Some 1.4 million Brazilians live in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, or shantytowns, or 22% of the city`s residents. Most of these people have no access to green spaces.

Not surprisingly, in the recent heatwaves hitting South America it is the poorest who are suffering the most.

But a self-taught environmentalist is determined to demonstrate that a solution exists.

CGTN’s Lucrecia Franco reports.