Global change should translate into new land uses across different regions, leading to shifts in water cycles and the growing appearance of climatic disasters. As the major grain, cattle and forest reserve of the planet, the American continent plays a significant role in greenhouse gas emissions and in carbon sequestration. In this context, the proposed research question is relevant: How do American rural producers perceive and assimilate climate changes and incorporate this knowledge into their future scenarios? And also: which policies (both at the local and the regional level) will lead to improved environmental governance? The main objective of the project is to develop a methodology to evaluate local knowledge of global change and how that knowledge will be incorporated into future land use scenarios. In addition, the project aims to generate new scientific knowledge and foster capacity building, including new tools for decision making. The methodology will consist mainly of interdisciplinary workshops to build capacity for effective fieldwork. A key component of fieldwork activities will be interviews of key-informants and the application of Agent-Based Models of participative modelling for the construction of land use scenarios. The research team will consist of experienced researchers from renowned universities acting both at the local and the regional levels. They are all internationally recognized by their interdisciplinary work, especially in the social and natural sciences fields.