Scientific diplomacy for drought resilience in Latin America

Program

Droughts represent a critical challenge for Latin America, especially in the agricultural, energy, and river transport sectors. Faced with growing climate uncertainty, the IAI Science Diplomacy Center (SDC) organized a workshop with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Regional Office for the Americas, the National Council for Science and Technology of Paraguay (CONACYT), the Center for Global Change Research (CICAG), the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences (FACEN) of the National University of Asunción, and the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) – Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, to discuss and learn about existing international cooperation mechanisms to articulate key actors and generate evidence-based responses. The workshop was held at the Faculty of Exact and Natural Sciences (FACEN), National University of Asunción, Paraguay.

Concept note and workshop agenda

Side event concept note

From 26 to 28 May, scientists, public policymakers, sector representatives, and international experts gathered to strengthen regional capacities in science diplomacy and apply them to one of Latin America's most pressing challenges: managing the socioeconomic impacts of droughts. Conceived as a space for technical and policy training, the workshop focused on developing practical capacities in science diplomacy while fostering cross-sector collaboration in the agriculture, energy, and river transport sectors. Participants worked through interactive panels, real-life case studies, and collaborative working groups to jointly design practical recommendations, policy proposals, and project ideas that support climate-resilient decision-making.

Goals

This workshop aimed to promote the use of science diplomacy as a strategic tool to strengthen regional responses to drought in Latin America. Focusing on the agriculture, energy, and river transport sectors, it sought to build bridges between scientific knowledge, public policies, and sectoral priorities. Through interactive sessions and collaborative group work, the event supported the co-creation of tools and proposals to guide decision-making at the national and regional levels.

The specific objectives were:

To strengthen the technical and institutional capacities in science diplomacy of stakeholders working in climate-sensitive sectors.
To promote the use of climate services and scientific evidence to inform drought-related planning and policies.
To jointly foster collaboration among governments, researchers, and sectoral actors to design drought risk management strategies.
To support the development of practical outcomes, such as policy briefs, guidelines, and declarations, that can serve as a basis for regional and international cooperation.
To identify common challenges and opportunities for transdisciplinary research, knowledge sharing, and climate governance in the La Plata Basin and beyond.

The thematic areas addressed were:

Science diplomacy as a tool for climate resilience and international cooperation
Sectoral impacts of drought: agriculture, energy, river transport
Integration of climate services and early warning systems into public policies
Strategic communication and science-policy translation
Youth participation and innovation in environmental change monitoring

The 28 May poster session, organized in collaboration with the Paraguayan Space Agency (AEP) and Red LabOT, was dedicated to youth-led satellite data projects on drought and climate monitoring.

Workshop products

As a product of the workshop, the SDC will publish the following products:

Policy Brief

High-level document prepared by regional experts to consolidate the knowledge discussed during the workshop and side event, supported by scientific literature.

Information document

Summary of the event within the framework of CoP33, including regional perspectives, scientific-political dialogues, and proposed actions developed at the event.

Guidelines for drought management

Based on the event's discussions, guidelines will be developed for integrating climate services and science diplomacy into national and regional policy frameworks.