Brazilian Doctor’s River Epiphany Spawns 25-Year Health Revolution

A nighttime fishing expedition three decades ago fundamentally changed how Brazilian doctor Apolo Heringer views human health. While accompanying local fishers in the community of Raiz in southeastern Brazil, Heringer witnessed something extraordinary when their spotlight illuminated the river depths: thousands of fish thriving in crystal-clear water.

“It was as if it were a joy to see all those fish in the clean river,” Heringer recalls. “That’s what health is.” This profound moment connected the dots between ecosystem vitality and human wellbeing, inspiring what would become his life’s work.

That revelation led to the creation of the Manuelzão Project in 1997, launched through the Federal University of Minas Gerais medical school where Heringer taught for 33 years. The groundbreaking initiative operates on a simple yet revolutionary principle: human health is inseparable from ecosystem health. “Just as there are no fish without rivers, there is no human health without healthy ecosystems,” Heringer explains.

Today, Manuelzão has evolved into a comprehensive interdisciplinary program involving students, professors, and researchers from diverse fields including biology, geography, and communications. The project champions “collective health” as an ecological concept, viewing health as a product of balanced ecosystems rather than merely medical intervention. This holistic approach challenges traditional healthcare models by addressing environmental factors that directly impact community wellbeing, demonstrating how protecting rivers and ecosystems serves as preventive medicine for entire populations.