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Report on Science Program
The 2011 Report on Science Program by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) details the achievements of four scientific programs between May 2010 and April 2011. These include the Second Collaborative Research Network (CRNII), the Small Grants Program for the Human Dimensions (SGP-HD), and a project on land use and biofuels in the La Plata Basin. The report emphasizes the integration of social and economic research into natural science to bridge the science-policy divide, highlighting impacts on urban pollution management, forest conservation, and agricultural risk reduction across the Americas.
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Document type: Report
jatropha: money doesn’t grow on trees
This report by Friends of the Earth International argues that Jatropha is neither a profitable nor a sustainable investment for biofuel production. It challenges the 'miracle crop' narrative, providing evidence that the plant requires significant inputs to be viable, often competes with food production, and leads to the displacement of local communities and the destruction of biodiversity.
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Document type: Report
jatropha: money doesn’t grow on trees
This executive summary by Friends of the Earth International argues that large-scale jatropha plantations are neither economically viable nor sustainable, contradicting claims by investment companies that the crop is a solution for the energy crisis, climate change, and poverty.
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Document type: Executive summary
la trampa de la jatrofa
This report by Friends of the Earth International evaluates the production of jatropha for biofuels in Mozambique, concluding that the industry is based on false premises regarding the crop's suitability for marginal lands and its impact on food security. The study finds that jatropha often displaces food crops, requires significant water and nutrients, and is highly susceptible to pests, posing risks to both small-scale farmers and the environment.
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Document type: Report
Annual Program (July 2010 – June 2011)
The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) outlines its activities plan for July 2010 to June 2011, focusing on training institutes, science programs, and a specific MacArthur project regarding Andean biodiversity.
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Document type: Briefing
DIVERSUS: Functional biodiversity effects on ecosystem processes, ecosystem services and sustainability in the Americas: an interdisciplinary approach (CRN2015)
The DIVERSUS Collaborative Research Network is developing an interdisciplinary framework to analyze how land cover change (LCC) affects functional biodiversity, ecosystem properties, and the resulting ecosystem services that support human livelihoods across diverse environments from the tropics to the tundra.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Land use change in the Rio de la Plata Basin: linking biophysical and human factors to predict trends, assess impacts, and support viable land use strategies for the future
This fact sheet describes a research project focused on the Rio de la Plata Basin, examining the drivers and consequences of land use change, specifically the trade-offs between food and biofuel production and the maintenance of ecosystem services.
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Document type: Fact sheet
Failing governance - Avoiding responsibilities
This report by Friends of the Earth Netherlands and WALHI KalBar examines how European biofuel policies and the resulting demand for palm oil have driven unsustainable plantation expansion in the Ketapang District of West Kalimantan, Indonesia. It details systemic failures in governance, including the issuance of 'fast track' permits that bypass environmental and social safeguards, leading to illegal deforestation, carbon emissions, and severe land conflicts with indigenous communities.
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Document type: Report
Minutes of the Twenty-Sixth Meeting of the IAI Executive Council (EC)
The document contains the minutes of the Twenty-Sixth Meeting of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Executive Council (EC), held on June 17-18, 2008, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The meeting focused on science program updates, financial reporting, strategic planning for the next decade, and administrative challenges regarding the Host Country Agreement with Brazil.
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Document type: Report
Inglés Soporte
This report by Friends of the Earth International criticizes the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for financing large-scale, export-oriented agrofuel projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. The document argues that these projects exacerbate social and environmental inequities, threaten biodiversity, and may increase greenhouse gas emissions due to land-use changes, rather than serving as a viable climate solution.
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Document type: Report
Leçons d’activisme citoyen en Ouganda : Sauver la forêt de Mabira
This research paper by Bashir Twesigye analyzes the 2006 citizen-led campaign to prevent the Ugandan government from granting 7,100 hectares of the Mabira Central Forest Reserve to the Mehta Group for sugarcane production. The author examines how environmental activism served as a vehicle for broader governance and accountability demands, leveraging Uganda's 1995 Constitution and the National Environment Act to successfully halt the land transfer.
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Document type: Research paper
BIOFUELS SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA
This report, commissioned by the European Parliament, evaluates sustainability criteria for the proposed EU Directive on renewable energy, specifically focusing on liquid biofuels. It analyzes the potential for biofuel production globally and within Europe, the impacts of land-use change on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the feasibility of using degraded lands for energy crops. The document provides technical critiques of GHG accounting methodologies and suggests harmonizing EU standards with international frameworks like the IPCC and UNFCCC to ensure environmental integrity and global equity.
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Document type: Report
Declaración de la Federación de Amigos de la Tierra Internacional
The International Federation of Friends of the Earth rejects the Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS), arguing that its certification process provides a 'greenwash' for multinational corporations and agribusinesses while ignoring the systemic social and environmental damage caused by industrial soy monocultures.
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Document type: Statement
Losing Ground
Losing Ground is a 2008 report by Friends of the Earth, LifeMosaic, and Sawit Watch detailing the human rights violations associated with the expansion of oil palm plantations in Indonesia. The report argues that the industry's growth, driven in part by European biofuel targets, leads to widespread land dispossession, environmental degradation, and the erosion of indigenous cultures.
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Document type: Report
Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Bio-diesel Sector of the Lao PDR
This report examines the environmental and social implications of trade liberalization within the bio-diesel sector of Lao PDR, highlighting the tension between energy security goals and potential ecological degradation.
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Document type: Report
Environmental Impacts of Trade Liberalization in the Wood and Wood Products Sector of the Lao PDR
This research paper examines the environmental impacts of trade liberalization on the wood and wood products sector in the Lao PDR. It analyzes how regional demand, particularly from China, and integration into trade agreements like ASEAN and AFTA influence forest decline, biodiversity loss, and the transition from low-value raw log exports to high-value processed wood products.
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Document type: Research paper
Minutes of the Twenty-Fourth Meeting of the IAI Executive Council (EC)
The minutes of the Twenty-Fourth Meeting of the IAI Executive Council (EC), held in Manaus, Brazil, from June 12-15, 2007, detail the administrative, financial, and scientific progress of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. Key discussions focused on the transition of research networks, the implementation of a new strategic planning process, and efforts to improve member country engagement and funding stability.
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Document type: Report
Los Diez Primeros Años del IAI: Observaciones, Mediciones, Comprensión y Documentación de los Cambios Ambientales en las Américas
This report documents the first decade of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), from its establishment in 1992 to 2002. It outlines the institute's institutional development, the evolution of its scientific agenda, and the implementation of various grant programs and research networks designed to understand environmental changes across the Americas.
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Document type: Report
Report of the Fifteenth Meeting of the IAI Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC)
The report details the fifteenth meeting of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC), held in May 2001. The committee focused on filling SAC vacancies, reviewing the progress of Collaborative Research Network (CRN) projects, planning a Human Dimension (HD) open science meeting, and discussing the development of a standard reporting system for researchers.
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Document type: Report
5-f4c76b48d4628256.pdf
This report identifies and maps National Strategic Water Source Areas (SWSAs) across South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland, defining them as areas that supply a disproportionate amount of mean annual runoff relative to their land area. The document evaluates the ecological condition, protection levels, and threats to these areas—including land cover modification and mining—while also providing an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) for the proposed Yzermyn Underground Coal Mine in Mpumalanga.
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Document type: Report