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This document is a list of participants for the 31st Meeting of the Executive Council to the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, held on June 21, 2023, in Panama City and via videoconference.

The Regional Workshop on Climate, Environment, and Health, held in March 2023 in San Martín de los Andes, Argentina, focused on strengthening public institutional capacity to address environmental determinants of health (EDHs) in the Americas. The event convened nearly 100 experts from 20 countries to promote transdisciplinary and intersectoral collaboration. Key outcomes included the development of 13 seed grant proposals addressing issues such as dengue, heatwaves, and zoonoses, and the announcement of the Belmont Forum Collaborative Research Action (CRA2) funding call. The workshop also highlighted local climate and health initiatives in Neuquén Province, including GHG inventory efforts in San Martín de los Andes and vector-borne disease control in Neuquén Capital.

The document analyzes the lithium supply chain for electric vehicle (EV) batteries, highlighting a distributive injustice where the 'Lithium Triangle' (Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile) suffers environmental degradation and water scarcity while North America gains from reduced urban pollution. It argues that science diplomacy—integrating scientific evidence into transnational policy—can establish sustainability thresholds and geochemical tracing methods to ensure responsible sourcing. The authors recommend using sustainability science to define mining standards and employing lithium isotope analysis to verify the origin of materials, drawing parallels from successful agricultural supply chain policies.

The document outlines a framework for a Just Energy Transition (JET) in the Global South, specifically focusing on Latin America, the Caribbean (LAC), and Africa. It argues for a comprehensive transformation across social, economic, and environmental spheres, emphasizing the phase-out of all fossil fuels by 2040. For LAC, the brief highlights a strong dependence on extractive industries and the need for economic diversification. For Africa, it emphasizes the urgency of energy access, as 600 million people lack electricity, and warns against increasing debt through loans for transition. Both regions call for increased social participation, the protection of human rights, and the sustainable management of transition minerals. The brief concludes with specific demands for COP28, including new and additional funding from developed nations and the transfer of renewable energy technology as a public good.

The document outlines a framework for a Just Energy Transition (JET) in Latin America, the Caribbean (LAC), and Africa, emphasizing the need to move beyond fossil fuel dependence toward sustainable, community-led energy systems. It identifies shared priorities between the regions, such as social participation and economic diversification, while noting distinct challenges: LAC focuses more on financing mechanisms and existing renewable capacity, whereas Africa emphasizes social justice, energy access for 600 million people, and the legacies of colonialism. The brief calls for a full phase-out of fossil fuels by 2040, grant-based climate finance, and safeguards for the extraction of transition minerals.

This document, prepared by the IAI Directorate, presents preliminary findings from a Regional Assessment of IAI Parties' priorities regarding global change policy. The assessment utilized surveys, listening sessions, and the analysis of 86 policy documents to map the domestic and international global change policy landscape, identifying current and emerging priorities as well as barriers to integrating scientific information into decision-making.

The report details a regional assessment conducted by the IAI to map national and international global change policies and decision-making landscapes. Using surveys, listening sessions, and policy document analysis, the assessment identifies 'Climate Action' as the top current policy priority for member parties, followed by 'Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services'. It also highlights emerging priorities related to social consequences, such as human health and poverty, and identifies intersectoral collaboration gaps as a primary barrier to integrating scientific information into policy decisions.

The IAI Directorate reported progress in integrating gender and equity into scientific projects, enhancing the science-policy interface through the Science Diplomacy Center (SDC) and STeP fellowships, and implementing regional climate and health initiatives. Key achievements include the launch of a climate and health responder course for Latin America, the publication of a compendium on climate impacts in the LAC region, and the development of a drought information system for Southern South America. The Directorate also expanded its collaborative research actions with the Belmont Forum and established partnerships with organizations like the WMO and PAHO to improve climate risk assessments and early warning systems.

The IAI Executive Direction reports progress across science, capacity building, and strategic implementation between 2022 and 2023. Key achievements include the establishment of a Gender, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (GEDI) committee, the launch of the Science Diplomacy Center (SDC), and the expansion of the Science, Technology, and Policy (STeP) Fellowship program to 64 fellows from 13 countries. The IAI also advanced regional initiatives on the climate-health nexus, drought information systems in South America, and collaborative research through the Belmont Forum. Strategic partnerships were strengthened with organizations such as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to enhance climate risk assessment and science-policy interfaces in the Americas.

