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The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Accreditation Panel recommends the accreditation of the Vietnam Development Bank (VDB) as a national direct access entity. VDB is approved for 'small' projects (up to US$ 50 million), medium environmental and social risk (Category B/I-2), and various fiduciary functions including on-lending and grant awards. While VDB's institutional policies and capacities generally meet GCF standards, the assessment identified gaps in its track record regarding the public disclosure of monitoring reports, grant results, and environmental and social (E&S) complaints. Consequently, accreditation is subject to specific conditions, including the formal adoption of a disclosure policy and the provision of gender assessments and E&S communication systems with its first funding proposal.

The HKH-Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs (ICE) is a competition targeting for-profit organisations in Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, and Nepal to develop scalable solutions for climate resilience, water security, and sustainable tourism. Selected winners will receive cash prizes between USD 5,000 and 25,000, alongside mentoring, leadership training, and investment mobilisation support to implement their projects over a nine-month period ending in December 2025.

The HKH-Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs (ICE) 2.0, led by the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) and ICIMOD, seeks for-profit innovations to enhance climate resilience in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. The program targets 12-15 enterprises, with a priority on youth- and women-led businesses, offering prizes between US$5,000 and $25,000 for implementation from May 1, 2026, to April 31, 2027. Selected winners receive a comprehensive support package including tailored mentoring, a Leadership Academy in Kathmandu, investment mobilisation assistance, and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) support. Eligible applicants must be legally registered in Bhutan, Nepal, India (Himalayan region), or Bangladesh (Chittagong Hill Tracts) and demonstrate a viable business model that promotes biodiversity and social equity without causing harm.

The Resilience Knowledge Coalition is a "network of networks" hosted by the Global Resilience Partnership and co-led by SouthSouthNorth and the International Centre for Climate Change and Development. It aims to ensure that the best knowledge and practice on resilience are used to shape policies and investments, particularly in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS). The coalition operates through three interrelated functions: 'Collaborate' (peer-to-peer learning and capacity building), 'Connect' (virtual knowledge-sharing platforms), and 'Apply' (measurement, incubation, and scaling support). It emphasizes a bottom-up approach, prioritizing Global South demand and expertise to avoid the top-down, donor-driven models of previous knowledge-brokering initiatives.

The RISE Urban Challenge is a competition seeking innovative, scalable solutions to build climate resilience for vulnerable populations in urban informal settlements in low- and middle-income countries. Selected winners will receive cash prizes up to US$50,000, tailored mentoring, and access to a virtual Leadership Academy to refine and scale their projects between 2025 and 2026.

The briefing outlines the systemic failures of traditional municipal service delivery in South Africa, where over 7.32 million households in approximately 4,298 informal settlements face severe constraints. It proposes Alternative Service Delivery (ASD) as a paradigm shift based on Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD), emphasizing decentralization and public-private partnerships. The document establishes a framework of technical, social, and financial 'best practice norms' to ensure sustainability and community ownership. Through case studies like Peco Power (energy), Kaloola (sanitation), Regenize (waste), and Gcwalisa (food/waste), it demonstrates how off-grid and community-led solutions can provide interim services while working toward long-term goals. It concludes by recommending a systems approach to integrate ASD into provincial planning and calling for flexible policy and funding mechanisms.

The City of Cape Town is implementing the Faure New Water Scheme (NWS) as part of a broader New Water Programme to add 300 million litres of water per day from diversified sources by 2030. The Faure NWS will utilize a multi-barrier advanced purification process to convert treated wastewater into drinking-quality water, with a planned capacity of up to 100 ML/d. The project is expected to be commissioned by 2030 and will create approximately 70 direct jobs. The document also highlights global and regional trends in water reuse, citing successful implementations in Singapore, Australia, and other South African cities like Beaufort West and Ballito.

The document argues that collective action between government, businesses, and citizens is essential to address South Africa's water availability and quality challenges. It showcases several successful water stewardship models, including nature-based solutions like invasive alien plant clearing, community-based rangeland and spring protection, and municipal water loss reduction through leak repairs and valve refurbishment. These projects are presented as cost-effective alternatives to traditional grey infrastructure, offering measurable returns in water yield, job creation, and social benefits.

The City of Cape Town (CCT) is developing a permanent 70 Mℓ/day seawater desalination plant at Paarden Eiland to enhance water supply resilience. Currently in the feasibility design phase, the project is part of the New Water Programme (NWP), which aims to add 300 million litres of water per day from diversified sources. The plant will utilize a multi-barrier process including reverse osmosis and advanced oxidation. Procurement opportunities for technologies, construction, and consumables are expected to reach the market in 2027, with the project estimated to create 30 direct jobs and 100-150 indirect construction jobs.

