Search Climate Insights Directory

The document contains the minutes and an annex from the Special Conference of the Parties (CoP) of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), held on March 9, 2017, in Panama City, Panama. The primary purpose of the session was the election of a new IAI Executive Director.

This briefing by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) examines the ecological and public health risks associated with neonicotinoid pesticides, focusing on their impact on pollinators and food security, and details regulatory responses in Ontario and by Health Canada.

The article introduces CRAFTY-Sweden, an agent-based model used to simulate the Swedish forestry sector from 2010 to 2100. Findings indicate that landowner behavior and socio-economic factors are more influential than climatic change in driving land-use change. The model predicts increased timber harvesting and a decoupling of supply and demand for forest ecosystem services.

This briefing by the International Institute for Sustainable Development explores economic and financial strategies for building climate-resilient cities, with a specific focus on Alberta, Canada. It advocates for moving beyond traditional financial accounting to 'multiple-bottom-line' approaches and the valuation of ecosystem services to prioritize cost-effective adaptation over reactive disaster response.

This fact sheet from the World Resources Institute outlines four primary revenue streams for investors in land restoration: wood, non-wood forest products, crops and livestock, and tourism, while noting the emergence of markets for ecosystem services.

This working paper by the Climate Policy Initiative, supported by PILAR and UNPAR, proposes a framework for district-level natural capital assessment in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. It argues that current land valuations underestimate the true value of ecosystem services and are hindered by inconsistent government regulations and data gaps. The paper recommends a pilot assessment in Kotawaringin Timur due to its high concentration of palm oil infrastructure and critical high conservation value areas.

This CPI working paper proposes a design for natural resource valuation at the district level in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. It argues that current land valuation fails to account for critical ecosystem services like carbon storage and water provision, leading to suboptimal land-use decisions. The paper identifies Kotawaringin Timur as a priority area for a comprehensive valuation study due to its high deforestation rates, significant concentration of palm oil infrastructure, and the presence of extensive High Conservation Value (HCV) areas that are currently under-protected.

This policy briefing describes the 2016 World Conservation Congress (WCC) convened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Honolulu, Hawai’i. It outlines the congress's role in shaping the global conservation agenda through a motions process, its alignment with 2015 global sustainability frameworks, and the specific strategic interests and challenges facing African and South African member organisations.

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) expresses qualified support for the Canadian Federal Government's decision to stop granting new conditional registrations for pesticide products as of June 1, 2016. While supporting the move to protect human health and the environment, CAPE argues that the government must also end existing conditional registrations and address broader systemic failings within the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA).

This final report details the outcomes of the CADWAGO project (October 2012 – March 2016), an international research initiative led by the Stockholm Environment Institute. The project aimed to address global water security and climate change adaptation by promoting systemic transformations in water governance to reconcile food security, renewable energy, and ecosystem services.

The Migration and Conservation Toolkit is a guide designed to help conservation and development practitioners assess and manage the impacts of human migration on critical ecosystems, particularly in the Great Lakes region of Africa.

This report assesses the drivers and ecological impacts of human migration within the Misotshi–Kabogo ecosystem in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. It highlights the tension between increasing population pressures—driven by conflict and economic opportunity—and the need to protect a highly biodiverse, currently unprotected region. The authors recommend the formal establishment of Ngamikka National Park with a zoned resource-use system to balance conservation with local livelihood needs.

This science report from the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) details the outcomes of the Small Grants for Cooperative Research in the Americas (SGP-CRA) and the Third Cooperative Research Networks program (CRN3) between June 2015 and May 2016. It highlights the transition toward interdisciplinary research and the application of scientific findings to legislative and policy decisions across the Americas.

The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) provides a progress report to the Conference of the Parties (CoP) as of June 2015. The report emphasizes the IAI's unique interdisciplinary model combining social and natural sciences to create policy-relevant solutions, while highlighting a critical regional lack of data infrastructure and the need for better integration of social scientists from the start of research projects.

This submission to the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission advocates for a strategic, integrated whole-basin management approach for the Lake Winnipeg and Nelson River basins to address climate change, nutrient loading, and water regulation.

This case study, part of the Baltic COMPASS project, analyzes flood risk and river basin management in Kristianstad, Sweden, identifying significant barriers to adaptive river management, including a lack of cross-sectoral integration and the absence of a river basin-wide governance structure for water flows.

This research paper uses the Norrström drainage basin in Sweden as a case study to propose an interdisciplinary research approach for investigating how climate change, population growth, land use, and water use simultaneously impact biodiversity and ecosystem services.

This report by Friends of the Earth International critiques the 'financialization of nature,' arguing that redefining nature as a set of quantifiable 'ecosystem services' serves as a tool for capital markets to maximize profits and reduce industrial costs rather than protecting biodiversity.

This report by Friends of the Earth International argues that the 'financialization of nature'—the process of redefining nature as a collection of quantifiable 'ecosystem services' to be traded on capital markets—is a threat to ecological justice. The document contends that these markets, including biodiversity and carbon offsets, serve as cost-cutting tools for corporations to continue industrial destruction while undermining the rights and territories of indigenous peoples and traditional communities.

The IAI activities plan for July 2015 – June 2016 outlines institutional restructuring, research initiatives focused on ecosystem services and adaptation, and a series of capacity-building seminars and workshops across Latin America and the Caribbean.