Then came the night that changed everything. The rain came with thunder and lightning that cut through the darkness, shaking the small houses along the shore.
Ivanil was forced to move due to rising tides and coastal devastation.
In Vila do Pesqueiro, a small traditional community facing accelerating tides and coastal erosion, families huddled together during the storm that would change their lives.
Almost two years later, the memory remains vivid for Ivanil: every sound, every flash of lightning, a reminder of how close the sea had come.
When the tide swept through the community in February 2024, it took with it the land they had called home for generations.
Ivanil and his neighbors had no choice but to abandon their home and rebuild their lives inland. The distance was short, less than a kilometer, but the change seemed immense.
“Although we haven’t made much progress, it seems like a completely different world,” Ivanil explained. “This is a mangrove area: warmer, noisier and not a place where we can raise animals or grow crops.”
Jhonny, Ivanil’s son, searches through the rubble of destroyed houses.
Vila do Pesqueiro is home to around 160 families within the Soure Marine Extractive Reserve, a protected area.
It is located across the mouth of the Amazon River from Belem, where the international community is currently meeting at the United Nations Climate Change Conference known as COP30.
The displacement of people due to extreme weather and climate change is one of the key issues that will be discussed.
Reserves like Soure Marine are designed to safeguard the livelihoods and culture of traditional populations while promoting the sustainable use of natural resources.
Fishing remains the community’s main source of income, while local cuisine and small-scale tourism help families stay afloat.
precarious existence
But as the tides continue to move, livelihoods and homes become increasingly fragile.
For many in the town, the changes have become deeply personal. Next door to Ivanil lives his son, Jhonny, a fisherman and university student who had just passed his biology entrance exam when the tide came in.
He grew up watching the ocean change year after year, with stronger tides and faster erosion gradually reshaping the coastline he once knew.
Jhonny remembers how quickly everything began to change. Each season, the water came a little closer until one day it reached their house. “The place where our houses used to be is now under water,” he said.
He often thinks about the families who still live by the water, knowing that stronger tides are expected next year. “For me, moving is not just about security,” he said. “It’s about protecting the place and the people who shaped my life.”