The course aims to strengthen public sector capacity to adapt to environmental determinants of health in the Americas. It focuses on transdisciplinary (TD) research, which integrates knowledge from multiple disciplines and stakeholders—including policy-makers and affected communities—to create solution-oriented public policies. The curriculum consists of five modules covering TD research definitions, implementation, design, teamwork management, and grant writing, supplemented by five science communication sessions. Participants are expected to dedicate 40 hours to the material and must score 70% or higher on a final 20-question quiz to receive a certificate.

The document outlines the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on water security across the Americas, highlighting increased variability in the water cycle, glacier loss in the Andes, and water scarcity in North America. It emphasizes that current adaptation practices are becoming insufficient and advocates for equitable, inclusive, and transformational policies that integrate indigenous knowledge and intersectoral coordination to reduce future risks.

The document examines the multifaceted effects of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting vulnerabilities in artisanal fisheries, rural women's livelihoods, education, and public health. It argues that traditional top-down scientific and governance models are insufficient, proposing instead 'co-production' of knowledge and participatory water and land management to build regional resilience.

The IAI Directorate Report details the organization's efforts to bridge science and policy in the Americas, focusing on biodiversity, water security, and climate adaptation. It highlights the establishment of the Science-Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), the progress of the Third Collaborative Research Network (CRN3), and the results of a MacArthur Foundation project on Andean biodiversity hotspots. The report also outlines capacity-building seminars in Panama and Uruguay, and the IAI's engagement with global entities like Future Earth and IPBES.

The IAI Executive Directorate report for the period July 2014 to May 2015 details the institute's efforts to bridge the gap between global change science and policy in the Americas. Key activities include the 'Lima 2014 Declaration on Biodiversity and Climate Change', the establishment of the Science-Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), and the management of several cooperative research networks (CRN3 and SGP-CRA). The report highlights a significant trend toward interdisciplinarity in IAI-funded research, with social sciences integration rising from 33% in CRN1 to 87% in CRN3. Additionally, the report describes a MacArthur-funded project on climate vulnerability in the tropical Andes and various capacity-building seminars across Panama, Guatemala, and other member states.

The IAI Directorate report details the closure of the SGP-CRA program, which leveraged US$ 26 million to advance research on oceanography, cyclones, and hydrology, influencing legislation in Argentina and risk reduction in the Caribbean. It also highlights the ongoing CRN3 program, which employs interdisciplinary approaches and agent-based modeling to address global change, and the initiation of CONICET-IAI projects in Argentina. The report emphasizes the importance of early-stage interdisciplinarity and the development of an Inter-American Forum for Cooperation in Global Change Research to create a multilateral funding mechanism.

The IAI has developed a comprehensive set of 24 KPIs and 38 metrics to evaluate its progress in advancing transdisciplinary science, capacity building, and organizational sustainability in the Americas. These metrics cover areas such as fundraising, open data management, and the integration of underrepresented groups in research.

The IAI has established a framework of indicators and metrics to assess progress toward its 25-year Strategic Plan (2019–2044). This framework includes 24 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and a series of leading and lagging metrics across categories such as fundraising, open data, capacity building, and science priorities. The system is designed to be reviewed every three to six years to align with the tenure of the IAI Executive Director.

The document examines the critical state of biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting threats such as 'empty forest syndrome,' gold mining in the Amazon, and the impact of global commodity trade. It emphasizes the vital role of ecosystem services—such as water regulation in Andean páramos and soil health for agriculture—and argues for a shift from an extractivist logic to an inclusive conservation model that integrates indigenous knowledge and territorial rights. The text also explores the nexus between biodiversity and human health, the potential of a sustainable blue economy, and the risks associated with the 'green extractivism' of lithium mining for the energy transition.

The document outlines the formation of the Indigenous Peoples Advisory Committee (IPAC) to integrate indigenous knowledge and perspectives into the IAI's scientific agenda and policies on global environmental change in the Americas. It details the committee's mission to advise the Conference of the Parties and Executive Directorate, the specific professional and community-based requirements for candidates, and the governance framework, including a five-member composition with staggered mandates. The text emphasizes the integration of 'Indigenous Science'—defined as a systematic body of knowledge complementing Western science—and aligns the committee's goals with the IAI's Gender, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) policy to ensure representation of women and youth.

The document outlines multiple IAI-funded research projects focusing on environmental and social vulnerabilities in the Americas. Key initiatives include the study of nitrogen cycling and wastewater treatment in Latin America, the conservation of tropical dry forests, the provision of climate services for agriculture in southeastern South America, and the assessment of freshwater ecosystem risks. Other projects examine the link between land use and malaria in the Amazon, water security in arid regions, the role of phytoplankton in carbon sequestration, the impact of transcontinental highways on zoonotic disease risk in Peru, and urban hydrological vulnerability in Mexico City.