Upcoming Events
SIXTH SEMINAR
The crucial role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in tropical forest conservation
​We are happy to invite you to the next seminar of the Tropical Forest Arena (TFA) at Litteraturhuset in Oslo (Wergelandsveien 29) on Friday, 6. December 2024, 9.00 – 12:00.
(In-person seminar )
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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:
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Gerard Imani, Professor, Université Officielle de 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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Joao Campos, Co-founder of Instituto Juruá, Brazil.
The Role of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in a Thriving Future for Amazonia.
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Leif John Fosse, Senior Adviser, Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI)
Funding for Forest Guardians. Reflections on USD 1.7 billion Glasgow Forest Tenure Pledge.
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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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Aina Grødahl, Senior Adviser, Programa Indonesia y PNG. Rainforest Foundation Norway (RFN).
The World's Third Largest Rainforest Under Threat: Policy and Financial Solutions to Support its Guardians​
More detailed information on the program and practicalities will follow before the seminar.
To attend the seminar (in person only), please register by 29th of November 2024:
​https://forms.office.com/e/4Ns7fws36v
You are very welcome to forward this to others who might be interested.
We look forward to an exciting seminar and to seeing you there!​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​
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If you have any feedback on the previous seminars or suggestions for topics or speakers for the upcoming ones, please reach out to info@tropicalforestarena.org!
Join the screening of the film "A Flaming Forest"
Hovedkvarteret at Vitenparken-Ås on October 10th, from 9:00 to 12:00.
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The Political Ecology Forum (POLLEN), together with the Interdisciplinary Conservation Network (ICN), is organizing a screening of the film A Flaming Forest, directed by Salman Javeed, Satya Ambasta, and Vivek Singh Sangwan. The film will premiere later this year at the All Living Things Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) in India. It explores the intimate relationships between the Soliga adivasis (an indigenous tribal community in India) and the forest in which they live, discussing their displacement-induced loss and their resistance to exclusionary conservation practices in the Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Tiger Reserve. This film is a culmination of a two-decade long collaboration between researchers and filmmakers. Through a long-term engagement, the film documents the story of contestation and loss - both social and ecological - and calls for an alternative vision for conservation. The film was financially supported by the Greenmentality project at LANDSAM, funded by a grant from the NFR FRIPRO TOPPFORSK programme during 2016-2021.
The screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Ian Bryceson (Professor at LANDSAM). Panellists will be:
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Nitin D. Rai (Independent Scholar and Director of Research in the production of the film)
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Aida Cuní-Sanchez (Associate Professor at LANDSAM)
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Meley Mekonen Rannestad (Researcher at MINA)
You are warmly invited to join us for the screening and discussion in Hovedkvarteret at Vitenparken on October 10th, from 9:00 to 12:00. Refreshments will be served.
We hope many of you can attend, and please feel free to share this invitation with anyone who might be interested!
It is also possible to only attend parts of the event if you cannot make it for the entire time.
Programme:
9:00 Doors open
9:15 – 9:25 Opening words from the Political Ecology Forum and the Interdisciplinary Conservation Network by Tor A. Benjaminsen and Simon Schowanek
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9:25 – 9:55 Introduction to the film by Nitin D. Rai
9:55 – 10:45 Screening of A Flaming Forest (48 mins)
10:45 – 11:00 Coffee/tea break
11:00 – 11:40 Panel discussion with Nitin Rai, Ian Bryceson, Aida Cuni-Sanchez and Meley Mekonen Rannestad
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11:40 – 11:55 Questions from the audience
11:55 – 12:00 Closing