New research uses the experiences of vulnerable young women, transsexuals and sex workers in El Salvador to explore the security situation in the violence-stricken country.
If we want our food crops to adapt to climate change and other stresses, we need to allow more involvement from small-holder farmers in the development of our seed systems.
Tropical forest researcher, Aida Cuni-Sanchez is amongst the chosen few that is set to receive a substantial grant from the European Research Council (ERC).
Extraction Ethnographies is the result of a collaboration between the Department of International Environment and Development Studies at NMBU, and the TIK Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture at the University of Oslo. The course runs from 17 – 21 April 2023 with mandatory full attendance. Application deadline 28 February.
Located in idyllic Nordmarka, the GLOBE Summer School provides a unique environment for PhD students and early-stage postdocs to immerse in the field of International Relations. 29 May-2 June 2023. Deadline for applications: 27 January 2023.
Arild Vatn argues that economic process is integrated into the environment and fundamentally dependant on environmental dynamics. He is joined by fellow economists from NMBU and UiO to discuss how economics can be revised to be more relevant and contribute to sustainable living. Open event, 14 December.
We are heading towards 2.8 degrees of warming with the current climate measures the world has put in place, according to the UN . The measures announced this year will result in an increase of 2.4 to 2.6 degrees, way above the 1.5 degree target set in the Paris Agreement. This year's summit is a step on the road to change.
When the pandemic meant that Iselin Shaw of Tordarroch had to put fieldwork on hold, zoom interviews came to the rescue. Her analysis of how Syrians perceive the role of climate change in the country’s conflict has now been awarded NMBU's Best Master's Thesis 2021.
Join the kick-off of NMBU’s timely new research school that will delve into the controversies of low-carbon energy transition, energy prices and energy poverty. Thursday 29 September, 16:30 at Vitenparken, Ås. Streamed event.
In the midst of the energy crisis, energy experts of the future have got their own research school. As NMBU professor John Andrew McNeish says, ‘energy is a controversial issue’.
Economists such as Jørgen Randers say the richest should pay. Meanwhile, Norway's Tesla subsidies and France's green taxes that mostly affect the working class are just two examples of how our governments are failing to address inequalities in the green shift, says NMBU professor Erik Gómez-Baggethun.
Over 250 international students from 73 countries have been offered study places at NMBU this academic year, with some travelling from as far afield as Australia, Brazil and Mozambique.
The feminist capacity of crops should be considered when breeding produce for improved food security, concludes NMBU’s Ida Tarjem in fresh doctoral research.
On the 50th anniversary of the publication of Limits to Growth, co-author of the iconic report Jørgen Randers joins an expert panel to discuss its implications in the face of accelerating climate crises. 10 June in Oslo's Litteraturhuset.
Cuní-Sanchez led a ground-breaking study revealing high carbon stores and heavy deforestation in African mountain forests. The prize-winning findings were published in Nature last year.
"We have to act now to secure a liveable future for everyone on earth," says NMBU professor Siri H. Eriksen. She is one of the authors behind the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.
Tackling widespread seed insecurity among smallholder farmers is a multilevel technical and institutional challenge, according to new doctoral research by NMBU’s Teshome Hunduma Mulesa.
A global study looking at the presence of pharmaceuticals in the world’s rivers found concentrations at potentially toxic levels in more than a quarter of the locations studied.
New research school to strengthen the societal relevance of doctoral education by addressing the social and environmental controversies of transitioning to a low carbon society.
The Centre for Community-Based Policing and Post-Conflict Police Reform is a wide-reaching and interdisciplinary research/learning centre hosted by NMBU's Department of International Environment and Development Studies.
Tensions around contradictory understandings of drinking water quality can pose challenges for governance, according to doctoral research by NMBU’s Elizabeth MacAfee.
"It is fantastic that our applications have succeeded so well. It is also great to see that NMBU has such a strong focus on sustainability in all its projects," says Solve Sæbø, NMBU’s Pro-Rector for Education.