The STeP Fellowship Program aims to build human and institutional capacities in IAI member states to provide expert scientific advice for public policy on global change. Between 2022 and 2023, the program expanded its cohort to 64 fellows from 13 countries, providing training in science diplomacy, communication, and leadership. Key achievements include the graduation of the first cohort of 17 alumni in February 2023 and the development of science diplomacy projects covering topics such as the lithium supply chain, circular economy, and climate justice. The program is currently seeking financial support from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

The report analyzes the increasing engagement of UN human rights treaty bodies (HRTBs) with climate change, noting that in 2022, 52 percent of outputs to States included climate-related recommendations. It highlights a shift toward more specific demands regarding mitigation, the phasing out of fossil fuels, and the protection of vulnerable groups, including children, women, and Indigenous Peoples. A landmark decision by the Human Rights Committee in Billy et al. v. Australia established a State's duty to protect individuals from climate impacts and provide effective remedy. The document argues for further HRTB guidance on extraterritorial obligations and the regulation of private business actors to prevent climate-induced human rights violations.

The report examines the intersection of CIF investments and just transitions within Bolivia's water sector, highlighting how climate change and human activity are exacerbating a water crisis and the need for inclusive management practices.

The document argues that IFC and MIGA proposals fail to address the need for effective remediation of environmental and social damages and lack a human rights-based approach to responsible exit from projects.

The RECEM-Valles project is a 10-year climate adaptation initiative in Bolivia's Valles Macro-region, requesting USD 33.3 million from the GCF and USD 30 million in co-financing. It aims to benefit 81,551 direct households by transitioning from conventional agriculture to resilient agroecological systems. The project focuses on four components: implementing climate-resilient technologies (such as solar tents and anti-hail nets), modernizing on-farm irrigation to combat drought, restoring 17,510 hectares of micro-watersheds, and strengthening local governance and financial access through innovative insurance and credit products. The project is designed to align with Bolivia's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) and the Joint Mitigation and Adaptation Mechanism (JMAM).

The document examines the implications of India's discovery of 5.9 million tons of lithium in Jammu and Kashmir, arguing that while it could bolster India's energy independence and EV goals, it risks exacerbating internal communal tensions and international conflict with Pakistan. It highlights environmental threats to the Chenab River watershed and suggests that the U.S. should promote global mining governance, technological alternatives like sodium-ion batteries, and demand-reduction policies to mitigate these risks.

The Gender Action Plan for the RECEM-Valles project in Bolivia's Valles Macro-region focuses on closing gender gaps through mainstreaming and transformative actions. It targets a minimum of 30% female participation among beneficiaries and productive associations, with specific goals to empower women-led households in climate-resilient agriculture, water management, and financial access. The plan includes the recruitment of a Gender Specialist and a specialist in masculinities to promote co-responsibility in care work and dismantle patriarchy. Key targets include reducing the time women-led households spend on irrigation by 20% through improved water-harvesting systems and ensuring women's leadership in territorial consultative platforms and municipal decision-making processes.

The document is a directory of participants for the 'Taller Regional en Clima, Ambiente y Salud' (Regional Workshop on Climate, Environment, and Health) held in March 2023 in Neuquén, Argentina. It lists the institutional hosts and organizers, including the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), and the Global Consortium on Climate and Health Education (GCCHE). The text provides detailed professional profiles of the organizers, members of transdisciplinary teams from various American countries, and a list of speakers and experts specializing in climate science, public health, epidemiology, and environmental governance.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) 2022 Annual Results Report details the organization's progress across three impact areas: reducing climate risk, promoting sustainable resource use and resilient ecosystems, and improving health and well-being. Key achievements include contributing to the COP27 decision to establish a loss and damage fund, developing the Global Environmental Impacts of Consumption (GEIC) indicator adopted at COP15, and implementing water management master plans in Bolivia. The report highlights the use of digital tools like LEAP, WEAP, and Trase to inform policy in various regions, including Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Organizationally, SEI reports an increase in scientific publications, a diversification of funding sources, and the implementation of a global monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) procedure.

The author distinguishes the 'right to communication' from the 'right to information,' arguing that while the latter focuses on the flow of data, the former emphasizes reciprocal human dialogue, participation, and the collective management of media. The text traces the historical evolution of this concept from the MacBride Report and the work of Jean D’Arcy, positioning it as a tool for social change and the inclusion of marginalized groups. It highlights Latin American experiences with community media and provides a detailed examination of Bolivia's 2009 Constitution and Law 223, which legally guarantee communication rights for the general population, indigenous peoples, and persons with disabilities.

Ecuador is highly vulnerable to climate-related events, such as El Niño, but lacks an official economic quantification of loss and damage to effectively participate in international negotiations. This proposal, implemented by the Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) and the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition (MAATE), aims to create a national L&D framework. The project will focus on establishing an intersectoral working group, developing standardized methodologies for quantifying economic and non-economic losses, creating a national L&D evaluation, and building technical capacity through training and a communication strategy. The total requested amount is USD 499,952 over a 24-month period.