A SOS Mata Atlntica Foundation it’s at Heineken opened a call for proposals for the selection of demonstrative projects that collaborate with the improvement of the Pinheiros river basin and its surroundings, in the city of São Paulo. The registration period, which started in December 2023, has just been extended until February 20, 2024.
A committee composed of representatives from Heineken, SOS Mata Atlntica, Sabesp and Global Pact will select between five and ten initiatives connected with the river and aligned with one of two modalities: nature-based solutions, including local interventions that contribute to improving the water quality, and actions of mobilization, engagement, environmental education, arts and knowledge, which expand the network of citizens aware of and engaged with the recovery of rivers. Those selected will be supported with amounts between 50 thousand and 100 thousand reais.
Projects that impact two of the Sustainable Development Goals, the UN SDGs, will be prioritized: those dealing with drinking water and sanitation (SDG 6) and those relating to life in water (SDG 14). SDG 06 Drinking Water and Sanitation and SDG 14 Life in Water. Proposals may be proposed by Civil Society Organizations operating in the environmental, educational or social areas and micro and small companies without government ties.
Nature-based solutions seek to imitate what nature does. They can replace, for example, what we call gray structures, those that, with intensive use of concrete and asphalt, cause the soil to become waterproof and intensify the problem of flooding. SOS Mata Atlntica recently implemented a rain garden in the municipality of Itu, in São Paulo. With this notice, we intend to encourage the installation of other structures demonstrating nature-based solutions in the Pinheiros river basin, explains Gustavo Veronesi, coordinator of the Observando os Rios project, from SOS Mata Atlntica.
The Pinheiros River, which is part of the Alto Tiet basin, has been undergoing a significant depollution process in recent years. The success of the Heineken Floating Bar, a temporary initiative also carried out in partnership with SOS Mata Atlntica, is an example of the area’s potential and the public’s interest in revitalizing the river. Located in the Parque Bruno Covas region, it is part of Heineken’s Green Your City platform, launched in 2021 and which includes a series of initiatives aimed at promoting culture and sustainability. The aim of the bar was to invite the public to rethink the ways of occupying urban spaces that can transform society’s relationship with the city.
“We have a purpose with the Heineken brand and all the actions on the Green Your City platform exist to have a more sustainable future. For this reason, all profits from the Heineken Floating Bar are being donated to this public notice, in partnership with SOS Mata Atlntica. We believe that, together, like other companies, we can come together and do more and better, especially for a region as important for the city as the surroundings of the Pinheiros River, highlights Beatrice Jordo, Senior Marketing Manager at Heineken in Brazil.
Olavo Garrido, director of Business and Resource Mobilization at SOS Mata Atlntica, highlights that the health of urban rivers is essential for the population’s quality of life.
The case of the Pinheiros River proves that we can, should and know how to do more and better when it comes to effluent treatment. With the notice, alongside Heineken, which has been taking a leading role in improving the waters and surroundings of the river, we will look for projects that bring solutions to speed up this process, adds Garrido.
The notice with all the information is available on site SOS Mata Atlntica official.
*Cover photo: Disclosure/ SOS Mata Atlntica
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