In the latest post on Future Earth’s blog, START’s Mary Thompson-Hall and Mariama Camara bring us behind the scenes of the new ProGREEN (Promoting Gains in Renewable Energy) project.
“West Africa represents a complex tapestry of connections between water, energy and food systems that cross broad temporal and spatial scales. It was this rich landscape that first sparked the idea for a nexus-focused program between START and the Research Fund of Québec (FRQ) in Francophone West Africa. As with many ideas, the vision for what could happen and the real-world mechanics of how that vision could be realized held a host of unforeseen challenges. As an advisory committee of regional and international experts was convened, and discussions between START and their West African team members and FRQ deepened, the reality of how difficult it would be to dive straight in to a program attempting to encompass all or even a concise cross section of the diverse nexus connections in the region began to sink in.”
