Alcione Figueiredo Correa

Alcione F. Correa is an engineer, human and environmental rights defender. Her career has always been dedicated to the protection of water. Drawing on the knowledge she has acquired throughout her career and life’s journey, she has sought to protect the biodiversity and water of the Serra da Chapadinha, in the Chapada Diamantina region of the state of Bahia—a cause she considers her life’s mission. In addition, she has fostered community-level collaboration with the residents of the Serra to protect nature.

At their mountain retreat, Toca do Lobo, Alcione and her husband Marcos launched a citizen science initiative that has paved the way for countless research projects. For their work promoting environmental education, conservation, and research, they received recognition and the title of “Posto Avançado da Reserva da Biosfera da Mata Atlântica” (Outpost of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve), affiliated with UNESCO.

Faced with pressures from mining, real estate speculation, and land grabbing that threaten the water supply of millions of people, she advocates for the creation of a strictly protected conservation area to safeguard the Serra da Chapadinha, a water recharge area for the Una River—the main tributary of the Paraguaçu River—which supplies dozens of municipalities in the semi-arid region that are highly susceptible to the impacts of the climate emergency, as well as the metropolitan region of Salvador, including the capital city of Salvador.

However, Alcione Figueiredo and Marcos Fantini have faced threats and pressure from mining and real estate companies seeking to illegally appropriate land in the Serra da Chapadinha and exploit its natural resources.

“The gun wasn’t just pointed at my head; it was pointed at the heads of everyone involved in environmental protection and human survival. Because in the midst of climate collapse, we are fighting for the water of millions of people”