A lawyer and environmentalist with a solid track record in environmental law and water resource management, RBR Alumni Adriana Bocaiúva is one of the ambassadors of the Sustainability Journey, promoted for the RenovaBR student community.
Her work stands out as the leader of the Guanabara Bay Hydrographic Region Basin Committee (CBH Baía de Guanabara), one of the most strategic in the country. With a PhD in Economics from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and experience in social mobilization, Adriana promotes the integration of technical knowledge, public policies, and social participation, strengthening environmental governance in Rio de Janeiro.
This achievement stems from a long-standing connection with environmental causes. At age 14, she participated in an extracurricular activity to restore the banks of a river in a park near her school. From this experience, she says she was awakened to the potential of environmental citizenship. Since then, she has built a career marked by stints at environmental agencies at the municipal, state, and federal levels, as well as coordinating the state's first water management committee, the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon Committee.
From environmental citizenship to leadership
Today, as head of the Guanabara Bay Water and Sanitation Center, Adriana comments that she faces a series of challenges. "The main problem is the lack of investment in adequate basic sanitation solutions across the four axes: water supply, sewage, drainage, and solid waste. This is the greatest pressure on our waterways," she explains. To mitigate these impacts, the committees have been working to finance alternative sanitation projects and implement sanitation and climate risk management plans.
Sustainability depends on collaboration between government, civil society, and the private sector. She explains that water resource management bodies are made up of three segments—government, civil society, and users—and, therefore, all water management solutions necessarily involve collaboration between these sectors.
In addition to her local work, Adriana participates in collective development spaces, such as the Sustainability Working Group of the RBR Alumni network, part of the Sustainability Journey. She believes these exchanges are crucial, reinforcing the role of education in environmental preservation.
"The formation of engaged social capital involves formal, political, and civic education, supported by technical content and mobilization strategies. Environmental activism needs to be supported by a consistent Theory of Change model that promotes broad and lasting transformations," he concludes.
