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

The report details the first ten years of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), an organization established in 1992 to study global environmental changes across the Americas. It outlines the IAI's institutional structure, the evolution of its scientific agenda, and the implementation of various funding programs including the Initial Science Program (ISP), the Collaborative Research Network (CRN), and the Small Grants Program (SGP). The document highlights the IAI's focus on climate variability, biodiversity, land use, and human dimensions, emphasizing the creation of multinational research networks and the development of scientific capacity in member nations.

• The IAI was established on May 13, 1992, in Montevideo, Uruguay, by 11 founding countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, and the United States. By the time of the report, membership had expanded to 19 nations, adding Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Paraguay, and Venezuela.
• The IAI's mission is to enhance 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 scientific agenda evolved from seven initial themes in 1993-1994 to a restructured framework of four main themes in 1997: (I) Understanding Climate Variabilities in the Americas, (II) Comparative Studies of Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Land Use/Cover and Water Resources, (III) Changes in the Composition of the Atmosphere, Oceans and Fresh Waters, and (IV) 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 provided $3 million in funding and training in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and meteorological software to member countries.
• The Initial Science Program (ISP), spanning three phases from 1996 to 2001, invested approximately $4 million across 39 grants. This program resulted in over 150 publications and the involvement of at least 137 students, mostly producing master's theses.
• The Collaborative Research Network (CRN) program (1999-2003) invested approximately $10 million into 14 grants, involving over 170 co-investigators and 150 institutions across 16 countries to deepen the understanding of regional global change phenomena.
• The IAI developed the Data Information System (DIS) in collaboration with INPE, NSF, and WMO. Officially presented in January 2000, the internet-based system aims to disseminate scientific information and standardize data collection related to global environmental changes.
• The Program to Expand Scientific Capacity in the Americas (PESCA) supported 11 small scientific projects (grants between $15,000 and $30,000) to increase the participation of researchers from underrepresented member countries.
• The Small Grants Program (SGP) was launched in two phases starting in 2002 to catalyze new research and capacity building. SGP I provided $385,000 for 16 projects, and SGP II provided $612,701 for 22 proposals.

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} }