19 April 2017

IIASA and Brazil

IIASA Director General and CEO Professor Dr. Pavel Kabat led an official delegation visit to Brasília and São Paulo, Brazil from the 19-25 April 2017 to attend a number of high-level meetings and enhance research collaborations with Brazil. 

Brasília Cathedral and City © Gateway Brazil

Brasília Cathedral and City © Gateway Brazil

The IIASA delegation also participated in the workshop “The Importance of Systems Analysis for Finding Solutions to the Global Challenges Brazil Faces” which was co-organized with IIASA National Member Organization, the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES).

Research collaborations between Brazil and IIASA have intensified since Brazil became a member of IIASA in 2011. 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 energy: Ranging from long-term energy planning, to learning from Brazil’s leadership in the use of ethanol fuel, to advancing understanding of the complex global energy system and its multiple connections with Brazil’s economy, environment, and society. 

Michael Obersteiner, Program Director, Ecosystems Services Management; and Iain Stewart, Head of External Relations Communications and Library and IIASA Secretary for National Member Organizations accompanied Kabat on the visit.


The Importance of Systems Analysis for Finding Solutions to the Global Challenges Brazil Faces - Tuesday 25 April 2017

Co-organized by the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES) and IIASA, the workshop showed the value for Brazil of developing the research base for systems analysis in Brazil and applying system system analytical expertise to find solutions to the global challenges that the country faces.

Many of the most serious problems that confront humanity—including sustainable development, climate change, ecosystem restoration, and sustainable energy—are complex and interconnected. A country’s national interests are tightly connected to these complex global systems. Resolving such challenges requires an understanding not only of the detailed components of each element (disciplinary research) but also their dynamic and interconnecting elements (integrated multidisciplinary research). Systems analysis is one of the few research tools that have both the breadth and depth to truly understand global change, and only through this understanding can a country navigate smart pathways through these global challenges and avoid being simply swept along by them.

Collaborating with IIASA provides a mechanism to enhance Brazilian researchers’ capabilities in systems analysis by leveraging on IIASA expertise in this field as well as providing access to global knowledge and an international network. For Brazilian policymakers, cooperation with IIASA brings an international perspective and systems thinking to identify long-lasting solutions to global challenges and alytical expertise to find solutions to the global challenges that Brazil faces.



Presentations

High Level Meetings

The visit also included a meeting with the Brazilian National Committee for IIASA and a number of high-level meetings with Brazilian stake-holders and organizations that play key roles in the growing collaborations between IIASA and Brazil, as noted below:

  • Abilio Alfonso Baeta Neves, President, Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES)
  • Alvaro Prata, Secretary for Technology and Innovation, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI)
  • Maurício Lopes, President, Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa)
  • Jose Goldemberg, President, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
  • Carlos Henrique de Brito Cruz, Scientific Director, São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
  • Marcello Enrique Seluchi, General Coordinator of Research and Development, National Center for Natural Disaster Monitoring and Alarms (Cemaden)
  • Ricardo Magnus Osorio Galvao, Director, National Institute for Space Research (INPE)
  • Representative from the National Institute for Amazonian Research (INPA)

    Photo Gallery
17.04 IIASA and Brazil

IIASA and Brazil

IIASA is working with Brazilian agencies to build capacity in systems approaches to national and international policy issues, including support for Brazilian participation in IIASA’s Young Scientists Summer Program, specialized training in model development and application, and a new partnership with Brazil’s Science Without Borders program to bring Brazilian postdoctoral scholars to IIASA. Knowledge transfer between Brazil and IIASA is also facilitated through multiple exchanges with Brazilian researchers working at or visiting IIASA, and IIASA researchers visiting and attending events in Brazil.

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Last edited: 26 April 2017

Info Sheet on IIASA Activities with Brazil

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