Os Dez Primeiros Anos do IAI: Observações, Medições, Compreensão e Documentação das Mudanças Ambientais das Américas

This report documents the first decade of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), from its establishment in 1992 to 2002. It details the institute's institutional structure, the evolution of its scientific agenda, and the implementation of various research funding programs and collaborative networks aimed at understanding global environmental changes across the Americas.

• The IAI was established on May 13, 1992, through an agreement signed in Montevideo, Uruguay, by 11 founding countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and the United States.
• The institute's mission is to develop the capacity to understand the integrated impact of current and future global changes on regional and continental environments in the Americas and to promote collaborative research and informative actions.
• The IAI's governance structure consists of four permanent bodies: the Conference of the Parties (CoP), which defines policies; the Executive Council (EC), which develops policy recommendations and ensures implementation; the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), which provides scientific guidance and evaluates results; and the Directorate (DIR), the primary administrative body.
• The IAI's scientific agenda evolved from seven initial themes in 1993-1994 to a restructured framework of four major themes in 1997: Understanding Climate Variabilities in the Americas; Comparative Studies of Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Land Use and Cover and Water Resources; Changes in the Composition of the Atmosphere, Oceans and Fresh Waters; and Integrated Assessments, Human Dimensions and Applications.
• Between 1995 and 1998, the IAI implemented an institutional capacity-building project funded by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and executed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which included a $3 million UNDP/GEF contribution and support from the Brazilian government and the US NSF ($350,000).
• The Initial Science Program (ISP), spanning three phases from 1996 to 2001, invested approximately $4 million across 39 grants. Key outputs included the involvement of at least 137 students and over 150 publications in journals, book chapters, symposia, or reports.
• The Collaborative Research Network (CRN) program (1999-2003) invested approximately $10 million in 14 grants, involving over 170 co-investigators and scientists from approximately 150 institutions across 16 countries.
• The IAI developed the Data Information System (DIS) in collaboration with INPE, NSF, and WMO. Developed by CIESIN at Columbia University between 1997 and 1999, the system was installed at the IAI Directorate in Brazil in July 1999 and officially launched in January 2000.
• The Program to Expand Scientific Capacity in the Americas (PESCA) supported eleven small scientific projects, each lasting 12 to 18 months with funding between $15,000 and $30,000, to increase the participation of underrepresented member countries.
• In 2002 and 2003, the IAI launched two Small Grants Programs (SGP I and SGP II). SGP I funded 16 projects with a total of $385,000, while SGP II funded 22 proposals totaling $612,701.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2004). Os Dez Primeiros Anos do IAI: Observações, Medições, Compreensão e Documentação das Mudanças Ambientais das Américas. https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/First_10years_IAI_book_pt.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Os Dez Primeiros Anos do IAI: Observações, Medições, Compreensão e Documentação das Mudanças Ambientais das Américas. 2004. https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/First_10years_IAI_book_pt.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Os Dez Primeiros Anos do IAI: Observações, Medições, Compreensão e Documentação das Mudanças Ambientais das Américas |date=June 2004 |url=https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/First_10years_IAI_book_pt.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2004dez, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Os Dez Primeiros Anos do IAI: Observações, Medições, Compreensão e Documentação das Mudanças Ambientais das Américas}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2004}, month = jun, url = {https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/First_10years_IAI_book_pt.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }