessary to organize a multilateral dialogue among representatives
of state and city government, the private sector and civil society, and the
scientists among them.
It was not the time to lay blame or flee from responsibility, but rather to
try to build alliances that could help understand the processes that led
to the tragedy and undertake action to avoid or minimize possible future
problems.
But how to do that?
The scientists were clear: it would be necessary to find a new way of treating
the land, a new vision of how to occupy cities and towns and deal with
nature. It is not enough to rebuild based on the rationale of former times. It
is necessary to adopt and disseminate behavioral change so that everyone
can learn and relate in a more mature and conscious way to our big home,
the planet.
The Itajaí Valley offers an opportunity to usher in this new relationship. We
need to be open to it. This is a common cause with something to say to
each of us. Mayors, department heads, teachers, students, housewives,
professionals, business people, firefighters, scientists and volunteers.
We are all one.
97
 how to rebuild?
In Braço do Baú, in the neighborhood of Ilhota, Evaldo Kremer reset the
fenceposts of a destroyed fence with his own hands. This was after having
remodeled and painted his entire house. He was also assessing whether he
will be able to recover his rice fields, which were buried under a thick layer
of mud. His banana and eucalyptus plantations were seriously damaged.
The flour mill, inherited from the time his father owned the land, turned to
ruin. At the time, one could only see an enormous tongue of land cutting
through the five hectares that belonged to Mr. Evaldo. And surrounding
the tongue, mud.
98
Mr. Evaldo Kremer, one of the small farmers of the Itajaí Valley.
An entire life on the land provided no answers to the tragedy.
The Itajaí Valley is a region of small farmers. Large farms are rare. The
most common sight is small farms cultivated with perseverance and care
by descendants of Germans and Italians who arrived a century and a half
ago. These are people who were born and grew up with the land, and
established great intimacy with it over the long succession of springs
and summers. But, even being so close, they did not have a sufficient
understanding of the tragedy that befell them, their neighbors and the
region. They did not know what to do. How to rebuild? They are still
waiting for answers to this question.
99
 good examples
“Companies like Bunge and organizations such as the Rotary Club,
the Municipal Association of Small- and Micro-Sized Companies
(AMPE) and the Commercial-Industrial Association (ASCI) suspended
their business activities to become involved in providing services to
the population. This gives us in the government a certain comfort,
because sometimes it’s hard to know what to do.”
Pedro Celso Zuchi, Mayor of Gaspar

Among the negative outcomes, some positive lessons were drawn from the
tragic events of November 2008. People were different after that weekend.
Many actions were organized to extend the mobilization and establish a
reconstruction plan.
Business people from the local media, who had joined forces to provide
public services to the population in the first days after the tragedy, organized
a weekly TV program called “Rebuilding the Valley”, and geologists, biologists
and psychologists were invited to give their opinions and propose long-term
solutions.
Bunge forged an alliance with local business people to get reconstruction
funds for the Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro Hospital and for the
Angélica Costa School in Gaspar. In the first month one million and seven
hundred thousand reais (R$) were raised. Moreover, it created a program to
provide psychological and material support to the affected employees. Its
transportation network was put at the service of Civil Defense to distribute
the rest of the donations, which still filled the gymnasium, to the most distant
towns.
In the hardest-hit cities, the municipal department heads organized campaigns
that sought dialogue and alliances with town, business and community
leaderships to carry out long-lasting rebuilding activities.
The Ministry of National Integration sent some of its professionals to Gaspar
to give courses and seminars to civil society. The idea was to train community
100
leaders who could act as an arm of Civil Defense in case of new floods and
collapses.
While business and government officials organized the activities needed to
manage post-crisis activities, geologist Juarês Aumond and biologist Lauro
Bacca, both from Blumenau, resolved to take off on their own to rural and
urban areas of the Itajaí Valley to carry out a scientific diagnosis of the
collapses and landslides.
They visited various places and were able to see on site what their studies had
already pointed out: the areas with preserved forest were the least affected.
“In the Serra do Itajaí National Park, for example, there were no significant
landslides despite the very intense rain there. In places with larger stretches
of native forest especially, such as the park called Parque das Nascentes,
nothing happened,” says Lauro Bacca.
According to him and to Professor Aumond, the great challenge for the
authorities was to enforce the Federal Forest Code. “You can’t create a
specific code for each state. The states have to respect Brazil’s environmental
laws. Among other things, this means not building along the river banks
or on the hillsides. We have to act in harmony with nature, not against it,”
concludes Bacca.
Scientists who were hundreds of miles from there also shared this opinion.
Their words were fundamental to making land and city managers deeply
reflect on that.
101
a new look at the land

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

“WHEN WE TALK ABOUT AGRICULTURE, WE CANNOT REFER JUST TO THE PLANTS

UNDER CULTIVATION, BUT ALSO TO THE SOIL, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST
PRECIOUS NATURAL RESOURCES THAT EXIST, JUST AS IMPORTANT AS WATER.”

