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Founding organisations
The Tropical Forest Arena was initiated by three organisations from different sectors (research, NGOs, private).
There are members from each of the three organisations in the steering committee, which is responsible for the main decisions regarding the TFA.
Get to know the three founders a bit better below:
The Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) has the explicit mission of contributing to the well-being of the planet. NMBU stands out due to its interdisciplinary research and study programmes.
The Tropical Forest Arena is a joint project spanning three departments/faculties: the Department of International Environment and Development Studies (Noragric), the Faculty for Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management (MINA), and the School of Economics and Business (HH), each bringing in their own expertise and complementing each other.
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At Noragric, ongoing research projects on tropical forests include e.g. AFRIFOR- Improving tropical forest conservation in Africa (ERC grant), Uncovering the hidden role of lightning in African tropical forests, forest governance in West Africa (linked to the Sustainability Arena) and WABiLED-G-003: Building Capacity to Monitor Vegetation and Carbon Change in the Upper Guinea.
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At MINA, our tropical forest research has a focus on Amazonia and the Tropical Andes (https://tropicalecology.wixsite.com/trecol/research), but students work in a variety of places and settings across the tropics.
At HH, current tropical forest projects concerns the REDD+ initiative (as part of the Global Comparative Study on REDD+ at CIFOR), deforestation free supply chains (BEDROCK project), and impacts of mining in DRC.
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Contact:
Lea Christin Huber, TFA Coordinator, lea.christin.huber@nmbu.no
Arild Angelsen, Professor at HH, arild.angelsen@nmbu.no
Torbjørn Haugaasen, Professor at MINA, torbjorn.haugaasen@nmbu.no
Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Associate Professor at Noragric, aida.cuni-sanchez@nmbu.no
Equinor is an international energy company committed to long-term value creation in a low carbon future. Equinor's purpose is to transform natural resources into energy for people and progress for society. Equinor works to be a leading company in the energy transition and drive the green shift forward. It aims to be a net zero emissions company by 2050.
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Contact:
Richard Erskine, Head of Natural Climate Solutions – riers@equinor.com
Jesamine Bartlett, Lead Scientist, Natural Climate Solutions – jbart@equinor.com
Rainforest Foundation Norway/Regnskogfondet (RFN), founded in 1989, is one of the world’s leading organisations in the field of rights-based rainforest protection. RFN focuses on supporting indigenous peoples and traditional populations of the world’s rainforests in their efforts to protect their environment.
RFN collaborates closely with about 50 local and national environmental, indigenous, and human rights organisations in six countries in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
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Contact:
Øivind Fjeld-Solberg, Knowledge and Strategy Manager, oivind@rainforest.no