Last week, two of our EORC members (Dr. Insa Otte and Dr. Michael Thiel) had the opportunity to visit several research institutions in Côte d’Ivoire—both in Abidjan and at the Lamto Ecological Research Station.
During this visit, they gained valuable insights into the infrastructure of our partner institutions as well as the region’s unique environmental conditions. They were particularly impressed by the facilities of the WASCAL Graduate Schools for Climate Change and Biodiversity (PhD) and Green Hydrogen (MSc). Many thanks to N’Golo Koné and Edouard Kouassi for the warm welcome and the informative tour.
Not far from there, they also had the chance to explore the infrastructure of the Centre National de Calcul de Côte d’Ivoire (CNCCI), especially its high-performance computing cluster—an outstanding facility that stands out in the region.
From a geographical perspective, the diverse urban landscapes of Abidjan, the economic capital of Côte d’Ivoire, were especially fascinating. The city ranges from ultra-modern downtown areas to informal settlements in more vulnerable locations. The challenges posed by landslides and flood risks were clearly visible.
In contrast, Lamto offered a different perspective: they learned how the transformation of savanna into forest can significantly enhance biodiversity in the region. Dr. Mike Abell Kouakou, who has been co-supervising by Michael during his PhD, provided deep insights into the biodiversity across different landscape types—forest, savanna, and plantation areas (we reported already: https://remote-sensing.org/field-visit-to-the-lamto-research-station-of-cote-divoire/).
A heartfelt thank you to our long term collaborator and friend Dr. Arona Diedhiou in Abidjan, who encouraged us to make this visit and played a key role in making it a success.
