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The Resilient Agriculture Innovations for Nature (RAIN) challenge, a partnership between the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) and Munich Re Foundation, seeks proposals from not-for-profit organizations in East Africa for nature-positive agricultural innovations. Selected winners will receive up to 50,000 USD in funding, tailored mentoring, leadership training, and connections to private investors to enhance the scalability and viability of their projects. Applications are evaluated on innovativeness, impact, equity, scalability, viability, team composition, and risk.

The document outlines nine fundamental principles of resilience science, emphasizing that resilience involves the capacity to cope, adapt, and transform rather than simply 'bouncing back'. It highlights the importance of diversity, relationship-building, agency, and the need to address power imbalances and social inequalities to ensure equitable resilience. The principles argue that investing in resilience reduces future costs and requires a continuous cycle of learning and innovation to navigate accelerating risks within planetary boundaries.

The fact sheet outlines nine core principles of resilience science, emphasizing that resilience involves the ability to cope, adapt, and transform within planetary boundaries. It argues that investing in resilience reduces future costs and requires addressing power imbalances and social inequalities to ensure equitable outcomes.

The document provides a comprehensive analysis of nature-based solutions (NBS) as a means to address urban climate challenges. It evaluates the efficacy of various NBS—such as urban wetlands, green roofs, and sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS)—in regulating temperature, managing stormwater, and improving air quality. Beyond environmental benefits, the report examines the positive impacts of urban green spaces on public health and social cohesion, while critically addressing issues of environmental justice and the risk of 'green gentrification'. It also explores the governance and financial barriers to NBS implementation, proposing a 'mainstreaming' framework to integrate these solutions into municipal planning and policy.

The IAI will support the Belmont Forum's Pathways to Sustainability CRA through network building, capacity building in transdisciplinary approaches, and coordination of in-kind resources from its 19 member Parties in the Americas, despite providing no direct funding for this phase.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) and the Brazilian Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (BPBES) have entered into a two-year Letter of Agreement to collaborate on global environmental change policies. The primary initiative is the integration of the BPBES Voluntary Young Researcher Program (VYRP) with the IAI Science, Technology and Policy (STeP) Fellowship program. Under this arrangement, BPBES will support up to four fellows every 12 months for two years, while IAI provides professional development training in leadership, communication, and science diplomacy for early-career researchers in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The IAI Directorate Report covers the period from July 2016 to May 2017, focusing on the implementation of transdisciplinary research and capacity building across the Americas. Key activities include the management of the Third Collaborative Research Network (CRN3), the development of Professional Development Seminars (PDS), and the establishment of a Science-Policy Liaison Directorate (SPLD) to bridge the gap between scientific findings and governmental decision-making. The report also highlights IAI's engagement with international conventions such as the UNFCCC and CBD, and the launch of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on climate change impacts in Latin America.

The IAI report covers its progress in transdisciplinary research, the implementation of the Third Cooperative Research Networks (CRN3) program, and the development of professional seminars to bridge the gap between science and policy in the Americas. Key achievements include the launch of a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on climate change impacts in Latin America and the establishment of a science-policy liaison office in Buenos Aires to systematize the impact of IAI research on regional governance.

The report identifies critical gaps in the management of climate and biodiversity information in the Andean region, noting that data is often too technical, fragmented, or inaccessible for policymakers. It emphasizes the need to integrate traditional local knowledge with scientific data and proposes the implementation of National Environmental Information Systems to bridge the gap between long-term scientific research and immediate political needs. Using Colombia's SIAC as an example, the authors suggest that framing biodiversity conservation through the lens of ecosystem services and social stability is more effective for securing political support and sustainable development.

The report argues that climate change adaptation in the Tropical Andes requires a shift from fragmented, traditional science to a holistic, interdisciplinary approach that integrates natural and social sciences with traditional knowledge. It identifies key barriers, such as the disconnect between scientists and policymakers, fragmented information, and a lack of institutional support for interdisciplinary work. The document highlights national examples from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, emphasizing the need for government-led funding strategies that prioritize transdisciplinary research to ensure the sustainability of natural resources and human well-being.

