Summary report of activities by the IAI Directorate during the 2020-2021 intersessional period

This report details the activities of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Directorate during the 2020-2021 intersessional period. It outlines progress in science, capacity building, and science-policy interfaces, specifically highlighting the adaptation of programs to the COVID-19 pandemic and the expansion of transdisciplinary research and strategic partnerships across the Americas.

• The IAI Directorate revised its Scientific Agenda to better incorporate transdisciplinary research and human systems, incorporating specific feedback from Argentina, Canada, and Colombia.
• The IAI launched the Science, Technology and Policy (STeP) fellowship program in 2020 to foster science diplomacy and communication. The program has been implemented in two countries, with interest expressed by eight Parties and one non-Party state.
• In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the IAI established a working group that developed a concept note on the pandemic's regional impact on food and water security, poverty, equality, and human health. This led to the co-development of three 'SciTalks' with Virtual Keystone Symposia (VKS) covering topics such as zoonoses and deforestation.
• The IAI is executing two transdisciplinary projects in Jamaica and St. Lucia focused on vector-borne diseases (such as Zika, dengue, and chikungunya) and gender dynamics, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank via the University of the West Indies.
• The IAI has expanded its collaboration with the Belmont Forum, including the establishment of a steering committee with partners like PAHO, NOAA, and the Wellcome Trust to guide activities in Climate, Environment and Health (CEH).
• The IAI is supporting several transdisciplinary projects with societal impacts, including a fire monitoring platform for the triborder Amazon region (Brazil, Bolivia, Peru) and water governance improvements in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.
• To promote open science and quality publishing, the IAI published a special issue on CRN3 results in the Journal Environmental Development (vol. 38, 2021) and joined an Interacademy Partnership initiative to combat predatory academic journals.

APA

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (2021). Summary report of activities by the IAI Directorate during the 2020-2021 intersessional period. https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-cop-29-14-en.pdf

Chicago

Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Summary report of activities by the IAI Directorate during the 2020-2021 intersessional period. 2021. https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-cop-29-14-en.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |title=Summary report of activities by the IAI Directorate during the 2020-2021 intersessional period |date=11 May 2021 |url=https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-cop-29-14-en.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{interamericaninstituteforglobalchangeresearch2021summary, author = {{Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}}, title = {{Summary report of activities by the IAI Directorate during the 2020-2021 intersessional period}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://archive.iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/iai-cop-29-14-en.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }