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The report details a showcase event hosted by GreenCape to connect South African brand owners and retailers with packaging manufacturers offering recyclable alternatives to problematic flexible plastics, specifically targeting polypropylene (PP) and multilayer multi-polymer packaging. While mono-material polyethylene alternatives are identified as viable, the report highlights significant barriers to adoption, including a lack of local demand to justify dedicated production lines, high costs of upgrading filling lines, and a need for operator training. These challenges hinder the progress toward the South African Plastics Pact's 2025 targets, including the goal for 100% of plastic packaging to be reusable, recyclable, or compostable.

The white paper proposes using cleantech clusters—groups of co-located firms and institutions—to overcome the slow adoption of climate solutions in developing countries. It advocates for the creation of independent, non-profit cluster agencies to coordinate ecosystems, attract investment, and create jobs, citing the success of organizations like GreenCape and Clean in South Africa, Denmark, Brazil, and Colombia.

The IAI will support the Belmont Forum's Pathways to Sustainability CRA through network building, capacity building in transdisciplinary approaches, and coordination of in-kind resources from its 19 member Parties in the Americas, despite providing no direct funding for this phase.

The document argues that traditional vector control is insufficient and advocates for a transdisciplinary approach that combines climate science with community co-creation to anticipate outbreaks and improve the sustainability of prevention policies in vulnerable urban areas.

The report addresses the disconnect between scientific research and policy implementation regarding biodiversity conservation in the Andean region. It argues that the primary obstacle is not a lack of data, but a failure in communication and the translation of complex science into actionable knowledge. The authors propose a six-stage knowledge management process to develop indicators that are technically valid yet simple and useful for both technical advisors and political decision-makers, supporting both proactive planning and reactive crisis management.

The report identifies critical gaps in the management of climate and biodiversity information in the Andean region, noting that data is often too technical, fragmented, or inaccessible for policymakers. It emphasizes the need to integrate traditional local knowledge with scientific data and proposes the implementation of National Environmental Information Systems to bridge the gap between long-term scientific research and immediate political needs. Using Colombia's SIAC as an example, the authors suggest that framing biodiversity conservation through the lens of ecosystem services and social stability is more effective for securing political support and sustainable development.

The report argues that climate change adaptation in the Tropical Andes requires a shift from fragmented, traditional science to a holistic, interdisciplinary approach that integrates natural and social sciences with traditional knowledge. It identifies key barriers, such as the disconnect between scientists and policymakers, fragmented information, and a lack of institutional support for interdisciplinary work. The document highlights national examples from Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, emphasizing the need for government-led funding strategies that prioritize transdisciplinary research to ensure the sustainability of natural resources and human well-being.

The report examines the challenges of fragmented public policies in Latin America and proposes the Ecosystem Approach—a holistic strategy from the Convention on Biological Diversity—as a framework for integrating biodiversity conservation and climate adaptation. It emphasizes the role of territorial planning (Ordenamiento Territorial) and Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) in building resilience, using the Integrated National Adaptation Project (INAP) in Colombia's Chingaza Massif as a practical example of bottom-up implementation.

The report argues that while biodiversity information exists across the Andean countries, it is often inaccessible or poorly standardized for policy use. It highlights the leadership of Colombia and Peru in implementing federated information systems and notes that a significant amount of regional biodiversity data is held in institutions outside the countries of origin. The author identifies critical gaps in functional and relational data—such as the impact of climate change on health and economy—and proposes a regional framework for metadata cataloging, data standardization, and the creation of strategic information products to support decision-making.

The document is an action list from the Seventeenth Meeting of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) Executive Council (EC), held on June 02-03, 2003, in Boulder, USA. It details administrative decisions, the formation of committees, and recommendations to be forwarded to the Conference of Parties (CoP).

The IAI is implementing a policy to mainstream gender, equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in research funding and working environments. Key activities include providing scholarships for early-career professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean, integrating EDI into science diplomacy training, and supporting projects like 'Women as Guardians of Biodiversity and Climate Resilience in Andean Peatlands'. The IAI's framework has also served as the basis for the Belmont Forum's own DEIA policy development.

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 document examines the diverse impacts of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean, highlighting vulnerabilities in rural communities, women, education, and public health. It discusses the role of ocean warming in collapsing fisheries, the link between deforestation and zoonotic diseases, and the necessity of shifting from technocratic to participatory water governance. The report emphasizes the 'Anthropocene' as a geological era driven by human activity and argues for a transdisciplinary approach to science that integrates local and indigenous knowledge to create effective public policies.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) and the Belmont Forum are coordinating the Collaborative Research Action (CRA) on Climate, Environment and Health (CEH). The first round of CEH funding, launched in 2019, provided over 12 million euros and in-kind contributions from 13 funding agencies across 10 countries to support 9 projects involving 69 researchers from 20 countries. A second round of funding (CEH2) is currently being developed through a scoping process involving virtual workshops in the Americas from July to September 2021 to identify science and funding priorities.

The document details the implementation of twelve CRN II projects focused on environmental change, biodiversity, and climate risks across the Americas. Key activities include the establishment of research sites in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina, the development of geospatial databases for Caribbean coastal scenarios, and the analysis of tropical cyclones and paleotempestology. The IAI Directorate emphasizes interdisciplinary cooperation, such as linking biodiversity projects and integrating fishery information systems to improve policy relevance.

The IAI's 2015-2016 plan focuses on institutional restructuring across Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay, the implementation of integrated science projects, and various capacity-building workshops in Colombia and Panama. Key initiatives include a new call for grants on ecosystem services and adaptation, and the development of professional seminars on global environmental change and health.

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 report details the Executive Council's actions regarding a declaration on climate adaptation for COP-20, the establishment and initial activities of the Science and Policy Advisory Committee (SPAC), and efforts to improve scientific connectivity and funding for global change research.

The IAI is implementing its tripartite governance structure, with an operational office in Montevideo supported by the Uruguayan government and a newly hired director for the Science-Policy liaison office in Buenos Aires. In Brazil, staff are finalizing the closure of banking and taxation links and working with the government to refine a Host Country Agreement for the Science Development Office.