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This briefing document from the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Directorate lists four seed projects utilizing transdisciplinary approaches to address socio-economic environmental themes through networks of scientists, policy makers, and decision makers.

The document is a contact list of government officials, researchers, and agency directors from across the Americas, including representatives from ministries of science, technology, and environment. It lists specific individuals and their contact details for countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay, while noting that official designations are still needed for Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Venezuela.

The policy brief highlights the risks of nitrogen mismanagement in Latin America, where excess fertilizer use and poor wastewater treatment threaten ecosystems and food security. It advocates for the creation of specific policy frameworks and management tools, such as threshold levels for nutrient application, to prevent soil degradation and water pollution. The brief also notes that without improved wastewater treatment, coastal nitrogen levels in South America could triple by 2050.

The project investigates governance modalities that incorporate local and traditional knowledge to improve biodiversity conservation. Using a 'decentralizing academia' approach, the team established Communities of Practice Collaborators (CCP) to foster co-learning between academics, farmers, and local knowledge keepers. The research identifies plurality, power asymmetries, and conflict as key facilitators or barriers to conservation and is producing a collaborative book featuring local voices from Colombia, Chile, and Uruguay.

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.

The project addresses gaps in local and regional biodiversity strategies by developing 'Communities of Practice Collaboratories' (CPCs) to integrate diverse knowledge systems and decentralize academia. Through case studies in four countries and a systematic literature review, the research identifies plurality, power asymmetries, and conflict as key enablers or barriers to conservation, while promoting the inclusion of local voices through a forthcoming edited book.

The STeP fellowship is a two-year professional development program for early-career scientists and policymakers in the Americas. It focuses on three training pillars—Scientific Diplomacy, Communication, and Leadership—to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and policy-making. The program fosters an Inter-American Network of fellows, mentors, and institutions to address global environmental change and sustainable development.

The ANDEX program, established in 2018 under the GEWEX and WCRP frameworks, aims to strengthen the resilience of Andean societies by improving hydroclimatic research and forecasting. The program focuses on two primary challenges: improving water security for approximately 90 million people and reducing risks from high-impact hydroclimatic events. To achieve this, ANDEX promotes regional cooperation among scientists from seven Andean countries to address issues such as glacial retreat, deforestation, and weak monitoring networks, ultimately providing evidence-based tools for decision-makers to support sustainable development.

The document outlines the objectives of ANDEX (Regional Hydroclimatic Program for the Andes), an initiative under the GEWEX and WCRP frameworks. It identifies critical threats to the Andean region, including climate change, deforestation, and land-use changes, which jeopardize the water and food security of approximately 90 million people. ANDEX aims to bridge the gap between the scientific community and operational services to improve hydro-meteorological monitoring and forecasting. The program focuses on two primary goals: improving water security for Andean populations and reducing risks from high-impact hydroclimatic events through evidence-based tools and regional cooperation.

The document outlines twelve projects (SG-CEH-01 to SG-CEH-12) focused on the climate-environment-health nexus. Key research areas include the expansion of dengue and diarrheal diseases in Peru, Argentina, Colombia, and Cuba; the impact of extreme heat on older adults and urban populations in Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Chile; and the effects of climate change on nutrition and agroecology in Bolivia and Uruguay. The projects emphasize the need for intersectoral coordination, community participation, and the integration of climate data into public health surveillance and urban planning to build resilience against climate-driven health risks.

The document details twelve transdisciplinary projects investigating how climate change exacerbates health vulnerabilities in the Americas. Key focus areas include the spread of dengue and waterborne diseases, the impact of extreme heat on urban populations, and the role of agroecology and community participation in building climate resilience. The findings emphasize that effective health adaptation requires intersectoral coordination, the integration of satellite and local data, and the inclusion of marginalized groups, such as rural women and the elderly, in policy design.

The report examines the role of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) in fostering sustainable urban development and climate resilience in the Global South. It highlights the importance of the New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda, arguing that traditional North-South cooperation is insufficient. Through various case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America, the document demonstrates how cities share knowledge on green transportation, water management, and urban planning. Key examples include Shenzhen's carbon trading, India's water resilience efforts, and Mexico City's green bonds. The report concludes that while cities are critical to the 'climate battle,' they often face institutional and financial barriers that SSTC can help overcome through peer-to-peer learning and innovative financing.

