Northeast Brazil boasts some of the world’s most beautiful beaches, ribbons of white sand tracing a region known as “a terra da felicidade” — the land of happiness; but venture inland and a harsh, semi-arid landscape with some of the country’s worst poverty emerges.
Geographer Friedrich W. Freise, in a survey of the region, painted a bleak picture: “The principle disintegrating agent is solar heat, which is operative many hours daily from a cloudless sky. The cracking and splintering effect … is great, and the surface is therefore widely strewn with sand and dust.”
Freise made these observations in 1938 and he commented — rather hopelessly — on the prospects for reforestation to restore natural watersheds. “There is strong evidence that man is utterly powerless here,” he wrote.
About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
