Past events
6th of December 2024, 9.00-12.00
​​Litteraturhuset, Oslo
The crucial role of IPLCs in tropical forest conservation
Do you want to have an overview of the speakers' presentations? Check presentation here
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​​Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) safeguard tropical forests' carbon and biodiversity and the invaluable ecosystem services they provide. Representing a small portion of the world's population, these communities safeguard key biodiversity areas, effectively halting deforestation, preserving species, and maintaining ecosystem integrity. IPLC’s traditional knowledge and sustainable practices are essential for climate stability through forest carbon sequestration. Despite their essential contributions to conservation, the majority of these groups remain unsupported and underfunded, which undermines their ability to protect and sustainably use these vital resources.
This seminar aims to promote knowledge sharing and learning exchanges by exploring the role of laws, successful and unsuccessful initiatives from local and global initiatives (like REDD+), identifying issues, including the underfunding of IP & LCs, and ways to support and empower IP & LC. These topics will be covered by the following experts and engaging speakers:
Program:
9.00 - 9.10 Welcome by Prof. Aida Cuni-Sánchez from NMBU
9.10 - 9.40 Gerard Imani, Professor, Official University of Bukavu, and consultant, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
How can the perspectives of local communities around protected areas be considered to enhance conservation efforts? The case of Kahuzi-Biega National Park.
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9:40 – 10.00 Hege Ragnhildstveit, Policy Director, Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiatives (NICFI)
Funding for Forest Guardians. Reflections on USD 1.7 billion Glasgow Forest Tenure Pledge.
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10:00 - 10.20 Christina Voigt, Professor of Law, UiO; Chair IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law; Co-Chair of the Paris Agreement Implementation and Compliance Committee
The role of law in protecting rights of indigenous communities.
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10:20 - 10:50 Coffee Break
10:50 -11:10 Aina Grødahl, Senior Adviser, Indonesia and PNG program, Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN).
The World's Third Largest Rainforest Under Threat: Solutions to Support its Guardians
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11:10 - 11:30 Joao Campos-Silva, Co-founder of Instituto Juruá, Brazil.
The Role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in a Thriving Future for Amazonia.
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11:30- 11:50 Pannel discussion
11:50- 12:00 Wrap up by Aida Cuni-Sánchez
17th of September 2024, 9.00-12.15
​​Litteraturhuset, Oslo
Realizing the value of nature:
Corporate requirements and opportunities in tropical forests
Do you want to have an overview of the speakers' presentations? See them here
In facing the dual climate and nature crises, governments and voluntary standard setting bodies are rapidly introducing new regulations and mechanisms for how corporate actors need to act to reduce their negative impact on nature. This seminar reviewed corporate commitments to reducing the impact on climate and nature and the influence of new emerging regulation / guidance such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the Science-Based Targets Initiative (SBTi). It also presented different ways corporate actors can meet this guidance to go from a nature negative to nature positive business with potential beneficial impact by contributing to ending tropical deforestation and stimulating its restoration.
During the seminar, speakers presented the state of play of the voluntary carbon market and how companies can engage, elaborate on corporate strategies to avoid deforestation in investment portfolios and supply chains, and present nature positive business cases.
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Program:
9.00 - 9.05 Welcome by Prof. Aida Cuni-Sánchez from NMBU
Introduction
9.05 - 9.25 Arild Angelsen
Professor at the School of Economics and Business, NMBU.
Why and how should the private sector get involved in tropical forest conservation?
Carbon markets
9.25 - 9.50 Jon Erik Remme
SVP & Product Manager, Rystad Energy
Petter Aspestrand
Carbon Market Analyst, Rystad Energy
Corporate commitments to Net Zero and projections for the carbon markets
9.50 – 10.15 Ellen Bruzelius Backer
Policy Director for Environmental Integrity, NICFI, Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment
NICFI’s work on LEAF and private finance for tropical forest conservation
10.15 - 10.35 Julia Naime
Senior advisor, Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN)
Challenges and opportunities in the voluntary carbon market
10.35 - 11.00 Coffee Break
Regulations and investment opportunities
11.00 - 11.25 Snorre Gjerde
Lead Investment Stewardship Manager, Norges Bank Investment Management
Deforestation and nature risk – an investor viewpoint
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11.25 – 11.50 Jennicca Gordon
Senior Associate, World Business Council Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) Alliance
Buying Nature based credits. The NCS Procurement Hub
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11.50 – 12.10 Panel Discussion
12.10 – 12.15 Wrapping up (Aida Cuni-Sánchez)
://youtu.be/wMHQapJ7orE
23rd April 2024, 9.00-14.00
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Vitenparken, NMBU, Ås
16th January 2024, 9.00 - 12.00
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Litteraturhuset, Oslo
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Deforestation-free supply chains –
empty pledges or real impact?
