Água Vida Project marks Photography Day in the caatinga

Água Vida Project marks Photography Day with a native forest planting in Pernambuco’s caatinga and a new photo series by Mario Barila.

During a New Year’s trip, photographer and environmentalist Mario Barila anticipated Photography Day, celebrated on January 8, with an environmental action in the caatinga of Pernambuco. As part of the Água Vida Project, which combines photography and sustainability, he took part in planting a small forest of native species in a caatinga restoration area, supporting the work carried out by the Xukuru do Ororubá Indigenous people.

Alongside the reforestation effort, Barila created a new photo series that highlights the Northeastern caatinga, its landscapes, biodiversity and local communities. The initiative reinforces the role of photography as a powerful tool for environmental awareness, bringing together art, ecological education and social engagement.

Reforestation with the Xukuru people

The Xukuru do Ororubá territory covers 27,555 hectares, with 24 villages and around 12,500 residents. For over a decade, the Jupago Kreká Collective, a group of 20 people, mostly young women, has been restoring 200 hectares of degraded areas. The planting of the Uru Forest, supported by the Água Vida Project, adds to this long-term effort to recover the caatinga.

“We count on this network of support and solidarity to recover areas degraded by burnings and deforestation, and we join forces in restoring beautiful, food-producing and medicinal landscapes,” says educator and agronomist Iran Xukuru. The initiative underlines how crucial alliances between Indigenous peoples, environmental projects and artists are for preserving Brazilian biomes.

Uru Forest honors an endangered bird

The newly planted area was named Uru Forest by the Jupago Kreká Collective, in tribute to the Uru bird, a species critically threatened with extinction. Local children joined the planting, strengthening intergenerational ties and the transmission of ancestral knowledge about caring for the land.

The Água Vida Project donated seedlings of native caatinga species such as umbu, known for storing water in its roots, and juazeiro, a resilient tree that remains green all year round. Other plants include mandacaru and xique-xique, tree-like cacti, as well as angico, aroeira and baraúna. The planting follows ancestral practices combined with restoration techniques, always adapted to local climate conditions.

Photo session at Catimbau National Park

The photographic part of the journey took place at Catimbau National Park, one of the most striking landscapes in the caatinga. Barila invited renowned rider Rudinho to pose at Pedra Furada, the park’s main postcard, a natural rock formation sculpted by erosion and a symbol of the region.

Known for its desert-like scenery and ancient rock paintings, Catimbau has already served as a location for the TV soap opera “Mar do Sertão”. By portraying the leather-clad horseman against this backdrop, the photographer pays tribute to the people of Brazil’s sertão, their traditions and resilience, and reinforces the caatinga as a living cultural and environmental heritage.

Next stop: Água Vida arrives in Amapá

The next stage of the Água Vida Project will take Mario Barila to the state of Amapá, where new environmental actions will be carried out. Plans include tree planting, the creation of a seedling nursery and support for strengthening local beekeeping in partnership with communities in the region.

The aim is to build a counterpoint to the environmental destruction associated with potential oil exploration on the Amazon Equatorial Margin, a scenario in which Amapá is likely to be heavily affected. By acting in advance, the project seeks to draw attention to the urgency of conservation and to sustainable development alternatives.

Água Vida: photography in defense of water and life

Created in 2014 by photographer and environmentalist Mário Barila, the Água Vida Project is dedicated to environmental preservation, ecological education and citizenship, always highlighting the essential role of water for all forms of life on Earth. The actions are funded by the sale of Barila’s photographs and by partner donations, which ensure the continuity of projects in different Brazilian biomes.

An economist by training, Barila chose to dedicate himself to photography, a passion since adolescence, and later studied with renowned Brazilian photographer Araquém Alcântara, known for portraying the country’s fauna and flora. Moved by the environmental and social realities he encountered in Brazil and abroad, he uses photography as a tool for awareness, documenting endangered species, local communities and their ongoing struggle to protect life and the planet.

Those interested in learning more about the Água Vida Project and supporting its initiatives can visit the project’s website or follow the Instagram profile @mariobarilafilho.