Tomohiro Harada and Magnus Merkle are NMBU observers at COP26. On the fourth day of the climate summit, they tell us what the highlights have been so far - and what is still missing.
Two of our researchers are lead authors in the forthcoming UN climate report. A third NMBU researcher helped to quality assure the previous report and a fourth is an expert on international climate negotiations. We asked them about their expectations of COP26.
Noragric students receive prestigious stipends. “These are engaged students with great initiative and lots of curiosity. They are creative in how they link international relations to the study of urban transformation”, says supervisor Kirsti Stuvøy.
Whilst we wait for the Taliban to meet international human rights standards, it would be wrong to withhold humanitarian assistance as the harsh winter draws in. Humanitarian action will build confidence on both sides whilst providing critical aid, say Karim Merchant & Ingrid Nyborg.
It is a different Afghanistan facing Taliban rule in 2021 than in 1996. Many Afghans have never experienced a Taliban regime and have unprecedented access to the outside world. Have the Taliban also reformed, as they claim?
What is it like to start studies at NMBU? Is Buddy Week as fun as it sounds? What exactly is matriculation, and do you really have to read your entire curriculum?
Today, more than 80% of refugees are hosted in developing countries resulting in competition for basic resources. More sustainable solutions are needed, concludes new doctoral research by Ingunn Bjørkhaug.
Investments in large hydroelectric plants in Colombia are contrary to green development and peace in the region, according to new research by NMBU’s Cornelia Helmcke.
New book argues that resource extraction plays a central role in defining our time and the character of our greatest existential threat - climate change. Co-written by staff and students at NMBU, including co-editor John-Andrew McNeish.
Having multiple seed systems in place can improve seed (and therefore food) security in developing countries, concludes new NMBU / Development Fund study.
This week, the researchers behind the Political Ecology Forum launched a website that will be a meeting place for students and academics interested in the political side of environmental and development issues.
On 1 February, there was a military coup in Myanmar following allegations of electoral fraud. Why did this happen and what happens next in the country? Listen to Noragric PhD Fellow Marianne Mosberg on the NMBU podcast.
A review led by the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and the University of Oxford has found that rather than reducing vulnerability to climate change, many internationally-funded adaptation projects reinforce, redistribute or create new sources of vulnerability in developing countries.
We are pleased to offer a new PhD course that explores the global contestation of renewable energy development. The course runs from the 7th - 10th June 2021.
“It’s important that the Nobel Committee does not contribute to making food a security issue”, says NMBU researcher Ola Westengen about the World Food Program’s Nobel Peace Prize in 2020.
Switching from wood and charcoal-fuelled cooking to gas may save lives, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase welfare in developing countries, says new Multiconsult/Noragric study.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norwegian Church Aid, the Development Fund, NMBU and a number of Malawian partners have entered into an agreement to strengthen the agricultural sector in Malawi.
In his doctoral research, Yonas Berhanu identified agricultural technologies that increase food production and farmers' incomes, make agriculture less vulnerable to climate change and contribute to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.
Noragric is part of an ambitious international effort to advance the capacity of Arctic communities to adapt to climate and biodiversity changes in a major new EU Horizon 2020 project.
Climate-smart agriculture, a development buzzword in recent years, is limited by gender constraints in Ethiopia with social, economic and political restrictions hampering its success, according to new doctoral research by Meseret Tsige.
1.3 billion Indians have been ordered to stay home, and public transport stopped running overnight. Millions of Indians have to walk hundreds of kilometres to get to their own homes. Researchers at NMBU now fear that the country is also facing a famine.
Due to the shortage of clean water and soap, weak healthcare systems and great poverty, many African countries are poorly equipped to deal with the rapid spread of Covid-19 across the continent.
Ian Bryceson arrived in Norway in 1982 with his 5-year old son and 20kg of luggage. On the eve of his retirement, after a long career marked by outstanding contributions to marine science in the Indian Ocean, we had a chat. Listen to it here.
Multiconsult and Noragric at NMBU's Faculty of Landscape and Society will collaborate on research and consultancy on the environmental, social and economic affects of renewable energy projects, environmental management and the management of water resources.
