CoP_IAIDIR016-SACletter-April22

The IAI Executive Council and Directorate are requesting that member countries adopt flexible membership rules for the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) to avoid a critical lack of continuity. Due to unfilled vacancies from 2012 and the expiration of multiple terms in 2013 and 2014, the SAC faces a near-complete turnover of its 10 members. This occurs alongside structural changes, including the relocation of the IAI office to Montevideo and the opening of new offices in Buenos Aires and Brazil. The IAI suggests holding deferred elections at CoP 21, requesting exceptional informal extensions for outgoing members, and limiting future turnover to 1-3 members at a time.

• The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), which normally consists of 10 members, is currently operating with two vacancies because a November 2012 electronic vote failed to reach a quorum of registered countries.
• The SAC faces a critical lack of continuity because five membership terms are ending within a 14-month window, coinciding with the two existing vacancies from 2012.
• The instability of the SAC occurs during a period of significant organizational change for the IAI, including the relocation of its office to Montevideo, the elimination of four assistant positions and one management position, and the establishment of a science-policy liaison office in Buenos Aires and a science planning office in Brazil.
• To maintain institutional memory, the IAI proposes three measures: conducting the deferred 2012 elections at CoP 21 in June 2013, allowing some members to stay for 1 or 2 years beyond their official terms as an 'informal' membership, and limiting future turnover to between 1 and 3 members at a time.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2013). CoP_IAIDIR016-SACletter-April22. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-21-sac-continuity-renewal-s.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. CoP_IAIDIR016-SACletter-April22. 2013. https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-21-sac-continuity-renewal-s.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=CoP_IAIDIR016-SACletter-April22 |date=19 April 2013 |url=https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-21-sac-continuity-renewal-s.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2013copiaidir016sacletterapril22, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{CoP\_IAIDIR016-SACletter-April22}}, publisher = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://archive.iai.int/admin/site/sites/default/files/iai-cop-21-sac-continuity-renewal-s.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }