Activities between Brazil and IIASA expanded in 2015 with new research collaborations and capacity building activities.
Brazil map
Brazil's membership of IIASA entered its fifth year in 2015. New research projects are using the tools of systems analysis to find the smartest ways for Brazil to simultaneously reduce deforestation, increase the production of cash crops and biofuels, and intensify cattle-raising. Other projects have focused on
the links between climate policies and multiple sustainable development objectives, and
investigating whether negative emissions technologies are a viable way of tackling climate change.
IIASA is also working with Brazilian agencies to build capacity in systems approaches to national and international policy issues, including support for Brazilian participation in the IIASA Young Scientists Summer Program and Postdoctoral Fellowship Program.
The project Linking Climate and Development Policies – Leveraging International Networks and Knowledge Sharing (CD-LINKS) kicked off in September 2015. CD-LINKS aims to study the links between climate policies and multiple sustainable development objectives. more
The Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Program’s Policy and Science Interface (PSI) group has advanced research into negative emissions technologies—ways of removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere—investigating whether they are a viable way of tackling climate change. more
Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) researchers have been working to support policymakers in Brazil and the Congo Basin to identify land-use and forest conservation policies that are economically, socially, and environmentally optimal. more
Collaborative land-use modeling work between IIASA, the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), the World Wildlife Fund Indonesia, and the Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia was further developed in 2015 under the Tropical Futures Initiative (TFI). more
The Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Program’s Agro-Ecological Systems (AES) group worked to advance global and regional gridded crop modeling, investigating the impacts of future climate change and nutrient depletion. The vulnerability of crop production to climate change was a key focus for the group. more
In collaboration with the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program the Water (WAT) Program has continued to contribute to methods to enhance flood resilience. To this end, WAT has led development of the Flood Resilience System Framework (FLORES) to integrate disaster risk management and development perspectives. more
The Water (WAT) Program has developed comparative approaches for improving environmental governance of transboundary water resources along the Rio Grande/Río Bravo Basin and the Colorado River Basin, along the border between the US and Mexico. more
The Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program has developed a new method that assigns particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to emission sources at the different scales of origin. This work allowed the implications of the recent emission scandal on local air quality to be quantified. more
The Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program takes a unique systems perspective that integrates physical, social, economic, and policy aspects of air quality management. In 2015, the program introduced these aspects into numerous new policy and scientific initiatives that address the role of air quality management for improving human wellbeing and contribute to multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals. more
The project Linking Climate and Development Policies – Leveraging International Networks and Knowledge Sharing (CD-LINKS) kicked off in September 2015. CD-LINKS aims to study the links between climate policies and multiple sustainable development objectives. more
Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program researchers develop dynamic network models of ecological, economic, and social systems; in particular, financial systemic risk and cascading failures in the inter-bank lending network are studied. more
Modeling by the Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program has shown that efforts to reduce the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) precursor emissions will not deliver the expected drop in air pollution unless a reduction of agricultural ammonia (NH3) emissions is achieved. more
In view of the global climate targets that were agreed in Paris in 2015, the Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program revisited the feasibility and economics of achieving deep cuts in non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions. This analysis revealed much higher emissions from global oil production and extended shale gas extraction than previously thought. more
A new method developed by the Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program offers an unconventional perspective on the origin of harmful pollution, especially in urban areas in developing countries. The findings show that beyond vehicle emissions or household fuels, any (cost-) effective intervention strategy will need to addresses the socioeconomic complexities of a wide range of other economic sectors, not least agriculture. more
Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) researchers have been working to support policymakers in Brazil and the Congo Basin to identify land-use and forest conservation policies that are economically, socially, and environmentally optimal. more
Collaborative land-use modeling work between IIASA, the International Centre for Research in Agroforestry (ICRAF), the World Wildlife Fund Indonesia, and the Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia was further developed in 2015 under the Tropical Futures Initiative (TFI). more
Luis Gustavo Tudeschini, of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, investigated living conditions in the country, and how much energy and resultant carbon emissions it would require to improve them. more
Luciano Mendes, of the Ecosystem Services & Management and Mitigation of Greenhouse Gases and Air Pollution programs, has embarked on two projects linked to reducing agricultural pollution and optimizing resource use on farms. more
Pietro Landi of the Evolution and Ecology Program is studying the effect of the adaptive behavior of single individuals in ecosystems and societies on biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of fisheries. more
Erasmus zu Ermgassen, of the University of Cambridge, UK, used a recursive dynamic model to test different scenarios for the transition to sustainable agriculture in Mato Grosso. more
Luzma Fabiola Nava Jiménez, of the Water Program, is examining the water governance regime in river basins which cross the USA/Mexico border. The results show that in order to improve water resources sustainability and management both countries need to agree to adapt the water resource regimes. more
Yolanda Lopez Maldonado of the Ludwig-Maximilians Universität Germany, used material flow analysis to help improve water security in Yucatan, Mexico. more
The Water (WAT) Program has developed comparative approaches for improving environmental governance of transboundary water resources along the Rio Grande/Río Bravo Basin and the Colorado River Basin, along the border between the US and Mexico. more
Luis Gustavo Tudeschini, of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, investigated living conditions in the country, and how much energy and resultant carbon emissions it would require to improve them. more
Pietro Landi of the Evolution and Ecology Program is studying the effect of the adaptive behavior of single individuals in ecosystems and societies on biodiversity conservation and the sustainable management of fisheries. more
Erasmus zu Ermgassen, of the University of Cambridge, UK, used a recursive dynamic model to test different scenarios for the transition to sustainable agriculture in Mato Grosso. more