Peace process delegation from Mali visit NMBU to get acquainted with the university's innovative work towards combatting insecurity - particularly food shortage - in the country
The role of kindergartens in the integration of refugee children in Norway is the focus of Noragric alumnus Eric Kimathi's PhD research. How has his Masters in International Development Studies at NMBU helped him on his career path so far?
Master student Sam Davis gives us the inside scoop on NMBU's IR program, including his 12-week placement with the Norwegian Refugee Council in Nairobi and having a term paper published.
Linn Jaeckle is a Social Protection Officer with UNICEF Malawi. How did her Masters in International Development Studies, completed at NMBU's Department of International Environment and Development Studies help her career path? Read on.
Listen to Noragric PhD Fellow Paul Beaumont discuss how states strive for status, what it means to be a post-Cold War superpower and his own transition from Masters to PhD at NMBU. Episode 7 of the NMBU podcast 'Insight Out'.
Many of the big names in political ecology attended the POLLEN conference, opened by the Oslo Green Party's Lan Marie N. Berg in June 2018. With over 500 delegates from over 70 countries, the event is one of the largest in its field.
Noragric's 'Rights, Accountability and Power in Development' (RAPID) research group receives top ranking from the Research Council of Norway and the Norwegian Agency for Quality Assurance in Education.
A second phase of a Noragric project focused on improving food security in Mali was recently confirmed by Malian Minister of Foreign Affairs Tiéman Hubert Coulibaly and the Norwegian embassy in Mali.
Many of the big names in political ecology will be coming to Oslo for the POLLEN conference, 19-22 June 2018. With over 500 delegates from over 70 countries, the event is one of the largest in its field.
Noragric's Tor A. Benjaminsen and Siri Eriksen are selected to work on the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s next assessment report.
A year ago, the Colombian president was in Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize; the Colombian government promised to protect peasants, indigenous people and afro-descendants. They are not keeping that promise, writes Noragric PhD Fellow Cornelia Helmcke (also published in forskning.no).
The Young Academy of Norway has assigned 14 new members. One of them is Morten Jerven, a Professor of Development Studies at Noragric. Congratulations!
Noragric student Brenda Awuor Jimris-Rekve won the prize for Best Master’s Thesis at NMBU in 2016 for her work on the impact of terrorism on the Kenyan media.
The project aims to improve food security in Africa by integrating ways of increasing productivity for smallholder farms with innovative institutional approaches, including the use of smart phone apps and social media to communicate techniques and information.
Never before have so many people in the world been displaced, and climate change contributes to making the humanitarian crisis worse. Humanitarian aid alone can not resolve conflicts or climate problems, but it can help, say Siri Eriksen and Sigrid Nagoda in Dagsavisen.
Associate Professor John McNeish is interviewed by France 24 about the Bolivian government's choice to put natural gas and oil extraction above the protection of indigenous land.
Norway is investing up to 400 million NOK over ten years in wild plants that could increase the world's agricultural crops and improve food security. Interview with Ola Westengen in 'Bistandsaktuelt'.
The examination committee has approved Shai's PhD thesis: "Exceptional Rules: U.S. Assistance Policy in Africa" for public defence. The defence will take place October 9th!
NMBU-student Lauren Guido has been selected to be on a student innovation team researching how Orkla can become become more attractive for the new generation of consumers through sustainability.
"Green Economy has been embraced by the business community so much precisely because it has been called 'sustainable development without tears' - it is appealing to be able to continue to go for profit, and then put a green label on afterwards". Noragric PhD Fellow Jill Tove Buseth in Dagsavisen.
A Special Issue of the journal 'Water Alternatives' featuring the findings of a Noragric-led project on Integrated Water Resources Management in Africa is now published. Introduced in the Noragric Blog.
'Contested Powers: The Politics of Energy and Development in Latin America', co-edited/authored by John Andrew McNeish is reviewed in 'Anthropology Today'.
The Education Prize is awarded biennially by the NMBU University Board. This year, 100 000 NOK was presented to Bill Warner at the matriculation ceremony for new students.
