2024-01-15 13:00:25
The cities on the coast of São Paulo are testing strategies to contain the advance of the sea over the sand strips and part of the territory. Among the works are the creation of submerged barriers and walls and the preservation of vegetation, as a way of reducing the problems caused by rising ocean levels.
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Since 1950, the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo (USP) has been carrying out measurements on the coast of São Paulo and over the years the sea has risen 20 centimeters in the region. According to the United Nations (UN)Santos and other coastal cities in Brazil and around the world could lose more than 5% of their territory by 2050 due to the advance of the oceans.
These studies have encouraged cities to create an action plan to reduce the effects on municipalities. In Santos, the city hall created the Municipal Climate Change Plan in 2016.
Santos has a pilot project against the advance of the sea
Santos City Hall installs geobags on the beach | Photo: Francisco Arrais/Santos City Hall
Two years later, in collaboration with Unicamp, it began an innovative pilot project in Ponta da Praia, installing 49 geobags in an “L” shape, which creates a submerged barrier 275 meters long. Monitoring reveals a significant increase of 8.9 centimeters in the height of the sand in this area.
To Metrópoles, the administration of Guarujá reports the development of the “Areia Viva” project over two years, based on studies on the sanitary quality and natural movement of sand on ten beaches. Other projects, including the preservation of jundu, typical vegetation near the beaches, are underway.
Read also: “Study reveals the dirtiest urban beaches in Brazil”
Praia Grande City Hall highlights the vulnerability of the south of the coast, but emphasizes that the city’s coastal geography helps to avoid significant erosion.
The government of Caraguatatuba, in turn, reported that it monitors the situation on the beaches, when considering the negative aspects of the thickening of the sand strip.
São Vicente, after six months of studies at Praia dos Milionários, is about to determine strategies based on the results obtained. However, the construction of walls is viewed with reservations, and solutions similar to Balneário Camboriú, where the city council increased the beachfront, are treated with caution by the municipal administration.
Walls as a protective barrier
The construction of walls appears as a strategy adopted in Mongaguá, on the south coast of São Paulo. The city hall highlights the implementation of retaining walls with deeper foundations and rockfill, aiming to strengthen resistance against erosion caused by waves.
Read more: “Which beaches are suitable for swimming on the coast of São Paulo; the highlight goes to Ilha Comprida”
In Ubatuba, the city hall has projects to monitor and contain coastal erosion, not ruling out the possibility of building walls as a preventive measure. The restoration of a retaining wall at Praia do Itaguá, budgeted at R$ 1.9 million, is in the process of project adjustments.
Enlargement projects on pause
Projects to widen the sand strip are mentioned in Ilhabela, dating back to the beginning of the century, in 2001, as a preventive measure against coastal erosion, street flooding and to offer more space to tourists.
However, the municipal administration informs that the project is suspended indefinitely due to the significant drop of 50% in revenue from royalties of oil since 2021, representing a loss of more than R$1 billion in the municipality’s budget.
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