BaySqueeze Project

1.5 By 2030, build the resilience of the poor and those in vulnerable situations, and reduce their exposure and vulnerability to climate-related extreme events and other economic, social, and environmental shocks and disasters.

Through Goal 1, subsidies for a better management of the territory on the margins of the Babitonga Bay are being developed, which can be used for a better future planning in order to reduce the exposure of peripheral urban areas to extreme events and environmental disasters. In Goal 1 it is being possible to map (through satellite images for the period 1985-2019) and identify that the peripheral human occupation of the city of Joinville (typically occupied by poorer populations) has developed over the margins of the Babitonga Bay, especially in mangrove areas. This territorial occupation has two important consequences: 1) increase of the population’s vulnerability to flooding events (caused by fluvial, pluvial and meteo-oceanographic floods) due to the lower terrain topography; 2) degradation of the mangrove ecosystem, responsible for the natural protection of the margins of the Babitonga Bay. Through Goal 1, subsidies for a better management of the coastal area of the Babitonga Bay were created, which can be used by local decision makers for a better territorial management, in order to reduce the exposure of human occupation and extreme events and reduce the environmental impact on the mangrove ecosystem. Goal 3 will complement this analysis with a combined flood risk assessment along with an assessment of mitigation measures. Through Goal 3 important subsidies will be created so that the resilience and, mainly, the adaptation capacity to risks can be increased, since it will carry out a study on the sea level rise in the Babitonga Bay and mitigation measures.

6.6 By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers, and lakes.

The BaySqueeze project aims in an explicit way to contribute to the protection of the mangrove ecosystem of the Babitonga Bay through the historical mapping of its area of occupation Goal 1. With Goal 4 a free tool was developed (www.cassiengine.com) that allows the evaluation of the condition (erosion and accretion) of the coastline on the coastal margins, including coastal wetlands, where mangroves or salt marshes occur. This tool can be applied to any coastal area in Brazil and thus contribute to the protection and conservation of these ecosystems. The importance of the mangrove ecosystem is recognized, both as a nursery for a vast biodiversity of fauna, and as a natural coastal protection mechanism (against flooding and coastal erosion). In the present project Goal 3 it is also intended to enhance this ecosystem through theoretical evaluation (numerical modeling) of how the restoration of mangroves in areas most vulnerable to flooding, can be a solution to the rise in sea level, and consequent increase in flood risk.

8.4 Progressively improve global resource efficiency in consumption and production by 2030, and strive to decouple economic growth from environmental degradation, in accordance with the Ten-Year Plan of Programs on Sustainable Consumption and Production, with developed countries taking the lead.

In estuarine areas such as the Babitonga Bay, fish resources are an important economic source for the various local communities. The quality of fish resources is a reflection of their management and the environmental quality of their habitat. In Babitonga Bay, the conservation of the environmental quality of the mangrove ecosystem is of enormous importance for the production of quality fish resources, since this ecosystem is responsible for the nesting and growth of several species of marine fauna. Through Goal 1 of this project it was possible to map the evolution of the mangrove cover between 1985-2019 and thus create information and subsidies for a better management of this ecosystem, which is so important for the fisheries production in the region. Additionally, with Goal 2 the project aims to contribute to a better knowledge of the composition of the seabed of the Bay and thus contribute to a better management of the physical environment that serves as habitat for the diverse fauna and flora of the Babitonga Bay.

11.4 Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural and natural heritage.

11.5 By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected by disasters and substantially reduce the direct economic losses caused by disasters relative to global gross domestic product, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations.

Goal 3 of the present project aims at mapping the areas vulnerable to coastal flooding under various existing sea level rise scenarios. Additionally, Goal 3 aims to analyze the efficiency of the use of mangroves as a measure of coastal protection “building with nature” in the areas most vulnerable to flooding. With these products the Goal 3 will be possible to improve the management and mitigation of the flood risk of the Babitonga Bay, and increase the protection of the population and cultural heritage of the region.

12.b Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that generates jobs, promotes local culture and products.

The present project will create a set of information through Goals 1, 2 and 3 that will indirectly support the sustainable development of the Babitonga Bay. Through the CASSIE tool (www.cassiengine.com – Goal 4) it will be possible to continuously monitor the evolution of the coastline in the region, which will be determinant for the management of the coastal zone of Babitonga Bay.

13.1 Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

13.2 Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning.

13.3 Improve education, increase awareness and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.

13.b Promote mechanisms for building capacity for climate change-related planning and effective management in least developed countries, including focusing on women, youth, local and marginalized communities.

The Goal 3 of this project will offer important subsidies to increase the resilience and, especially, the ability to adapt to risks, since it will conduct a study on the rise in mean sea level in the Babitonga Bay and mitigation measures.

Goal 4 of this project interacts with this objective, as it will develop modules of the CASSIE tool (Coastal Analysis System via Satellite Imagery Engine – www.cassiengine.com), using Google Earth Engine technology to support the management of climate change impacts in coastal and port areas. This type of tool has enormous potential for use in teaching and training social actors on the topics addressed in this proposal.

With Goal 4 and the development of the CASSIE tool (www.cassiengine.com), a free tool, which can be used in any country and applied to any coastal region on the planet, and which requires minimum logistics for its use (just internet access); there is a direct contribution to less developed countries or local communities with few resources, for the improvement of the planning capacity of coastal zones in face of climate change.

14.a Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capabilities and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission’s criteria and guidelines on Marine Technology Transfer.

Goals 1, 2 and 3 included in the present project have the potential to contribute to objective 14.a. This contribution comes from the goals mentioned above, which confer this character of generating subsidies on the scientific knowledge of the oceans and seas, as well as technology transfer (Goal 4).

15.1 By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in accordance with obligations under international agreements.

Goal 1 aims to contribute to a better knowledge of the mangrove ecosystem and thus create subsidies to ensure its future management and conservation. The conservation of this ecosystem will be crucial in the face of rising sea levels and this will be addressed in Goal 2. Also in Goal 4, a CASSIE tool was developed that allows to assess the condition of the ocean interface and the mangrove ecosystem and thereby identify its conservation status.

17.6 Enhance North-South, South-South and triangular regional and international cooperation and access to science, technology and innovation, and increase knowledge sharing on mutually agreed terms, including through improved coordination among existing mechanisms, particularly at the UN level, and through a global technology facilitation mechanism.

Goals 1, 2 and 3 included in this proposal have the potential to contribute to objective 17.6, that is, the establishment of north-south and south-south cooperation. This contribution comes from the partnerships established in the project with groups in the United States of America (Virgina Institut ofrine Science), with Australia (Coastal Management Laboratory – Gridffth university) and Spain (University of Cantabria).