Water Filtering Project Makes Researcher First Brazilian to Win UN Youth Environmental Prize

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – A water purification filter using only sunlight has yielded the United Nations (UN) Environment Young Champions of the Earth award to social entrepreneur Anna Luisa Beserra, 21 years old. It is the first time that a Brazilian has won the award.

The project’s concept, called Aqualuz, arose when Anna Luisa was still in high school and saw a poster for the Young Scientist Award from the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), which has a category focused on high school. That year, the topic was Water – Challenges for Society.

At the time, the student did not win the award. When she entered the biotechnology program at the Federal University of Bahia, she decided to get the idea off paper and into practice.

Aqualuz was developed together with other students from the Federal University of Bahia and the Federal University of Ceará. Today, it delivers drinking water to 265 people and will reach another 700 this year.

Aqualuz Project

Aqualuz works as follows: the filter purifies rainwater collected by cisterns in rural areas by means of solar rays and an indicator changes color when consumption is safe. The water is sanitized without the use of harmful substances such as chlorine, for instance.

The award will be given to Anna Luisa and six other winners during the 74th Session of the UN General Assembly on September 26th, in New York.

Young Champions of the Earth

The Young Champions of the Earth Award is inspired by the Champions of the Earth Award, which is the main UN award for people whose actions have had a positive and life-changing impact on the environment. Founded in 2017, the award is aimed at youths from 18 to 30 years of age.

This year, each winning youth will be awarded US$15,000 in capital to invest in their project and US$9,000 for investment in communication and marketing, in addition to mentoring and invitations to take part in global events.

Brazil had never stood out at the awards until this year. In 2019, of the nearly one thousand entries received worldwide, 158 came from Brazil. In addition to Anna Luisa, three young Brazilians were among the 35 global finalists.

Brazilian finalists

Bárbara Schorchit has a degree in chemical and natural engineering from Rio de Janeiro. She founded the company Genecoin, which uses blockchain technologies to track the use of biodiversity throughout the entire product value chain.

Bernardo Andrade is from Ceará, majored in architecture and has developed the Casa do Semiárido project, which offers a sustainable architecture and home engineering model designed to cope with the water shortage and the region’s intense heat. The project is affordable, works with circular economy, recycling, and climate change adjustment.

Felipe Villela is a native of Rio Grande do Sul, with a degree in sustainable agriculture. He founded the company reNature, which uses agroforestry techniques to address deforestation challenges, soil and water degradation, economic inefficiency and increased emissions caused by unsustainable agricultural practices. The company connects experts and producers.

Source: Agência Brasil