Rivers that Narrate, Cities that Resist: Nature-Based Solutions and Climate Adaptation in the Context of the Jaguaribe River Micro-Basin in João Pessoa, Paraíba (Brazil)
Keywords climate adaptation; nature-based solutions; applied landscape ecology; urban micro-basins; socio-environmental justice
This research aims to investigate how Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) can guide climate adaptation strategies within the context of the Jaguaribe River micro-basin, in João Pessoa (Paraíba), with a specific focus on the São Rafael community. It begins with a critique of the reproduction logic of large-scale “grey” infrastructure projects that neglect ecological flows and urban socio-environmental risks. The study seeks to highlight the central role of water, soil, and vegetation in building distributive, sustainable, and context-sensitive responses. The research problem is defined as follows: how can NBS be applied in the Jaguaribe micro-basin, with emphasis on São Rafael, as a strategy for mitigating climate risks and promoting socio-environmental justice? To address this question, the study proposes to: review the state of the art on urban resilience and the role of micro-basins; present theoretical foundations from applied landscape ecology; identify NBS typologies suited for urban drainage; analyze the micro-basin’s physical-environmental and infrastructural attributes in relation to precarious settlements; and develop spatial guidelines and design representations for the target area. The methodology combines qualitative approaches and theoretical-methodological procedures grounded in spatial and environmental analysis, with emphasis on the hydrological redefinition of the micro-basin, production of thematic cartographies, and hydrological simulations. The research is empirically justified by the fact that more than half of the city’s informal settlements are located in environmentally fragile areas within the micro-basin, which underscores the urgency of systemic solutions. The study seeks to inform urban and design guidelines aimed at replacing fragmented interventions with systemic actions anchored in ecological processes and territorial justice