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Programme
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9.00 - 9.05 Introduction and welcome
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9.05 - 9.45 Keynote: Deforestation-free supply chains: data, transparency and the Trase experience
Toby Gardner
Director of Trase and Senior Research Fellow at Stockholm Environment Institute
https://www.sei.org/people/toby-gardner/
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Short (12 min) presentations on key initiatives:
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9.45 - 10.05 Regulation driving change (focus on EU deforestation regulation)
Nicole Polsterer
Sustainable Consumption and Production campaigner at fern
https://www.fern.org/who-we-are/team/nicole-polsterer/ -
10.05 - 10.25 Conserving Tropical Forests through Soft Commodities - China’s Role as a Demand Side Actor
Xin Yu
project coordinator, Sustainable Food Consumption and Supply Chain at WWF China
https://cn.linkedin.com/in/xin-yu-2343148a
Steven McQueen
Senior advisor (supply chains/NICFI), WWF Norway
https://no.linkedin.com/in/steven-mcqueen-b71812192/n
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10.25 - 10.45 coffee/tea break
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10.45 - 11.05 How Grieg Seafood is working to improve its value chain
Kristina Furnes
chief communication officer, Grieg Seafood
https://no.linkedin.com/in/kristinafurnes -
11.05 - 11.25 Eliminating deforestation from investment portfolios: the experience of Storebrand
Vemund Olsen
senior analyst – sustainable investments, Storebrand Asset Management
https://no.linkedin.com/in/vemund-olsen-6638b4211
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11.25 - 11.55 Discussion (There will also be a 8-10 minutes Q&A after each presentation)
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11.55 - 12.00 Wrapping-up
If you are interested in some of the presentations slides, please get in touch via info@tropicalforestarena.org
The seminar was streamed and can be accessed through this link:
16th October 2023, 13.30 - 16.30
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Klimahuset, Oslo
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Norway`s contributions to stopping tropical deforestation:
results, lessons learned and way forward
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1) 15 years of Norway´s International Climate and Forest Initiative - results, successes and lessons learned
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Joint presentation by:
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Andreas Dahl-Jørgensen (Director of Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), Ministry of Climate and Environment)
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Dyveke Rogan (Deputy Director of Norway’s International Climate and Forest Initiative, (NICFI), Ministry of Climate and Environment)
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Hilde Dahl (Head of Section for Forest, Department for Climate and
Environment, Norad)
2) External perspectives on Norway`s engagement in tropical forests
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Presenters:
- ​Anwesha Dutta, Senior Researcher at the Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI), Bergen
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Desmond McNeill, Professor Emeritus at the Centre for Development and the Environment (SUM), University of Oslo (UiO)
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Lars Løvold, Previous Director and Special Advisor of Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN)
The presentations will be followed by a discussion and questions from the floor – led by Arild Angelsen (professor, NMBU).
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Ås, 6th June 2023
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Inauguration Seminar
- Tropical Forest Arena
Speakers and Presentations:​
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Charlotte Streck, Climate Focus: Financing tropical forest protection and restoration
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Tørris Jæger, Rainforest Foundation Norway: Making international incentives work on-the-ground in rainforest countries
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Torbjørn Haugaasen, NMBU: One forest – several forest types: Amazonian biodiversity and natural resource management
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Bård Harstad, Stanford University: Conserving forests with loans (rather than with REDD+)
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Solveig Aamodt, CICERO: Drivers and barriers to forest policy adoption and implementation in Brazil
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Richard Erskine, Equinor: Principles for creating high integrity, scalable, restoration and protection projects
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Hege Rivedal Ødegaard, Denofa: Traceability and sustainable sourcing of soy
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Bernardo dos Santos, NINA: Brazil’s Atlantic Forest biodiversity restoration in practice
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Micah Dunthorn, Natural History Museum: Protistan parasite diversity and functionality in tropical forests
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