Cristiana Arcidiacono-Bàrsony – “Expertise alone is not enough, a good understanding of local issues is important to succeed”

Expert of the Week Cristiana Arcidiacono-Bàrsony is specialized in the field of environment and development. She has a strong knowledge about current environmental challenges, such as water management, climate change adaptation and mitigation, and conflicts and governance over natural resources.

“Solving challenges is a main driver in my life. It leads to a path of novelty and discoveries. I am privileged to work in a very interdisciplinary environment where I can use and enrich my diverse experience. If you have a challenge and you like to think out of the box, bring it to me and we will solve it together.”

She has worked as a consultant for many international organizations, like UNESCO, IAEA and CARE, and managed diverse projects.

Cristiana addresses both the research aspect and the sustainable management of environmental and development projects. For instance, these include the carbon emission modeling and the socioeconomic impact assessment of a project to support decision making, developing new measures for disaster risk reduction, increasing capacity building in rural areas, and developing new policies focused on climate change and resilience.

Cristiana says that good problem solvers are asking the right questions, keeping pace with innovation, and at the same time considering carefully current political and social dynamics.

“Expertise alone is not enough when working on an environmental project. A good understanding of local issues and a network of collaborators in various areas are important to succeed.”

Originally published 10 January 2018