GoNEXUS at the Nexus Cluster Workshop

GoNEXUS’ Coordinator Manuel Pulido-Velazquez represented our GoNEXUS project at a recent Nexus Cluster Workshop entitled ‘Advancing the Nexus for Science and Policy’ hosted by the Nexus Project Cluster. The Nexus Project Cluster unites research initiatives working on the Nexus to increase the awareness and communication of the Nexus and disseminate their research findings.

Following a presentation of the COST action (European Cooperation in Science and Technology) detailing funding mechanisms for research and innovation networks, GoNEXUS had the opportunity to share the project. GoNEXUS’s goal is to develop a framework for developing and assessing innovative solutions for efficient and sustainable governance of the Water Energy Food Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus. This is in response to the challenge of the siloed management and regulation of Water, Energy, Food and the Environment despite these areas being very interlinked. To create this framework, GoNEXUS will use a series of case studies, and scenarios, which will be co-designed with experts in the field. Following this process, a series of solutions will be presented that will respond to policy changes, infrastructure, and operational measures.

The workshop also set the stage for synergies between GoNEXUS and other H2020 projects working on the WEFE nexus including, REXUS, NEXOGENESIS, HEMAC SIGMA Nexus and AWESOME  each presented their project goals and potential outcomes. These presentations revealed many connections between the different projects, notably that each of the projects will research different parts of the Danube River.

Later sessions discussed the importance of recovery and resilience plans and innovation’s crucial role in the future of the Nexus. The workshop closed with a session detailing the Nexus regional dialogues programme, which is aimed at mainstreaming and institutionalising the Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus approach in the Middle East and North Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Africa and Central Asia. Click this to read the factsheet about the programme.

GoNEXUS is pleased to be a part of the Nexus Project Cluster and looks forward to collaborating with the sister projects in the coming months.