The Eleventh Meeting of the IAI Conference of the Parties (CoP), held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on June 30 and July 2, 2004, focused on administrative approvals and governance. The CoP approved the IAI Annual Program 2004/2005, the Alternative Core Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2004/2005, and the Proposed Principles regarding In-kind Contributions. It also maintained current Member Country Contributions for the 2004/2005 period and elected members for the Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) and the Executive Council (EC) for 2004-2006. Additionally, the CoP recommended the launch of a call for 'Letters of Intent' for a second round of the IAI Collaborative Research Network (CRN) program, with project implementation contingent on funding from the US National Science Foundation (NSF). Canada was selected to host the twelfth CoP meeting.

The Panama Declaration reaffirms the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) as the key regional mechanism for coordinating scientific and socio-economic research on global change in the Americas. The Conference of the Parties highlighted IAI's role in developing regional research networks, promoting interdisciplinary cooperation across Earth, marine, atmospheric, and social sciences, and enhancing technical capacities through grants and scholarships. The document emphasizes that the scientific agenda, peer review, and international collaboration should drive IAI's programs. Member states renewed their commitment to voluntary contributions and called for non-signatory states in the Americas to join the Agreement.

Cuba assesses the first decade of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), noting that while regional capacity has grown, financial resources—totaling approximately 20 million dollars—have been insufficiently distributed, with only 25% directed toward capacity building in less-resourced, more vulnerable countries. Cuba recommends that the IAI integrate more closely with National Science Programs to ensure research aligns with member countries' priorities and suggests expanding the scientific agenda to include human dimensions, education, and the specific vulnerability of island nations.

The CRN program established multidisciplinary international research networks to study climate variability, ecosystem functioning, and human dimensions of global change in the Americas. Key achievements include the development of high-resolution climate reconstructions using tree rings, the identification of critical soil degradation thresholds in semiarid regions, and the creation of disaster risk databases for ENSO events. The program emphasized capacity building, supporting over 600 students and producing hundreds of peer-reviewed publications, while fostering South-South and North-South scientific collaborations.

The IAI Directorate Report for July 2013 - June 2014 details the management of science network grants, including the Third Collaborative Research Network Program (CRN3) and the Small Grants for Collaborative Research in the Americas. It highlights interdisciplinary research on tropical dry forests, Andean biodiversity hotspots, and freshwater ecosystem risks. The report also outlines capacity-building seminars in Guatemala and Panama, the publication of a guide on urban climate responses in Latin America, and the IAI's strategic alignment with global initiatives such as Future Earth and IPBES.

The report outlines the implementation of the RLA/92/G34 project, focusing on the deployment of GIS-SPRING 2.0 and METVIEW systems, hardware upgrades for IBM RISC 6000/250 workstations across several Latin American and Caribbean countries, and the establishment of experimental internet nodes in Costa Rica and Uruguay. It also highlights the inclusion of Jamaica in the project and proposes a potential Phase II to support the creation of regional research consortia for biodiversity and climate change.

The document assesses the critical loss of biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting the 'empty forest syndrome' and the desertification of the Amazon due to gold mining. It emphasizes the vital role of ecosystem services, such as the water-regulating capacity of Andean páramos and soil organic matter for sustainable agriculture. The text argues for 'inclusive conservation' that integrates indigenous territories and traditional knowledge, noting that indigenous lands often maintain higher biodiversity. It also discusses the 'blue economy' potential of the region's marine ecosystems and the risks of 'green extractivism,' specifically how lithium mining for the global energy transition threatens Andean water resources. Finally, it examines how international trade in commodities, such as soy and leather from the Gran Chaco, drives deforestation, and advocates for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Escazú Agreement to ensure environmental justice and peace.

A comprehensive training resource featuring 17 case studies on science diplomacy in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing on environmental governance, health, space cooperation, and sustainable resource management.