The report examines the challenges of fragmented public policies in Latin America and proposes the Ecosystem Approach—a holistic strategy from the Convention on Biological Diversity—as a framework for integrating biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation. It emphasizes the role of territorial planning (Ordenamiento Territorial) and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in building resilience, using the Integrated National Adaptation Project (INAP) in Colombia's Chingaza Massif as a practical example of bottom-up implementation.

The report argues that while biodiversity information exists across the Andean countries, it is often inaccessible or poorly standardized for policy use. It highlights the leadership of Colombia and Peru in implementing federated information systems and notes that a significant amount of regional biodiversity data is held in institutions outside the countries of origin. The author identifies critical gaps in functional and relational data—such as the impact of climate change on health and economy—and proposes a regional framework for metadata cataloging, data standardization, and the creation of strategic information products to support decision-making.

The Science Diplomacy Center (SDC) is a regional initiative established by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) to foster collaboration between scientists and policymakers across the Americas. Its primary goal is to provide government officials and experts with robust scientific information to address complex, transboundary challenges related to global change, including climate change, biodiversity, and water resources. The SDC aims to act as a regional resource for capacity building, research, and the exchange of best practices in science diplomacy. Its strategic objectives include developing a science diplomacy knowledge center, creating training curricula for policymakers and diplomats, and convening diverse stakeholders to promote evidence-based decision-making and international cooperation.

The report examines the ecohydrological impacts of agricultural expansion in the La Plata Basin. In the Pampas, it identifies optimal groundwater depths for corn, soybean, and wheat, and suggests that replacing pastures with annual crops increases flooding risk. In the Chaco-Espinal region, agricultural conversion has led to deep groundwater recharge, salt mobilization, and the emergence of 'new rivers'. In Paraguay, deforestation of the Atlantic Forest increased river water yield from 40% to nearly 70% of rainfall inputs. The report also argues that harvesting biomass from fire-prone dry forests for bioelectricity is more carbon-efficient than soybean biodiesel, which causes significant emissions due to land-use change.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is an intergovernmental organization serving 19 member states in the Americas. It focuses on transdisciplinary research and the science-policy interface to address global change issues. Key initiatives include a program at the nexus of health, climate, and environment, a global funding call for Amazonia and tropical forests via the Belmont Forum, and the Science, Technology, and Policy (STeP) fellowship program for early career researchers.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) and the Belmont Forum are coordinating the Collaborative Research Action (CRA) on Climate, Environment and Health (CEH). The first round of CEH funding, launched in 2019, provided over 12 million euros and in-kind contributions from 13 funding agencies across 10 countries to support 9 projects involving 69 researchers from 20 countries. A second round of funding (CEH2) is currently being developed through a scoping process involving virtual workshops in the Americas from July to September 2021 to identify science and funding priorities.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is an intergovernmental organization serving 19 member states in the Americas. It focuses on transdisciplinary research and the science-policy interface to address global change. Key initiatives include the health-climate-environment nexus, Amazon and tropical forest research via the Belmont Forum, and the Science, Technology and Policy (STeP) fellows program.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is an intergovernmental organization serving 19 member states in the Americas. It focuses on transdisciplinary research and the science-policy interface to develop evidence-based solutions for global change. Key initiatives include the health-climate-environment nexus, the Belmont Forum's global funding call for the Amazon and tropical forests, and the Science, Technology and Policy (STeP) fellows program for early-career researchers.

The document details the implementation of twelve CRN II projects focused on environmental change, biodiversity, and climate risks across the Americas. Key activities include the establishment of research sites in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, the development of geospatial databases for Caribbean coastal scenarios, and the analysis of tropical cyclones and paleotempestology. The IAI Directorate emphasizes interdisciplinary cooperation, such as linking biodiversity projects and integrating fishery information systems to improve policy relevance.

The IAI, ICSU-ROLAC, and UNESCO are forming a consortium to implement research, capacity building, and outreach programs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) aligned with Future Earth themes. The partnership focuses on two primary goals: developing secure, low-carbon energy systems and integrating risk prevention and management to mitigate natural disasters. The consortium aims to strengthen interdisciplinary research involving social, applied, and natural sciences to generate policy-oriented outcomes for the region.