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| Instituto Nacional do Semiárido | |
|---|---|
| Name | Instituto Nacional do Semiárido |
| Native name | Instituto Nacional do Semiárido |
| Established | 2010s |
| Headquarters | Campina Grande, Paraíba |
| Fields | Agronomy; Hydrology; Climatology; Socioeconomics |
Instituto Nacional do Semiárido
The Instituto Nacional do Semiárido is a Brazilian research and policy institution based in Campina Grande, Paraíba, focused on semi-arid Northeast Region, Caatinga, drought resilience, and sustainable development for communities impacted by recurrent droughts in Brazil and climate variability. It operates at the intersection of applied agronomy, hydrology, climatology, rural sociology, and public policy, collaborating with universities, research centers, and international organizations to advance adaptation in the semi-arid zone.
Founded in the 2010s amid renewed national attention to the 2012–2016 droughts and long-standing water scarcity in the Caatinga biome, the institute emerged from partnerships among the Ministry of Science and Technology, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Embrapa, and regional state agencies in Paraíba, Pernambuco, Ceará, Rio Grande do Norte, and Alagoas. Early initiatives drew on precedents set by the Sertanejo movement and technical models from the Brazilian National Water Agency and community projects associated with Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra and Associação Brasileira de Recursos Hídricos. The institute's development paralleled institutional reforms linked to the National Plan for Water Security and international frameworks such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Millennium Development Goals before evolving alongside the Sustainable Development Goals.
The institute's stated mission aligns with national strategies like the Plano Nacional de Adaptação and regional agendas promoted by the Nordeste Innovation Network, seeking to reduce vulnerability to desertification, enhance water security through technologies such as cisterns, rainwater harvesting, and small-scale reservoir systems, and foster livelihoods tied to family farming, agroecology, and climate-resilient value chains. Objectives include supporting policymaking at the levels of the Federal government of Brazil, state secretariats in Paraíba and Ceará, and municipal councils modeled after participatory approaches championed by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and international partners like the World Bank and Food and Agriculture Organization.
Research programs integrate methods from soil science and remote sensing with participatory action research used by groups such as the Instituto Socioambiental and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. Major thematic lines include drought monitoring with tools from the Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia, watershed management informed by World Resources Institute frameworks, and seed system research linked to the Instituto Agronômico de Campinas and Embrapa Semiárido. Programs often partner with university laboratories at Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Universidade Federal do Ceará, Universidade Estadual da Paraíba, and international centers including CIMMYT, CIAT, and the International Water Management Institute. Pilot initiatives have covered agroforestry based on techniques from SETA, climate services co-designed with the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research, and socio-hydrological modelling influenced by IPCC assessment methodologies.
Outreach activities draw on extension methods practiced by Emater-PE, EMATER-PB, and community-based organizations linked to the Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens and local cooperatives. The institute offers training courses, technical assistance, and educational materials co-developed with the Universidade Estadual do Ceará and non-governmental organizations such as Fundação Joaquim Nabuco and SOS Mata Atlântica. Public engagement includes workshops for mayors associated with the National Confederation of Municipalities, teacher training aligned with curricula from the Ministry of Education (Brazil), and information campaigns coordinated with the Brazilian Red Cross and regional media outlets like Paraíba Jornal.
Governance combines academic leadership from partner universities with oversight mechanisms inspired by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico and advisory boards including representatives from state secretariats of Ceará and Paraíba, civil society organizations such as Pastoral da Terra, and international funders like the Inter-American Development Bank. Administrative arrangements reflect models used by Embrapa research units, with thematic research centers, graduate programs affiliated to CAPES, and technical units responsible for laboratory work, field stations in municipalities such as Campina Grande and Juazeiro do Norte, and monitoring nodes linked to the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research satellite data streams.
Funding sources include competitive grants from the Ministry of Science and Technology (Brazil), programmatic support from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (Brazil), project financing from the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank, and grants from philanthropic foundations such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and regional donors like the Fundação Banco do Nordeste. Academic partnerships span Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Universidade Federal de Alagoas, and international collaborations with University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, University of Wageningen, and research networks including Future Earth and Global Environment Facility projects.
The institute's work influenced state drought-response policies in Paraíba and Pernambuco, contributed evidence to Brazilian National Policy on Climate Change discussions, and supported community resilience models showcased at conferences such as the United Nations Climate Change Conference and meetings of the International Water Association. Recognitions have included collaborative awards and citations from institutions like CAPES, CNPq, and regional development agencies including the Fundação Joaquim Nabuco, while case studies have been published in journals affiliated with SciELO, Nature Climate Change, and regional proceedings of the Brazilian Society for the Advancement of Science.
Category:Research institutes in Brazil Category:Organizations based in Paraíba Category:Climate adaptation organizations