AdaptaBrasil MCTI: national platform provides information for analyzing the impacts of climate change

- 06/10/2021

There is a consensus among scientists working on issues related to climate change that the planet is warming. The most recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) shows that the world is likely to reach or exceed 1.5°C of warming in the next two decades – sooner than previous assessments suggested. This event, of course, is not isolated. Just to give an example, carbon dioxide concentrations are above those recorded in the last two million years, the sea level has risen faster than in any century in the last three thousand years and the level of acidification in the oceans has reached the highest level of the last 26,000 years. Stopping this phenomenon and minimizing the impacts caused by it depends on the adoption of adaptation measures in this decade.

In this task force, relying on scientifically backed information that allows for the assessment of possible impacts from climate change is the first step. For this reason, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MCTI) launched the AdaptaBrasil MCTI platform, developed in partnership with the National Education and Research Network (RNP) and the National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The platform integrates information that was previously fragmented and arranged in several databases or that did not yet exist for public consultation and concentrates it in a virtual environment, where it becomes organized, updated and available.

These data make it possible to assess the risks of impact of climate change, in the present and in future scenarios in the national territory, in order to offer subsidies to decision makers from the three governmental spheres, from the municipal to the federal level, for the basis and formulation of public policies; support the production of specialized knowledge; promote greater environmental awareness of civil society; and contribute with lower investment risk for the public and private sectors. The initiative is unprecedented in Brazil and is science's contribution to adaptation actions.

The technology allows users to access data and composite indicators that express possible impacts for different strategic sectors, such as the water resources sector and energy and food security, across the entire Brazilian territory. Yes, the entire country. The platform was expanded and now covers the entire national territory, offering robust technical-scientific information for all 5,568 Brazilian municipalities. Until then, the data available for the pilot version, launched in October last year, was restricted to the Brazilian semiarid region.

Find out about the solution, accessing adaptabrasil.mcti.gov.br

 

The impact of the solution

Luiz Alberto Novaes, mais conhecido como “Mandi”

 

Far from the laboratories that study scientific data on the subject, the impact of climate issues is also perceived. Luiz Alberto Novaes, better known as “Mandi”, has lived in the countryside since he was still a boy. Passion turned into a profession and a vocation, and more than 30 years of rural production have gone by. At the age of 56, the agronomist runs the family business of planting soybeans and corn – MN Agro – in Mato Grosso do Sul, and uses his experience as a magnifying glass to closely observe the effects of climate change on his daily life. “I have lived with the production since I was a child, we also heard about the reports of our ancestors. Climatic events are cyclical: there are times when we suffer from drought, in others we suffer from excessive rainfall or an increase in temperature... In recent years, the changes have been very large”, explains Mandi.

More than realizing these impacts, according to him, it was also necessary to adapt. “The attitudes we had 30 years ago are very different from what we have today. Our production systems have evolved a lot”, he adds. As the main changes in the field between the last two and three decades, Mandi cites the adoption of direct planting and the Crop-Livestock-Forestry Integration (ILPF).

Plantio direto

Direct planting is a sowing technique, in which seed is placed in unturned soil (ie, the soil is not plowed or leveled). This measure increases soil moisture retention, which ensures greater yield in drier times; optimizes the use of the best times for planting; it avoids mineralization of nutrients in the soil and, consequently, the decrease of organic matter; and it is the most important Brazilian environmental action in compliance with the recommendations of the conference of the United Nations Organization (Eco-92) and of the Brazilian Agenda 21.

Lavoura-Pecuária-Floresta (ILPF)

The Crop-Livestock-Forestry Integration integrates different production, agricultural, livestock and forestry systems within the same area, which seeks to optimize land use, with greater productivity and diversity in production; it helps in the recovery of degraded areas, with intensification of the cycling of nutrients in the soil and guaranteeing the maintenance of biodiversity; and makes production more sustainable, environmentally and economically.

About the AdaptaBrasil MCTI platform, the producer states: “Being aware of climate issues is a very common practice for us, rural producers, thinking about the impact of our activities. This platform meets our interests so that we can minimize these effects and will be fundamental for us, offering subsidies to make better decisions in the field”.

 

Now the plataform is national

This Tuesday (10/05), during another live of the journal Bate-Papo de Ciência e Tecnologia no Dia a Dia, held by the MCTI, the minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marcos Pontes, announced three important deliveries in the area of science and climate. The expansion of the AdaptaBrasil MCTI platform, the SINAPSE MCTI and the National Inventory of greenhouse gas emissions and removals broken down by UF.

Bate-Papo de Ciência e Tecnologia no Dia a Dia

 

To detail the initiatives and explain how these actions contribute to Brazil's progress on the climate agenda, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marcos Pontes; Minister of the Environment, Joaquim Leite; Marcelo Morales, Secretary of Policy and Scientific Training (SEPEF) at the MCTI; Márcio Rojas, general coordinator of Climate Science and Sustainability (CGCL) at the MCTI; Nelson Simões, general director of the National Research Network (RNP); and Jean Pierre Ometto, senior researcher and head of the Strategic Projects division at INPE.

When the agenda was AdaptaBrasil MCTI, INPE researcher Jean Ometto defended the importance of the alliance between MCTI, INPE and RNP. “One of the central elements of this relationship is to build a bridge between science and solutions. I think the Ministry has played an important role in this context. We work at one of the ends, generating a search for best quality science so that decisions can be taken with the greatest possible foundation”.

Then, the director general of RNP complemented Jean's speech and explained the role of the social organization in the partnership. “RNP, as a research infrastructure, could not be far from such an important initiative, which the Ministry built together with INPE. At one end, the competence and methodology that the Institute brings to think and bring solutions for the country's adaptation to these climatic conditions. This represents part of this important wealth that the country has, which are its science, technology and innovation institutions, which are integrated throughout the country. So, for RNP, it is a great privilege to be part of this effort so that this platform is always available, in a safe, simple and accessible way, generating the results that our country needs”, argued Nelson.

In the live chat, several comments praised the AdaptaBrasil MCTI initiative:

Linda Murasawa

"Congratulations to all the teams, this is a platform that adds a lot, and can support the strategic planning of municipalities/states, and support decision-making in the various sectors. Very good!"

Tatiana Araújo Vieira

"Wow! Brazil leading the way! How wonderful..."

Antonia

“Congratulations to the team involved in a topic that is so necessary to be discussed and relevant to the country.”

Maria Henqueta Andrade Raymundo

"AdaptaBrasil is an exceptional work, congratulations to all the institutions and people involved"

zearteiro

"Congratulations Minister Marcos Pontes and those involved. Science and Brazil are grateful. May new times and new winds drive Brazil towards the place where it has always deserved to be, at the top of environmental management!"

Claudia Jantalia

“RNP is necessary”

Paula Packer

"Tools of extreme importance to subsidize public policies and research on mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Congratulations to those involved."

Bruno Luna

"Spectacular presentation! Congratulations Márcio Rojas and team! Dissemination of technical and scientific knowledge compiled in a didactic platform providing opportunities for assertive policies and prior decision-making"

For the Minister of the Environment, Joaquim Leite, the package of solutions presented at the event is part of an even greater movement, which unites science and the environment. “Science is the guarantee of a green future. There is nothing better than using science data to help us design public policies that can contribute to a new green economy”, he suggested. Then, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Marcos Pontes, made an appeal: “Trust in the science of Brazil, trust in the work of the Environment. We have everything to make Brazil the biggest green economy on the planet, without a doubt”.

See how the event went:

 

Solution develpment

AdaptaBrasil MCTI

 

The AdaptaBrasil MCTI platform is the result of a partnership signed between RNP, the MCTI's Secretariat for Research and Scientific Training (SEPEF) and INPE. Together, these institutions intended to develop and implement a System for Observing the Impacts of Climate Change. The development of this platform started in January 2018, using design thinking techniques and other user-centered approaches, involving communities affected and interested in the "climate change” theme, such as representatives of the federal and state government, universities, research institutes and non-governmental organizations.

Since then, the MCTI fostered and coordinated the initiative, INPE was responsible for developing the scientific methodology for building indicators for observing the impacts of climate change, while RNP implemented this methodology in an intuitive, efficient and safe computer system. The first version of the AdaptaBrasil MCTI platform was launched in October 2020, with territorial coverage limited to the semiarid region. A year later, the platform covers the national territory. The solution is constantly optimizing and evolving, with the implementation of new features and information.

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