Renovating the bank of the lagoon into an immersive ecological park in Brasil

Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon located in the city of Rio de Janeiro used to be a heavily polluted lake until it was selected as the competing venues for rowing and sprint canoeing events of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics.

As the only lagoon in the city, it is connected to the Atlantic Ocean, allowing sea water and animals to enter by a canal along the edge of a local park, and is the ideal habitat to a variety of birds and other animals, including spoonbills, seagulls, crabs as well as capybaras.

According to local experts, the lagoon has centuries-old history when it was called the "fishing bay" by indigenous people for its biodiversity several hundred years ago.

However, human activities including sewage disposal had caused massive algae outbreaks 30 years ago, which consumed oxygen and killed also all fish in the lagoon.

"The biological environment was completely ruined 30 years ago. The sewage discharged from nearby companies led to the systemic extinction of the fish. The plants surrounding the lagoon were also severely damaged," said Biologist Mario Moscatelli.

It was Moscatelli and his teammates who launched the "mangrove forest project" for the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in 1988, making non-stop efforts to restore the eco-environment in the area.

Also thanks to the municipal government, the polluting enterprises were forced to move elsewhere.

By the year 2016, the water quality of the lagoon had met the standards as venues to hold events, as a result of a group of biologists who have been working unswervingly towards the same goal for three decades.

"We are going to submit a proposal to the municipal and state secretariat for the environment on renovating the bank of the lagoon into an immersive ecological park," said Moscatelli, CCTV+, a partner of TV BRICS, reports.