Recent Noragric alumnus Eric Cezne (MSc International Relations) on the securities at stake at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, 2016. Latest post in the Noragric Blog.
Divon was presented with the award by the US Ambassador to Norway, Samuel D. Heins and Wegger Chr. Strømmen, Secretary General at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Latest Noragric Blog post written by Hans Nicolai Adam (Postdoctoral Fellow, Noragric) and Synne Movik (Research Scientist, NIVA, former Noragric Postdoctoral Fellow).
"The real threat of Al-Shabaab in Somalia is the lack of security provided in the countryside. They're allowed to operate very freely in the countryside, there's little local security, and the Somali security forces do not function properly."
Vatn won the award for his work in environmental governance. Kanchan Chopra, retired Director and Professor at the Institute of Economic Growth in Delhi, shared the prize.
Since his inauguration in November, Tanzania's new president John Magufuli has been hailed for his fight against corruption. Less well known is the restriction of freedom of expression and democratic human rights under his leadership. Noragric PhD Fellow Grete Benjaminsen in 'Bistandsaktuelt'.
Eduado Cunha, President of the Lower House of Congress, is leading the impeachment process. Cunha is himself under investigation himself for corruption and money laundering. Kjersti Thorkildsen in the Noragric Blog.
The article, 'Climate variability, food production shocks, and violent conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa' was selected by the editors of Environmental Research Letters (ERL) for inclusion in the exclusive ‘Highlights of 2015’ collection. Papers are chosen on the basis of referee endorsement, novelty, scientific impact and breadth of appeal (Source: ERL).
In 2015, Noragric was the department at NMBU that earned the highest percentage of points from Level 2 publications, the second highest publication points per staff member, and took fourth place for the total number of publication points. Good work Noragric!
A paper by Jerven assessing the International Monetary Fund’s quality assurance of its data and statistics for low-income countries formed part of the organisation’s recent evaluation report.
Welcome to this new communication channel for staff and students at Noragric, to initiate debate and discussion within current and diverse themes addressed by the department.
Monthly gatherings at the main NMBU Library for philosophical reflections with invited guests, open discussion, interesting themes – and not least home-made chocolate cookies!
Stig Jarle Hansen talks to NRK about last night's attacks at Lido Beach in Mogadishu in which at least 17 were killed. Hansen was at Lido Beach just 3 days ago.
A NORHED project at NMBU, 'Democratic and economic governance and peace building in South Sudan and Ethiopia' works with the University of Juba. Two of the project's PhD students are currently at Noragric.
The defence will start with the trial lecture: The influence of Taliban on social structures, ethnic formations, political change & development in Swat, Pakistan at 12:15. Place: Tower building: Auditorium 101.
John-Andrew McNeish accepted an invitation to join the International Advisory Board of the Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Ethnic Studies (LACES) for a seven year period.
International organisations increasingly depend on international indicators or rankings to take decisions. Morten Jerven is sceptical. Column in Klassekampen.
Morten Jerven: The Norwegian government is using an external crisis to make rapid gains in an internal conflict by cutting Norwegian aid. Article in Dagens Næringsliv
Ola Westengen in Klassekampen on the ideology behind the proposed cuts and shifting priorities related to food security and agricultural development in the Norwegian budget 2016
Abraham Robert Vysocky is now the National President of ISU and Edith Kitsao is the Vice President of Welfare and Academic Affairs at the organisation. Both are studying for their Master's in International Relations at Noragric.
On 16 October, NMBU received a delegation from Ethiopia to explore the potential for collaboration among Ethiopian and Norwegian institutions working on environmental issues.
The examination committee has approved Hans's PhD thesis: "Development in a changing climate: Local impacts of India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in Attappady, Kerala" for public defence. The defence will take place October 13th!
On Wednesday 30 September, Noragric welcomed six staff from Ardhi University. NMBU and Ardhi entered into a 5-year institutional collaboration agreement last year and the group arrived in Norway on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of the agreement.
