Minutes of the Fifteenth Meeting of the IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP)

The minutes of the Fifteenth Meeting of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Conference of the Parties (CoP), held June 19-20, 2008, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, detail the institute's operational progress, financial status, and strategic planning. The meeting focused on the science-policy dialogue, the development of a new strategic plan, and the approval of the FY 2008-2009 core budget and country contributions.

• The IAI is developing a strategic plan to be completed by the end of 2009, intended to guide science and programmatic decisions for the next 5-10 years. The plan aims to transform the IAI into a "GEC knowledge broker" and will be a flexible document with periodic reviews every 2 and 5 years.
• The CoP approved the Core Budget Request for FY 2008-2009, which represents a 14.6% increase from the previous fiscal year, totaling US$ 1,163,462. This increase is partly attributed to the weakening of the US dollar against other currencies, specifically the Brazilian real.
• The IAI is implementing several science programs, including the Collaborative Research Network (CRN II) and the SGP-HD. A new CRN II project titled "The Impact of Land Use and Cover Changes on the Hydroclimate in the La Plata Basin" was launched with a budget of US$ 459,500 from April 2008 to June 2011, involving Argentina, Brazil, and the USA.
• The IAI is focusing on the La Plata Basin through multiple initiatives, including an IDRC grant (CAD 425,310) on land use, biofuels, and rural development, and a PETROBRAS-funded biodiversity assessment analyzing the impact of crop expansion on ecosystems.
• To improve the science-policy dialogue, the IAI obtained observer status at the UNFCCC in 2006 and has since participated in SBSTA sessions, including organizing a side event in June 2008 to promote intersectoral dialogue.
• The CoP amended Rule 24 to maintain a quorum of one half of members for plenary and committee sessions, stating that if the quorum is temporarily upset, "no action shall be taken until the quorum is restored."
• The CoP amended Rule 10 to require that joint invitations for the Conference of the Parties be sent by the Director and the host country no later than four months prior to the start date, including a list of key issues for discussion.
• The IAI is working to improve data management and sharing, including a partnership with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Mercury Consortium to develop metadata editors and access tools for socioeconomic data.
• The CoP elected four new members to the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC): Frank Müller Karger, Walter Baethgen, Luis Mata, and Telma Castro.
• The CoP elected nine members to the Executive Council (EC) for a two-year term: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Panama, USA, and Venezuela.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2008). Minutes of the Fifteenth Meeting of the IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP). http://iai.int/pdf/all/iai-cop-15-report-e.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Minutes of the Fifteenth Meeting of the IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP). 2008. http://iai.int/pdf/all/iai-cop-15-report-e.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Minutes of the Fifteenth Meeting of the IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP) |date=June 2008 |url=http://iai.int/pdf/all/iai-cop-15-report-e.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2008minutes, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Minutes of the Fifteenth Meeting of the IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP)}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2008}, month = jun, url = {http://iai.int/pdf/all/iai-cop-15-report-e.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }