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The document outlines the establishment and operational framework of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), a regional network designed to coordinate global change research across the Americas. It details a seven-theme science agenda, a distributed research architecture based on 'Research Consortia' and 'Research Centers', and a governance structure comprising a Conference of the Parties, an Executive Council, and a Scientific Advisory Committee. The report proposes a funding model split into Program, Project, and Core funds and provides a detailed agenda for the inaugural meeting of the Conference of the Parties to finalize the Institute's leadership and headquarters.

The CRN program established multidisciplinary international research networks to study climate variability, ecosystem functioning, and human dimensions of global change in the Americas. Key achievements include the development of high-resolution climate reconstructions using tree rings, the identification of critical soil degradation thresholds in semiarid regions, and the creation of disaster risk databases for ENSO events. The program emphasized capacity building, supporting over 600 students and producing hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, while fostering South-South and North-South scientific collaborations.

The #SeAdapta project investigates the adaptive capacity of small-scale fisheries in Latin America, specifically focusing on Yellow Clam, Spiny Lobster, and Sea Cucumber. In Uruguay, the project emphasizes the value of combining conventional science with local ecological knowledge. In Argentina, research on yellow and wedge clams shows that shell properties and population abundance are negatively impacted by El Niño and low-salinity waters. In the Galapagos Islands, the project found that while the seafood system is vulnerable to global shocks like COVID-19, small-scale fisheries are critical for food security, leading to recommendations for systemic transformation through local consumption, entrepreneurial support, technology against illegal fishing, and circular economy practices.

The document describes CRiSTAL (Community Risk Identification and Adaptation Tool), a framework developed by IUCN, IISD, SEI, and Intercooperation to analyze the links between climate threats, local livelihoods, and project activities. The tool uses a two-module process—Climate Context and Livelihoods, followed by Adaptation Planning and Management—to help project planners avoid maladaptation and enhance community resilience. It relies on a combination of scientific climate data and community consultations, with data managed via Microsoft Excel. Since its 2007 launch, it has been applied in over 20 countries, following initial field tests in Mali, Bangladesh, Tanzania, Nicaragua, and Sri Lanka.

The document describes how the CRiSTAL framework was used in Sanzara, Kapchorwa District, to analyze the impacts of climate variability on crop production. The process revealed that water stress and environmental degradation were primary challenges, leading the community to propose and implement a water gravity flow scheme from the River Sippi to adapt to prolonged dry spells. The project, supported by the IUCN and district officials, involved an environmental impact assessment and a community action plan, with implementation beginning in April 2012.

The paper examines the systemic vulnerabilities of pastoralists, who manage approximately 25 percent of the world's land area. It argues that conflict in these regions is driven by a combination of ecological shocks, the encroachment of agricultural frontiers, and the political marginalization of herding communities by state governments. Using a sustainable livelihoods framework, the authors identify threats to natural, financial, physical, human, social, and political capital. The document concludes that technical interventions alone are insufficient; sustainable peace requires integrating pastoralists into wider societal and political structures, protecting their mobility and resource access, and empowering their political representation.

The document proposes a comprehensive framework to analyze and overcome the stagnation of growth and development in Africa. It identifies key constraints—including climate, geography, weak governance, and conflict—and organizes a work programme around three linked areas: growth and resources, empowerment and culture, and governance and institutions. The framework emphasizes the need for a "big push" of mutually supporting actions, focusing on private sector-led growth, agricultural improvement, trade diversification, human development, and enhanced transparency in economic governance. It specifically highlights the vulnerability of African economic growth to climate change and the necessity of increasing concessional resources and aid effectiveness to support these goals.

The document assesses how climate variability and anthropogenic factors drive resource scarcity and conflict in Africa, focusing on the African Union's response and specific regional crises in the Lake Chad Basin, Lesotho, the Nile Basin, the Niger Delta, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya, Botswana, and Uganda.

This report provides a spatial analysis of disaster incidence in Central America and the Dominican Republic between 1950 and 2020. It identifies that hydrometeorological events, specifically floods and landslides, are the most recurrent threats, often coinciding with high-density urban areas and coastal zones. The study highlights a significant increase in recorded disasters since 1990, peaking in 2010. It further correlates disaster risk with physical variables, noting that 70.7% of records occur below 1,000 meters above sea level and that a high percentage of critical territories are located in areas with medium to high population density. The analysis also observes a decline in forest cover and an increase in pasture land from 1990 to 2018, linking these land-use changes to increased disaster vulnerability.

The report examines Ethiopia's water-poverty nexus, highlighting that while the country has significant water resources, service provision for water supply and sanitation remains among the lowest globally. It argues that poverty reduction depends on improving rural water access, expanding small-scale irrigation, and enhancing rainwater harvesting to ensure food security. The document evaluates the Government of Ethiopia's Universal Access Programme (UAP) and the challenges of meeting Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), noting a critical need for better operation and maintenance of existing infrastructure and increased private sector involvement.

The document examines the limitations of narrow definitions of community-based adaptation (CBA), asserting that local efforts cannot succeed in isolation. It highlights that communities are not homogenous entities and that the success of adaptation depends on 'enabling conditions' provided by external institutions and policies. The author argues that because vulnerability is driven by a complex mosaic of assets and social dynamics, adaptation must be circumstance-specific rather than based on universal templates.

The paper examines the 2008 food crisis and subsequent shocks to understand how vulnerable households in developing countries respond to complex crises. It argues that because household-level impacts manifest similarly regardless of the crisis's origin, there is an opportunity to develop robust, broad-spectrum policy responses.

Since 1982, Mali's Direction Nationale de la Météorologie (DNM) has implemented a government-sponsored agrometeorological project to help farmers manage climate variability. By providing weather forecasts, rainfall gauges, and 10-day bulletins via radio and television, the project has trained over 2,500 farmers to make informed decisions on sowing and input application. Evidence indicates that farmers using this information achieve higher yields and incomes compared to those relying on traditional indicators. The project's success is attributed to its multidisciplinary approach and community-level focus, though challenges remain regarding the reliability of local-scale forecasts and the needs of herding families.

The document identifies the systemic challenges of integrating climate change risks into policy, such as uncertainty, non-linear impacts, and temporal lags. It proposes a research framework for the World Resources 2010 report to identify the conditions and hurdles for creating decision-making processes that are responsive, proactive, flexible, durable, and robust. The methodology includes sectoral case studies, commissioned expert papers, and scenario exercises focusing on developing nations.

The Flood Green Guide, published by WWF International, advocates for an Integrated Flood Management (IFM) approach that prioritizes non-structural methods and combines 'soft' (nature-based) and 'hard' (engineered) structural interventions. It provides a five-stage project cycle—preliminary analysis, method identification, selection and design, operation and monitoring, and project evaluation—to help local managers reduce flood risk. The guide details various techniques, from upper watershed restoration and constructed wetlands to engineered drainage and land-use zoning, while emphasizing the importance of gender analysis, community engagement, and the specific challenges of urban flooding, such as the urban heat island effect and land subsidence.