Carlos Eduardo Cerri, Ph.D. Professor of Environmental Science

 The Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ) is one of the most
respected institutions in all of Brazil. For 108 years it has been a campus of
the University of São Paulo, located in Piracicaba, a city 111.85 miles (180 km)
from the capital city of São Paulo. Specialists in a variety of different areas of
agronomy earn their degrees there. These are professionals whose lives are
dedicated to trying to understand the earth and improve man’s relationship
with it. One of them is Professor Carlos Eduardo Cerri, of the Department
of Soil Science.
Cerri attentively monitored the extreme events that had occurred in the
Itajaí Valley, and, like his colleagues, was also surprised at the impact of
the rains and at the collapses and landslides. He shared the opinions of
the Santa Catarina specialists: before undertaking isolated activities, it is
necessary to rethink the entire region, which includes the sensitive points,
urban settlement and agricultural practices.
In the case of agriculture, all agreed that it is necessary to provide incentive
for agronomists and farmers to work together, to take the results of years
of research and study to those who live day-to-day on the land. Bringing
together the theory and the practice. This exchange is perhaps the most
important point in the land recovery project for the Itajaí Valley.
Agriculture is one of the basic pillars for sustaining our planet. It produces
food, fiber, meat and in recent times, fuel. In several countries, Brazil
among them, these practices can have strong environmental impact.
A lot of CO2 gas is released into the atmosphere when the land is plowed
for planting, and this is one of the greenhouse gases responsible for global
warming.
There are large amounts of carbon in the soil – three times higher than in
the atmosphere. When the land is intensively worked, either by machine
or by hand, carbon decomposes and is released into the air in a gas form.
On the other hand, there is no way to plant without “disturbing” the soil.
“What we can do is try to be ‘more gentle’,” says Cerri.
To try to solve the delicate equation to find a balance between agricultural
production, necessary to our survival, and environmental preservation, also
104
necessary to our survival, there have been worldwide numerous research
projects and some conservationist agricultural practices, which, according
to Cerri, are appropriate to the Itajaí Valley.
No-till farming is one of these solutions. This activity proposes keeping
vegetable cover on the soil the entire year, especially in-between harvest
periods of the main crops. This cover may be leftovers from an earlier crop
(straw) or a leguminous crop such as beans, for example. This works as a
protective layer, which in addition to creating an environment favorable
to developing the nutrients necessary for soil fertility, also contributes to
slower absorption of rain, thus preventing erosion. Moreover, planting
different crops in the same place helps to create a richer environment for
the soil, with more microorganisms interacting.
Another conservation practice is to plant stretches of woods made up of
different native species in swaths throughout the farm. Their roots form
a tangle which allows water infiltration into soil, thus preventing erosion.
This rule of diversity also holds for riparian forests, located along rivers and
creeks.
“Further, tree tops of different dimensions help to break the wind intensity,
as well as to provide shade, useful for several crops such as bananas, for
example,” says Carlos Cerri. Another benefit is that they withdraw carbon
from the atmosphere by photosynthesis, contributing to minimizing the
greenhouse effect.
Finally, one of the most common recommendations of scientists has to
do with the aptitude of the earth for cultivating species. Some types of
crops adapt better to specific soil conditions than others. This is the case
of bananas, whose shallow roots hold better in flat, rather than hilly,
terrain. “If someone wants to grow bananas on hillsides, it is fundamental
to establish the rule of diversity, growing species with deeper roots in
the same area in order to balance the structure of the soil bed,”
suggests Cerri.
Diversity on the soil surface as well as below. This is one of the main laws
of nature. And it is the main advice of specialists.
105
No-Till Farming:
A “More Gentle” Way of Disturbing the Soil. (2)
This is a technique designed to plant seeds in undisturbed
soil (without previous plowing or grading), with previous
crop residues (straw) left on the soil surface. There are many
advantages to using this technique, not just to preserve the
environment, but also to increase productivity.
• Protection against erosion: the impact of rain on the soil is
cushioned by straw (1) , allowing higher water absorption by the soil.
• Decrease of greenhouse gas: the less the soil is disturbed, the less
CO2 (and other gases) is released into the atmosphere.
• Cleaner agriculture: less need for operations, reduces the use of fuels
(diesel) in farming.
• Soil fertility: through decomposition of organic matter, the straw
cover releases nutrients which will be absorbed by plants, as well as
providing the proper environment for the development of beneficial
microorganism (1) .

No-till farming is one of the most important environmental

efforts in Brazil in response to the recommendations
of the United Nations Conference on Environment (Eco ‘92)
and the Brazilian Agenda 21.

(1)
Diversity of species and crops:
greater abundance and security for the land.
“In the case of areas of low fertility, an initial planting of nitrogen-fixing
herbaceous plant species (for example, crotolaria and Canavalia ensiformis
– the Brazilian broad bean) produces green manure increasing the chances
of successful recovery. After this first planting, seedlings of arboreal species,
with the necessary diversity for recovery, should be planted.”
Carlos Alfredo Joly, Ph.D in Botany from UNICAMP

“Forests with different native species have tangled roots in the upper soil
layers with a broad diversity of structures and depths (2) , which makes the
hillsides more stable.”
Carlos Alfredo Joly, Ph.D in Botany from UNICAMP

107
 GLOBAL WARMING AND AREAS OF RISK

The National Institute for Space Research (INPE) , whose main headquarters
are located in São José dos Campos in the state of São Paulo, is a reference
throughout the world. Its mission is to produce science and technology in
the areas of space and earth environment, including weather and climate
forecasting, and to analyze global climate changes.
Ever since the tragedy in the Itajaí Valley in 2008, specialists from INPE have
been meeting to discuss the causes, study correlations with past events,
and try to predict future events related to global warming. A technical
note on the diagnosis of the causes and impact of the rains in Santa
Catarina in November 2008 was issued — a document which analyzes
the reasons for these events from a multidisciplinary point of view.
Carlos Nobre, an internationally known IPCC climatologist, and one of the
major names at INPE, says that despite the November 2008 precipitation
having been heavier and longer than usual, two issues that set off the
tragedy were deforestation and unregulated land occupation.
By rational land use is meant the non-occupation of areas at risk of collapse,
such as hillsides and slopes and areas close to rivers. In the case of the Itajaí
Valley, this is an especially big challenge, since there is little land that is not
steep or along the banks of water courses. This is a serious issue, which if,
from one point of view, seems to be a summary condemnation of any kind
of occupation of the Valley, on the other hand, it cannot be ignored. In any
case, it serves as a warning for further occupation.
“We have to do a very large mapping of areas of risk, see which of them
has become more susceptible to the increased rain intensity and even to
drought, which occurs as a result of the lack of water supply to the large
cities. This is urgent! At first, this rethinking might be more laborious and
more expensive, but it will certainly be of great value to the future, since it
will help to prepare Brazil for this moment of very intense climate change
that we are living through,” concludes Carlos Nobre.

“Studies point out that with global warming, rain tends to increase, not
just in the Itajaí Valley region, but in other regions of Brazil. That’s why, if
we don’t plan more rational land use, other tragedies of similar dimensions
can occur.”

108 109
 a new look at the city
URBAN PLANNING
The Institute of Technological Research (IPT) is one of the largest Brazilian
research institutes and acts in a multidisciplinary manner, encompassing
different sectors, such as energy, transportation, the environment,
construction, cities and security. Álvaro Rodrigues dos Santos is a geologist
who was the IPT director of planning. Presently he is a senior researcher
with the Institute and consultant in Geological Engineering, Geotechnics
and Environment.
For him, one of the great challenges to the municipalities of Santa Catarina is to
plan responsible urban growth. To do so, he reminds us of the importance of
implementing the City Statute, promulgated in 2001, which has considerable
advances in efforts towards urban planning, including mandatory monitoring
of municipalities with populations over 20,000 which are required to design
and apply a Master Plan, understood as a basic tool for development policy
and urban expansion.
In his opinion, a Master Plan alone does not take into account the geological
and geotechnical characteristics of the land. His proposal is that each
municipality adopts the Geotechnical Map as a mandatory reference for all
urban land occupation activities.
“The Geotechnical Map contains information on the geological and
geomorphologic features of a given region with respect to the kind of land
use, defining the areas that can and cannot be occupied. It is essentially a
planning tool, which must include at least two types of professionals in its
design: a geologist and a geotechnical civil engineer,” says Álvaro.
The planning to which Álvaro refers was the conceptual basis for the project
of an eco-efficient neighborhood that is being developed for Gaspar.
110
MODEL PROJECT
At the end of 2008, the phone rang in the Rio de Janeiro office of Luiz
Eduardo Indio da Costa. It was the Bunge Foundation staff wanting
to make a proposal: to rebuild the Angélica Costa Municipal School in
Gaspar, on an eco-efficient basis. He listened and agreed to find out more
about it.
Indio da Costa is one of the best-known architects in Brazil. Born in Rio
Grande do Sul, but living in Rio de Janeiro, he was for many years architect
at Rio de Janeiro City Hall, responsible for creating various projects that
carried a sustainable vision for large urban downtown areas such as
Rio-Cidade Leblon and the Pier Mauá, which is part of the Guided Recovery
Program for the port area of the city. He reports that these experiences
taught him to be an urbanist.
After several meetings, the partnership with the Bunge Foundation was
agreed to, and work began. This was in early 2009. The architect’s first
move was to make the first of a series of trips to Gaspar, accompanied by
professionals from his office, to study the region and specifically, the site
for rebuilding the school.
When they arrived, they saw that rebuilding in the same place where the
school stood was totally out of the question. The hillside was still moving
and any strong rains could cause new collapses.
The group, along with geologists and agronomists hired by the town of
Gaspar, studied other areas in the same neighborhood, but noticed that a
good part of Sertão Verde was at risk. You couldn’t build a school based
on sustainability in a geologically unstable place. And that was the moment
that the project began to grow.
111

In conversations with government authorities, the Bunge Foundation and
Bunge proposed the granting of an area where not just the school, but an
entire neighborhood, could be rebuilt, based on principles of sustainability.
Bunge would hire the Rio de Janeiro office for a neighborhood design
project and, in conjunction with government, hoped to build an alliance
for implementing it. They received an area of 1,117,724.46 square feet
(103,840 m2) from the state government along the banks of the Itajaí-Açu
River. Its geographic location provided its provisional name: Left Bank.
Located only 1.24 miles (2 km) from Sertão Verde, the “Left Bank”
neighborhood is in a higher region, and thus not subject to flooding.
It is also geologically more settled and is adjacent to an Area of Permanent
Preservation — 328.08 feet (100 m) wide. The vacant areas cover more
112 than a third of the total area: 38.7 percent.
MARGEM ESQUERDA
B R- 4
70
RUA
CAR
LO S
R. S
CHR
A MM
SERTÃO VERDE
The Sertão Verde and the new neighborhood in Gaspar,
to be built on a sustainable basis.
Based on these data, the architects and urbanists from Indio da Costa’s
office began thinking about the project.
Its main inspiration was the concept of sustainable or new urbanism, an
architectural trend that is transforming the design of cities worldwide. Some
experiences are being put into practice as neighborhoods and model cities.
One of these is the BedZed (Beddington Zero Energy Development), in the
south of London, England. Built in 2002, this neighborhood adopted a series
of measures to reduce important environmental impacts — such as not using
cars and living integrated with nature. Another is Masdar City in Abu Dhabi,
the capital of the United Arab Emirates, a zero-carbon city built in the middle
of the desert. A third is the Pedra Branca neighborhood in Florianópolis, Santa
Catarina, which also prioritizes the principles of sustainable development in
its thinking, putting the pedestrian first. 113

With these models in mind, meetings began at Indio da Costa’s office
in the Botafogo neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro to discuss the concepts
which would guide the new neighborhood. Some points were essential:
it would be an urban, not rural, development. It had to be eco-efficient,
assuring respect for and compliance with all the environmental, road and
land use laws. And the school would be the big convergence point.
Thus, they began to design.
The school will be set right at the center of the land, alongside a green
area which is open and integrated into nature. The idea is to distribute its
facilities, such as sports and play areas through the public space in such
a way as to avoid being closed in. “We want it to include sustainable
114
Wide streets, sidewalks wheelchair accessible, touch-sensitive floors and bicycle lanes:
a new way of life is being born.
solutions and for these to be apparent to others who want to repeat the
model in their homes and businesses, in other neighborhoods and cities,”
says João Maró, one of the architects responsible for the project.
The streets will be wide, with sidewalks that are wheelchair accessible
and with touch-sensitive floors for visually impaired people in compliance
with international conventions. Bicycle lanes were created to encourage
bicycle use.
And the Carlos R. Schramm Road, which connects Sertão Verde with the
new neighborhood, will have a passage where it crosses the BR-470 State
Highway, so that pedestrians can go beneath it, safely, whenever they go
to the school, for example.
115
 1 2
3 4
APP 100M
RIO ITAJAÍ-AÇU
In the sewer system, biodigesters transform part of the waste into gas, which will be used in the school (1);
another part goes to composting units, which supply compost for the community vegetable garden, while the
remaining garbage is recycled (2); rainwater is stored in the collecting tank to be reused, with only the excess water
being drained off into the river (3); and solar energy panels provide light to the area surrounding the school (4).
The houses suggested in the project follow the Public Housing Agency
(COHAB) model; however, they have a design adapted by the Laboratory
for Energy Efficiency in Buildings of the Federal University of Santa
Catarina, guaranteed to employ energy-efficient standards which reduce
environmental impact, with solar energy panels and towers to catch
rain water.
There will be a circular movement of eco-efficiency: a neighborhood that
generates part of its own energy, that reuses rainwater and that has a
system to carry sewer to biodigesters where waste will be transformed into
gas which, in turn, will be used in the school.
116
ESCOLA
The school will be the central place for the community to congregate in the new neighborhood.
The project was presented to the City Government of Gaspar and to the
State Secretariat for Regional Development on August 20, 2009. The next
step will be to work on the implementation project. In this stage, the
infrastructure team, with specialists in water, sewer, electricity, landscape
and waste projects, all coordinated by Indio da Costa’s office, will work
out project details and create the technical specifications needed to make
it viable. A third phase will begin with the construction of the school,
scheduled to be ready in 2010.
But good concepts, specialized talent, exact numbers and precise technical
designs are not enough to create an entire neighborhood from scratch. To
make a neighborhood, you have to have people who believe in it.
117
talking to make it happen

“WITHOUT SOCIET Y, THERE IS NO PROJECT. PEOPLE HAVE TO

INTERVENE, SHARE, AND CHANGE. IT IS NECESSARY TO BUILD
TOGETHER, TO MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.”
Luiz Eduardo Indio da Costa, architect and urbanist
 The neighborhood project, provisionally named
Lef t Bank , is an innovation in Brazil. A s soon as it is
implemented with all its conceptual nuances, it could become a
model for urban sustainability for other towns in the Itajaí Valley
and other regions of Brazil. The Bunge Foundation and Bunge
intend to show that it is possible to find new ways for urban space
occupation. That it is possible to build spaces with more social justice
and more environmental integration.
But, for this idea to get off the paper and become a reality, more people
must participate. Other companies that believe in the project and want
to do their part must also participate. This also applies to the community
members who have to leave their old houses in neighborhoods such as
Sertão Verde to live in the new development.
The Bunge Foundation and Bunge, along with Indio da Costa’s office, held
a series of meetings with business people to make a detailed presentation
of the project to presidents, directors and executives of companies in
the region. As of the close of this report, at the beginning of September
2009, some organizations and government agencies had agreed to take
part, as follows. The Construction Industry Association of Santa Catarina
(SINDUSCON) , the Electric Utility Company of the State of Santa Catarina
(CELESC) , Zênite Engenharia, and the Federation of Industries of the State
of Santa Catarina.
120
As for the community, from the outset, when Indio da Costa’s office
was beginning to work on the first designs for the new neighborhood,
the Bunge Foundation and Bunge organized meetings with community
leaders to present the outline of the idea. The intention was to hear out
representatives from civil society, people whose lives would be strongly
affected by the new project, discover the most critical points and whether
people would be open to moving. Despite initial resistance, little by little,
the community perceived that the new project was an opportunity to have
a future with more dignity and security.
A lot of conversation will still be needed. In the end, “it is opening to
dialogue and in the flow of conversation that the project will grow and
become a reality. People need to feel they are part of its creation to take part
in carrying out the project,” says architect and urbanist Indio da Costa.
The Bunge Foundation fully agrees.
To learn more about the project for the new neighborhood, consult www.conhecerparasustentar.com.br
121
knowing
to
sustain
 feeding ideas
Almost a year later, between Monday evening, September 7, 2009 and
early Tuesday morning, September 8, winds with an estimated speed of
over 111.85 miles per hour (180 km/hr) hit the three towns in the extreme
west of Santa Catarina. In Guaraciaba, a small town with around 10,000
residents, 90 percent of the population was affected and four people
died. The mayor declared a state of public calamity. In the following hours,
another 68 towns reported events related to the storms to Civil Defense.
The wind and rain spread over several regions and on Wednesday 9, Santa
Catarina Governor, Luiz Henrique da Silveira, declared a state of emergency
in 64 municipalities.
Analyzing the effects of the wind and rain on houses, specialists at the
Center for Meteorology and Hydric Resources of Santa Catarina (CIRAM)
and the Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies (CPTEC) , in
Cachoeira Paulista, São Paulo, concluded that the storm had been a tornado,
a storm in vortex form. Its force is capable of “sucking up” whatever is on
the land and pitching it into the air. For researchers, the south of Brazil
is especially vulnerable to this type of phenomenon because it is an area
where masses of air with different temperatures collide. For the residents
of the affected regions, it was a nightmare.
It seemed like a flashback. Less than a year after the week of tragedy in
the Itajaí Valley, there was a similar situation in the same state, exposing
human vulnerability in the face of natural events, which are becoming
more and more severe.
Despite still not being able to prove it, some scientists suggest that there
is a correlation between global warming and the intensity of the rains,
droughts, tornados and other recent extreme events. Others insist that
the force of the events is the result of a specific interglacial period which
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the planet is undergoing. Still others say that human activity on the land
– incorrect use of the soil, interference with forests and rivers – may be
responsible for intensifying the consequences of these events.
The fact is that there is no single truth. On the one hand, science has
presented varying opinions which are complementary on some points and
contradictory on others. On the other extreme, human experiences on the
land also present numerous versions. There exists a plurality of views, which
could come together, give rise to dialogue, and thus help everyone.
When the Bunge Foundation created its Knowledge for Sustainability:
Itajaí Valley project, it was exactly with the purpose of deepening
thinking and reflection about the relationship between man and nature,
creating room for the exchange of knowledge and seeking scientific and
empirical foundations that could help the proposals and solutions for this
new moment in human history to evolve.
We live in unique times: that is the consensus. It is a time of crisis, but
also of opportunities to create and implement a new consciousness of
sustainability. Sustainability as not just a concept, but mainly as an integrated
practice of economic, social, cultural and environmental developments.
We do know that developing sustainability for a city, region, or country
is a giant challenge that involves multiple complex variables. An equation
that needs a lot of dialogue, readiness and political will to be put into
action.
However, if we do not take the first step, the challenge will be even harder
to meet than it is now. To achieve this, our concern as world citizens is to
take actions in the direction of what we consider to be fair practices that
propose a better life for people, business and the planet.
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 The ideas and proposals in this book and in the entire
Knowledge for Sustainability: Itajaí Valley project are just
the beginning of a story. To continue such story, new players
need to stand up to the scene. And each of us, independently
of ethnicity, profession or lifestyle, could be that major player.
Mônica Shelter, Gaspar, Santa Catarina.
Only by becoming players in a new model of sustainability,
will we be able to help build a more harmonious world. We
believe that this is the way things happen. First as individuals.
Then together.
Welcome.
127
This book was composed in Frutiger and
Optima fonts; its interior and cover were
printed on 150g opaque couché and 300g
Supremo Duo Design paperboard, at Stilgraf.
It is a project of the Bunge Foundation.
São Paulo, Brazil, 2009 Spring.

St. Peter Apostle Church (Igreja Matriz São Pedro Apóstolo), Gaspar, Santa Catarina.
“We went through moments that made us think about the purpose of
our lives. We chose to live in this valley; it is our cradle. We are joining
forces and strengthening our bonds. (...) Rebuilding is a task for
everyone, the duty of every citizen.”
Sérgio Waldrich, President of Bunge Alimentos. Gaspar, Santa Catarina.

In November and December 2008, the Itajaí Valley, in the state of

Santa Catarina, Brazil, experienced one of the greatest tragedies
in its history. Downpours and enormous landslides changed the
features of the region, causing more than one hundred deaths and
leaving thousands of people homeless.

But this is not a book about the tragedy. One year later, the Bunge
Foundation casts a look at the history of the Itajaí Valley, from the
first years of settlement to a possible future. A sustainable vision
for the recovery of the Valley, that combines the opinions of various
experts with the practical knowledge of the population, in an
open and positive dialogue. A new look that leads to new ways of
dealing with the land, the city, and the human being, and that may
contribute to new studies on sustainability in Brazil and in the world.