On Marajó Island, at the confluence of the Amazon River and Atlantic Ocean in northern Brazil, life ebbs and flows with the tides. For more than four decades, Ivanil Brito found paradise in her modest stilt house, just 20 metres (65 ft) from the shoreline. There, she and her husband Catito fished, cultivated crops, and tended to livestock.
“I was a very happy person in that little piece of land. That was my paradise,” she says.
That paradise vanished during a violent storm in February 2024, when relentless waters surged through Vila do Pesqueiro town, eroding the coastline that had nourished generations.
“Even though we didn’t move far, it feels like a completely different world,” Ivanil shares from their new settlement less than a kilometre (half a mile) inland. “This is a mangrove area—hotter, noisier, and not a place where we can raise animals or grow crops.”
Vila do Pesqueiro, home to about 160 families, lies within the Soure Marine Extractive Reserve, a protected area managed by the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation. Established to preserve traditional ways of life and promote sustainable resource management, the reserve now confronts the harsh realities of climate change.
While fishing remains the primary livelihood, local cuisine and tourism provide supplementary income to residents. Yet, intensifying tides and accelerating erosion threaten their very existence.
For Ivanil’s son Jhonny, a fisherman studying biology at Universidade do Pará’s Marajó-Soure campus, these transformations are deeply worrying.
“The place where our houses used to be is now underwater,” he says. “For me, moving isn’t just about safety; it’s about protecting the place and the people who shaped my life.”
Meanwhile, residents like Benedito Lima and his wife Maria have chosen to remain, despite their home now standing perilously close to the water’s edge. Leaving, they say, would mean surrendering their livelihood.
“Every new tide shakes the ground,” Benedito explains, gazing towards what used to be a safely distant canal. “This isn’t even the high-tide season yet.”
Climate adaptation here takes various forms. Some families rebuild farther inland, while others adjust their daily routines to accommodate the sea’s advance.
Community leader Patricia Ribeiro believes that a collective resilience sustains Vila do Pesqueiro.
“Our stories have always been passed down through generations,” she says. “This is our home, our ancestry. We want to stay here to protect what our families built. As long as we’re together, we won’t give up.”
As Brazil prepares to host the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in nearby Belém, communities like Vila do Pesqueiro exemplify what is at stake.
Through its initiatives, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) supports efforts to enhance resilience, protect livelihoods, and ensure these families can continue living safely on their ancestral lands.
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