Search Climate Insights Directory

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 document lists systemic challenges in collaborative projects, such as power asymmetries, colonial biases, and conflicting priorities, while proposing opportunities for improvement through emotional intelligence, humility toward diverse knowledge systems, and long-term trust building.

The document outlines the eligibility criteria, team composition requirements, and financial guidelines for small grants aimed at implementing Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) projects in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It emphasizes a transdisciplinary approach, requiring teams to include both university stakeholders and community members. Projects must support EbA objectives, specifically helping people adapt to climate change, utilizing biodiversity, and integrating into urban territory adaptation strategies. The grants support a project duration of 18 months, with a focus on strengthening university-community partnerships and the EPIC-N model.

The report analyzes the impact of the Green-Blue County Program on forest cover in 28 selected counties in São Paulo State, Brazil, amidst expanding sugarcane production. Using multiple and simple linear regression models, the study examines the relationship between forest cover changes and various socioeconomic, agricultural, and policy indicators. While the quantitative models showed limited statistical significance in explaining forest cover variability, the analysis suggests that 'green' certified counties generally experienced higher forest preservation and restoration compared to 'non-green' counties. The report concludes that the program's broad scope and the low weighting of forest-specific directives may limit its direct impact on vegetation cover, and suggests that more targeted policies and primary data collection are needed to better understand land use drivers.

The report examines how the expansion of commodities, forestry, and biofuels—particularly sugarcane—affects soil carbon stocks in the La Plata Basin. It highlights that converting native vegetation to agriculture generally reduces carbon stocks, though no-tillage systems can mitigate these losses. Case studies in the Brazilian Cerrado demonstrate that pre-harvest burning of sugarcane and the removal of crop residues negatively impact soil bacterial communities and mycorrhizal associations, respectively.

The report examines the ecohydrological impacts of agricultural expansion in the La Plata Basin. In the Pampas, it identifies optimal groundwater depths for corn, soybean, and wheat, and suggests that replacing pastures with annual crops increases flooding risk. In the Chaco-Espinal region, agricultural conversion has led to deep groundwater recharge, salt mobilization, and the emergence of 'new rivers'. In Paraguay, deforestation of the Atlantic Forest increased river water yield from 40% to nearly 70% of rainfall inputs. The report also argues that harvesting biomass from fire-prone dry forests for bioelectricity is more carbon-efficient than soybean biodiesel, which causes significant emissions due to land-use change.

This fact sheet from the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research details the probability of burns and forest fires in South American protected areas from August to October 2020, based on a report by Cemaden, INPE, and the Met Office Hadley Center.

The document outlines the ethical obligations of IAI proposal reviewers, specifically regarding the non-disclosure of confidential information and the identification of biasing affiliations or relationships. It provides detailed criteria for what constitutes a conflict of interest—including institutional ties, professional partnerships, and family relationships—and requires reviewers to certify their impartiality.

The document outlines the ethical obligations of IAI proposal reviewers, focusing on the prevention of conflicts of interest and the protection of confidential information. It provides detailed criteria for identifying conflicts related to institutional affiliations, personal relationships with researchers, and other associations. Reviewers must certify their compliance and are prohibited from using non-public information for personal gain or disclosing proposal contents without authorization.

The document reviews the first decade of the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), highlighting its success in establishing multinational, multidisciplinary research networks and capacity building. It identifies a gap between academic scientific output and the practical needs of policymakers, suggesting that the IAI must prioritize the synthesis of information into viable recommendations and increase the involvement of decision-makers in setting research priorities to secure more consistent government support.

The Mexican government, via the Instituto Nacional de Ecología, proposes three primary research lines for the IAI: integrated assessments of climate variability and its impacts on health, agriculture, tourism, and ecosystems; the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions in the energy and forestry sectors; and the study of co-benefits from reducing local and global emissions on human health and urban ecosystems.

The document provides a syllabus for two training sessions. Session 1 focuses on climate change risks to health systems and the sector's contribution to global warming. Session 2 focuses on vulnerability and adaptation assessments, identifying at-risk populations, and cross-sectoral collaboration to reduce health risks.

The document provides the curriculum for Sessions 3 and 4 of a Pan American course on climate-resilient health systems. Session 3 focuses on assessing vulnerability and 'climate stress testing' for health facilities, while Session 4 covers the adaptation process, including the roles of key stakeholders and the development of adaptation strategies.

The document provides the curriculum for two training sessions focused on health system decarbonization and climate resilience. Session 7 focuses on greenhouse gas emissions scopes, life-cycle analysis, and emission reduction opportunities. Session 8 focuses on defining climate-resilient, low-carbon, and carbon-neutral health systems, utilizing the WHO framework and indicators for monitoring and evaluation across key areas such as financing, workforce, and governance.

The document specifies the learning goals for 'SESSION 9: EFFECTIVELY COMMUNICATING CLIMATE CHANGE RISKS TO HEALTH', focusing on the role of communication in driving behavioral changes for adaptation and GHG mitigation, the use of audience segmentation and message tailoring, and the impact of such communications on mental health.

The workshop agenda details a three-day program from November 8 to 10, combining expert-led sessions with practical activities such as bilateral and multilateral simulations, case studies, and a class on artificial intelligence and science diplomacy.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is an intergovernmental organization serving 19 member states in the Americas. It focuses on transdisciplinary research and the science-policy interface to address global change issues. Key initiatives include a program at the nexus of health, climate, and environment, a global funding call for Amazonia and tropical forests via the Belmont Forum, and the Science, Technology, and Policy (STeP) fellowship program for early career researchers.

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 Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is an intergovernmental organization serving 19 member states in the Americas. It focuses on transdisciplinary research and the science-policy interface to address global change. Key initiatives include the health-climate-environment nexus, Amazon and tropical forest research via the Belmont Forum, and the Science, Technology and Policy (STeP) fellows program.

The Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI) is an intergovernmental organization serving 19 member states in the Americas. It focuses on transdisciplinary research and the science-policy interface to develop evidence-based solutions for global change. Key initiatives include the health-climate-environment nexus, the Belmont Forum's global funding call for the Amazon and tropical forests, and the Science, Technology and Policy (STeP) fellows program for early-career researchers.