Minutes of the Eighteenth IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP)

The minutes of the Eighteenth IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP), held in June 2011 in Asunción, Paraguay, detail the administrative, financial, and scientific progress of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. The meeting focused on approving the FY 2011-2012 budget, adopting a one-year Strategic Plan, and initiating the process to select a new host country for the IAI Directorate. Key scientific developments include the endorsement of a virtual Center for Water Security and reports on regional climate impacts, such as extreme La Niña events in Colombia.

• The CoP approved the Core Budget Request, the level of Country Contributions, and the Annual Program for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
• The IAI is initiating a process to relocate its Directorate, with a deadline of November 15, 2011, for countries to submit formal proposals to host the office. A special meeting to select the host country is scheduled for mid-February 2012 in the USA.
• The CoP endorsed the creation of a virtual Center for Water Security, led by the University of Arizona and the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, to serve as a resource for water security research across the continent.
• A Strategic Plan for the IAI was approved for a one-year period, with the requirement that a subsequent Implementation Plan including progress metrics be developed and that issues of gender, adaptation, and climate change be integrated into the document.
• Colombia reported extreme climate variability, specifically a La Niña event that caused floods affecting almost 90% of the country, destroying nearly 80% of the road structure, and resulting in over 500 deaths.
• The IAI's science programs, primarily funded by the US National Science Foundation (NSF), are transitioning as the CRN 2 and SGP-HD programs end. A proposal for CRN 3 has been submitted to the NSF.
• Research in the La Plata Basin (LPB) indicated that groundwater levels rising to 2-2.5 m under soybean and wheat rotations contributed to significant flooding in Argentina, reducing productive areas by 40-50% in some municipalities.
• The IAI Directorate reported significant operational challenges in Brazil, including tax bureaucracy, payroll costs, and instabilities regarding staff salaries and IT support.
• The CoP elected four new members to the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC): Jose Marengo, Walter Baethgen, Rodolfo Dirzo, and Frank Müller Karger.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2011). Minutes of the Eighteenth IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP). https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-18-report-e.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Minutes of the Eighteenth IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP). 2011. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-18-report-e.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Minutes of the Eighteenth IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP) |date=June 2011 |url=https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-18-report-e.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2011minutes, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Minutes of the Eighteenth IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP)}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2011}, month = jun, url = {https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-18-report-e.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }