Whatever was left of the district’s grander hotel, a three-story building with 48 rooms vanished with the 2008 undertow. 

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Eustasy

Felipe Fittipaldi | Brazil

Atafona, a small town located in the delta of the Paraíba do Sul River, is caught in the grip of environmental change. Over the past few decades, the sea has been gradually submerging the town, forcing hundreds of people to abandon their homes. Its dunes now conceal about 500 buildings, including public spaces, residential blocks, a hotel, a gas station, and a church. A combination of factors, including rising sea levels and disastrous human interventions along the river, has made Atafona one of the most significant cases of coastal erosion in Brazil and produced hundreds of environmental immigrants.

Eustasy (2014-2024) is the outcome of a long-term visual exploration of the complex relationship between a community and its environment, characterized by dependency, melancholy, and individuals confronting the relentless degradation of their physical world. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that sea levels are rising faster than ever, with the rate more than doubling in the past 10 years. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), over 410 million people could be at risk from rising sea levels by 2100 as a result of the climate crisis.

Atafona, a small town located in the delta of the Paraíba do Sul River, is caught in the grip of environmental change. Over the past few decades, the sea has been gradually submerging the town, forcing hundreds of people to abandon their homes. Its dunes now conceal about 500 buildings, including public spaces, residential blocks, a hotel, a gas station, and a church. A combination of factors, including rising sea levels and disastrous human interventions along the river, has made Atafona one of the most significant cases of coastal erosion in Brazil and produced hundreds of environmental immigrants.

 

The Paraíba do Sul River is a vital resource for Brazil's largest cities, supplying approximately 14 million people. The burgeoning hydric deficit at the estuary, a result of human exploitation, is one of the primary factors propelling the rapid erosion. The weakened water flow can no longer maintain a balance with the ocean in the delta, leading to insufficient sediment replenishment and leaving the coastline vulnerable to the advancing sea. The situation is aggravated by the deforestation of the mangrove in the delta, which once served as a natural barrier against the encroaching ocean. Researchers warn that similar processes are unfolding in deltas across the globe.

 

Eustasy (2014-2024) is the outcome of a long-term visual exploration of the complex relationship between a community and its environment, characterized by dependency, melancholy, and individuals confronting the relentless degradation of their physical world. 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that sea levels are rising faster than ever, with the rate more than doubling in the past 10 years. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), over 410 million people could be at risk from rising sea levels by 2100 as a result of the climate crisis.

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