The RCN funded project 'Flows and Practices: The Politics of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) in Africa' concluded with a workshop for participants of the partner institutions, and presentation of their findings to a wider audience in a Water Research Commission Dialogue meeting.
Staff and students at NMBU's Faculty of Social Sciences are invited to contribute to a photographic exhibition at Vitenparken in association with the launch of the book 'Contested Powers: The Politics of Energy and Development in Latin America'.
As the UN condemns the denial of suffering in the escalating conflict in Yemen, Stig Jarle Hansen expresses concern over potential government collapse, prolonged civil war, refugee crises and the creation of another haven for terrorist groups in the country. Interview in Vårt Land.
The extensive project got underway with a 4-day workshop at Oscarsborg Fortress near Drøbak, attended by over 60 international participants from South Asian, African, Latin American and European partner institutions.
Noragric PhD Fellow Paul Beaumont on Øivind Bratberg's recent analysis of Jeremy Corbyn's status in the 2015 UK Labour Party leadership elections. Feature article in 'Klassekampen'.
The evaluation committee has approved her thesis for public defence which will take place 17 June. The thesis title is: Communities and conservation in West Kilimanjaro, Tanzania: Participation, costs and benefits
The report, by the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on Food Security and Nutrition, is the first of its kind to connect water, food security and nutrition (Source: IDS, UK)
From 16 – 22 May Noragric/NMBU welcomes three staff from the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR), Malawi, and three from the West Balkan.
Did you know that jam and biscuit making can lead to a PhD? And did you know that a Norwegian pear variety (“Ingeborg”) was supposedly saved thanks to research collaboration with the University of Sarajevo?
Andrei Marin, in collaboration with other researchers from Finland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the UK, has received funding from JPI Climate for their project called Social-Ecological Transformations: HUMan-ANimal Relations Under Climate Change in NORthern Eurasia.
Tor Arve Benjaminsen and Connor Cavanagh are organizing this workshop in conjunction with the Norwegian Political Ecology Network, which will be held at the Oslo Litteraturhuset, 10-11 December.
The government suggests that students coming from outside the EU should pay NOK95 000 per year to be able to study in Norway. But half of the rectors at the Norwegian universities prefer to pay the cost themselves.
Value chain analysis (VCA) and development is becoming more and more popular among the large multinational organizations, as well as within research. The goal with this 2-day training workshop was to introduce the concept of VCA and enable the participants to get basic knowledge on how to conduct value chain analysis.
On 8 October, the Norwegian government presented its public sector budget for 2015. One proposal is to introduce tuition fees in higher education for students coming from outside the EEA – effectively non-European students.
The main goal of this two-day conference, organised by Noragric, is to assess and summarize experiences that illuminate the importance of political processes in climate change adaptation.
Chirstin gave an interesting trial lecture and defended her thesis on "Effects of civil war on maternal and child health care in sub-Saharan Africa" very well.
Welcome to all new Noragric students! During the introduction we met students from all over the world who really give an international character to Noragric's study programmes.
Seven Tanzanians are currently at NMBU, primarily at Noragric and the Dept. of Ecology and Natural Resources Management (INA). They are funded through the CCIAM and EPINAV programmes and most are linked to specific projects.
The Somaliland Times refers to Stig Jarle Hansen and his book on Al-Shabaab in Somalia: The History and Ideology of a Militant Islamist Group, 2005-2012 in their article that attempts to answer the question: " what can Africa do to arrest the situation – now that both Boko Haram and al-Shabaab appear to be going for broke and expanding their paths of death into neighboring countries?"
The evaluation committee of Jason Miklian's PhD thesis has approved the thesis for public defence which will take place june 27th, 2014. The tiltle of the trial lecture is: 'Large-scale land acquisitions, displacement and conflict – the Indian mining industry in a global perspective.
On behalf of NMBU and the Norwegian Police University college, Norgaric invites you to an exciting seminar on Emerging Experiences of Community Policing in Afghanistan: What have we learned so far? 23rd June 2014 08:30 to 16:00, Literaturhuset.
