Informe de la Dirección Ejecutiva del IAI a la Vigésima Conferencia de las Partes, 2012

The IAI report details the conclusion of the second round of Cooperative Research Networks (CRNII) and the Small Grants Program for Human Dimensions (SGP-HD), highlighting research on land-use change in the Plata Basin and biodiversity in the tropical Andes. It outlines new NSF-funded grants for 2012-2018, various regional capacity-building workshops on climate and health, and efforts to communicate findings at UNFCCC events. The report also documents severe administrative instability in Brazil, including personnel contract irregularities and disputes with the Brazilian tax administration.

• The second round of Cooperative Research Networks (CRNII, 2005-2012) involved 180 researchers from 97 institutions across 18 countries, producing 273 peer-reviewed articles and 72 books or book chapters. The program was supported by a USD 10.324 million grant from the US National Science Foundation (NSF) and secured approximately 27.6 million in additional funds.
• Research in the Plata Basin indicates that since the 1980s, low-intensity livestock lands have been converted to industrial soy, cereal, and oilseed production. This shift, driven by market signals and increased precipitation, has led to decreased soil and vegetation carbon, increased carbon emissions, regional climate changes, and higher flood risks in the Pampa and Chaco plains.
• An analysis of the Plata Basin concluded that while sugarcane for biofuels is significant in Brazil, agricultural expansion—particularly soy—is largely independent of the biofuel sector and is instead driven by global food market demand, technological advances in herbicide-resistant genetically modified soy, and economies of scale in large estates.
• The Small Grants Program for Human Dimensions (SGP-HD, 2006-2011) demonstrated that natural science data for policy-making must consider the impact of natural conditions on society, as neither natural sciences nor human dimensions alone are sufficient to develop societal adaptation capacity to global change.
• A project funded by the MacArthur Foundation is developing a standard methodology for estimating climate change risks to biodiversity in the tropical Andes (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru). This includes using numerical models, automatic weather stations across 4,000m altitudinal gradients, and dendrochronological analysis of tree rings to estimate climate conditions over the last 200 years.
• The IAI is facing significant operational instability in Brazil, characterized by irregular personnel contracts, repeated dismissals and re-hirings of staff, and a dispute with the Brazilian tax administration. The tax authority is claiming approximately USD 300,000 in back taxes and fines for taxes the IAI asserts have already been paid.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2012). Informe de la Dirección Ejecutiva del IAI a la Vigésima Conferencia de las Partes, 2012. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-20-directorate-report-s.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Informe de la Dirección Ejecutiva del IAI a la Vigésima Conferencia de las Partes, 2012. 2012. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-20-directorate-report-s.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Informe de la Dirección Ejecutiva del IAI a la Vigésima Conferencia de las Partes, 2012 |date=2012 |url=https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-20-directorate-report-s.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2012informe, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Informe de la Dirección Ejecutiva del IAI a la Vigésima Conferencia de las Partes, 2012}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2012}, url = {https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-20-directorate-report-s.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }