[1] Recognizing the need to better understand the natural and social processes which drive large scale environmental change, the IAI encourages interactive exchanges between scientists and policy makers.
The goal of the IAI is to augment scientific capacity in the region and to provide information to policy makers in a useful and timely manner.
Its primary objective is to encourage research beyond the scope of national programs, by advancing comparative and focused studies based on scientific issues that are important to the region as a whole.
Thus, many environmental issues must be addressed scientifically as global or regional problems, with steps towards mitigation or alleviation taken at a national level.
Each member country participating in the IAI benefits from the enhancement of regional relationships, the establishment of new institutional arrangements, open exchange of scientific data, and information generated by the institute's research programs, and the implementation of IAI Training and Education Programs.