About the TFA

• Background - Why tropical forests matter

  Tropical forests encompass a range of different ecosystems: mangroves inhabiting the intertidal areas of tropical coasts, montane forests, dry tropical forests, peat forests, seasonally flooded forests, upland evergreen rainforests and many more. There is not one tropical forest but many. 

  Besides the diversity on the ecosystem level (different forest types and related ecosystems), tropical forests are home to a vast number of different species: plants, animals, fungi, microbes, etc. Both dry and moist tropical and subtropical forests are hotspots of biodiversity, including high numbers of threatened species.  

  Apart from the intrinsic value which can be ascribed to the forests and their diversity, tropical forests are important for us humans in many regards and on various scales. 

  Globally, tropical forests play a role for climate mitigation and the global carbon cycle due to their ability to take up carbon from the atmosphere and to release oxygen back to it, having provided them with the title as the green lungs of the Earth. On the other hand, deforestation and degradation of tropical forests are a major cause of greenhouse gas emissions. Tropical forests further play a role for atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns as well as water cycling. 

  

  Regionally, tropical forests prevent soil erosion, regulate water flows, prevent flooding (e.g. coastal mangroves) and constitute an important source of water supply to people living around them, e.g. the remaining montane forests in East Africa. 

  Locally, many peoples' livelihoods are closely linked to tropical forests, which provide various timber and non-timber forest products, such as firewood, food, or medicinal plants. Beyond provisioning and regulating ecosystem services, tropical forests play a relational and non-material role, for spirituality, reflection, cognitive development, or recreation. 

  In tropical rainforests alone, there are about 1 000 indigenous communities (50 million people) with unique cultures. The number of people relying on tropical forests for their livelihoods is even higher.  

  The world’s tropical forests are under severe threats and rapidly disappearing because of human activity. When tropical forests are destroyed, cultural and biological diversity as well as one of our most effective tools to limit climate change are lost. With this manifold importance of tropical forests on various scales on the one side, and a complexity of direct and indirect drivers behind their loss on the other side, a lot can be gained by combining different perspectives, skills, and expertise in order to jointly work towards the conservation of tropical forests. 

• Objectives of the Tropical Forest Arena

  • Provide an arena for open exchange of information, expertise, and experiences as well as for debates on key challenges related to tropical forests. 
  • Mobilise Norwegian actors (potentially) working on tropical forests (research, NGOs, private and public sector). 
  • Present, discuss, and promote initiatives related to tropical forest protection and restoration, through collaboration among TFA actors. 
  • Stimulate research among TFA actors, e.g., through joint applications for research funding. 

• Organisation

  Secretariat/administration at NMBU 

  Steering Committee, comprising the founding representatives from research, private, and NGO sector, i.e., NMBU, Equinor and Rainforest Foundation.  

  The wider Arena, including people from a variety of organisations from different sectors (research, private, public, NGO). There is the option to come together for quarterly seminars. 
  Everyone participating in the wider Arena is invited to use the TFA as a platform for discussions, outreach, to connect with other actors and to initiate collaborations.  

Seminars

• Past seminars

  • 28th of November 2025, Litteraturhuset in Oslo. COP 30 and implications for tropical forests.
  • 25th of March 2025, Litteraturhuset in Oslo. The Politics of Deforestation.
  • 6th of December 2024, Litteraturhuset in Oslo. The crucial role of Indigenous and local communities in tropical forest conservation.

  • 17th of September 2024, Litteraturhuset in Oslo. Realizing the value of nature: Corporate requirements and opportunities in tropical forests.

  • 23^rd April 2024: Vitenparken, NMBU, Ås. Understanding tropical forests and exploring solutions for their future.

  • 16th of January 2024: Litteraturhuset, Oslo. Deforestation-free supply chains – empty pledges or real impact? 
  • 16th of October 2023: Klimahuset, Oslo. Norway’s contributions to stopping tropical deforestation: results, lessons learned and way forward 
  • 06th of June 2023: Vitenparken, NMBU, Ås. Inauguration seminar 

  Find out more about speakers and presentation topics at the previous seminars here.

News

Explore our website or LinkedIn page for news related to tropical forests - newly published papers, conferences, main political decisions etc. 
The TFA also aims to provide an outreach space for people working on tropical forests. If you would like to publish a blog article (recent research, opinion piece, ongoing project etc.), send us an email: andrea.f.vallejo.vargas@nmbu.no

Contact

Email: andrea.f.vallejo.vargas@nmbu.no 

External Website  

LinkedIn

People

• Core Team at NMBU