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Tropical forest
Tropical forest Photo: A. F. Vallejo Vargas

NMBU’s Tropical Forest Arena (TFA) brings together research, education, and outreach on tropical forests, fostering collaboration across disciplines and strengthening partnerships inside NMBU, and externally with diverse stakeholders in Norway and internationally.

01 May 2026 - 01 May 2029

NMBU

    Join our TFA events

    2
    Dec

    “What next for Norway’s rainforest billions?”

    9.00 – 15.00 at Litteraturhuset in Oslo. Please register here (in person and online)

    Over the last two decades, the rainforest initiative (NICFI) - the largest aid-financed initiative in Norwegian history - has disbursed more than NOK 50 billion. Norwegian politicians have committed to spend NOK 35 billion more up to 2035. Wise use of these scarce resources requires critical reflection. The seminar examines how programmes have functioned, what has and hasn’t worked, and what can be learned. And it asks what role the rainforest money has played in Norwegian climate and energy politics.
     
    Tentative programme (only confirmed speakers listed).
     
    Session 1 – The Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF)
    TFFF is the latest major initiative in tropical forest conservation, based on what some claim to be a promising, innovative model to mobilize funds for result-based payments, while others point to the risk of trying to make a perpetual money-making machine.  
    Max Matthey, a German political economist who is publishing a book on TFFF and has been at the forefront in the international debate and critique of TFFF.
    Representatives from the Norwegian government and civil society are also invited.

    Session 2 – The experience with result-based payments
    The core of the Norwegian support – and REDD+ more generally – is to pay for results in the form of verified emission reductions. Have result-based payments achieved the intended results? The seminar will look at three countries that have received such support.
     
    2a Indonesia: TheNorwegian payments via the Indonesian Environment Fund (BPDLH) amount to NOK 2.3 billion.
    Joko Tri Hryanto, Executive Director of BPDLH, will introduce the session and provide an overview of the BPDLH work.
    Martua Siriat, Deputy Executive Director at the non-governmental organisation Samdhana Institute, will provide critical reflections on the payments to Indonesia.
    Arild Angelsen, professor at NMBU, will summarize two recent coauthored papers analysing causes of the reduction in Indonesian deforestation after 2015.
     
    2b Guyana: The country received NOK 1.5 billion via a World Bank fund, the largest per-capita payment in the NICFI initiative.
    Atle Andersson, a former journalist of Bergens Tidene who won SKUP prize for his coverage of Guyana payments, will review the history of the agreement and Norway’s engagement.
     
    2c Brazil: By far the largest recipient, Brazil through the Amazon Fund has received NOK 9.4 billion in payments.
    Ann Danaiya Usher, a journalist with Development Today, has traced the funding since 2008, and will provide a critical overview.
    Solveig Aamodt, senior researcher at CICERO, will reflect on Norway-Brazil forest climate payments and on the post-election context.
    Brazilian researchers/government representatives are also invited.
     
    Support for result-based payments at the jurisdictional level has become key in Norway’s strategy, in part through the development of the ART TREES standard and the LEAF initiative. The Brazilian state of Pará has applied to ART for credits and has a contract for the sale of future credits to multinational companies like Amazon and Bayer. The Brazilian Federal Prosecution Service (MPF) has, however, filed a lawsuit against Pará arguing that the deal violates Indigenous rights. MPF views its critique as having “national scope” since five other Brazilian Amazon states are also aiming for similar deals. Speakers are yet to be confirmed.
     
    Session 3: The rainforests in Norwegian politics
    How to understand the cross-parliamentary political will to provide so much money to NICFI year after year? How did Norway become the REDD+ superpower? How to explain the apparent contradiction between Norway as a major petroleum exporter and Norway as a climate pioneer? Why is there so little critical discussion about the “rainforest money”?
    Andreas Ytterstad, professor at Oslo Met, has written extensively on climate in the public debate and politics
    Helge Ryggvik, historian and senior researcher at UiO, , has authored several books on Norwegian oil politics, including “Til siste drape,om oljens politiske økonomi”.
    Lars Løvold, co-founder of Rainforest Foundation Norway, will reflect on the thinking at the time the rainforest programme was proposed and how it has evolved.
     
    A more detailed programme will follow. We look forward to seeing you at an exciting seminar on 2. December, 2026!

    11
    Jan

    Retreat

    11.01.2026 to 12.01.2026

    About the project

    • Background

      Tropical forests harbour more than half of all terrestrial species and carbon stored in terrestrial vegetation, and directly support the lives and livelihoods of millions of people by providing benefits like timber, food, fuel, water, medicine, shelter, cultural values and climate regulation.

      Despite decades of scientific research, growing public concern and considerable international efforts, tropical forests continue to be threatened by deforestation and degradation. These processes undermine biodiversity, weaken ecosystem resilience and jeopardise the many ecological, social and economic benefits that forests provide from local to global scales.

      Addressing these challenges requires a better understanding of how tropical forests and forest-dependent communities respond to interacting environmental, climatic and societal pressures. It also requires identifying effective and equitable strategies to mitigate these pressures and promote more sustainable forms of forest use, management and conservation. By bringing together diverse forms of expertise, evidence and knowledge, interdisciplinary collaboration, the TFA will contribute to narrowing this gap by providing world-class interdisciplinary research.

      More than 30 researchers and PhD candidates at NMBU work on tropical forest-related topics, including climate mitigation and adaptation, land-use change, biodiversity, ecology and local livelihoods. Although there are valuable interfaculty collaborations, the TFA provides a university-wide platform for coordinating research, teaching, supervision, and outreach across disciplines. The TFA establishes such a platform, linking expertise in areas such as remote sensing, ecology, economics, and the social sciences to strengthen collaboration on complex and interrelated tropical forest challenges.

      The TFA builds on established partnerships and previous initiatives, including the long-running collaboration between NMBU, Equinor and Rainforest Foundation Norway. These efforts have generated public seminars, collaborative research projects and engagement with NGOs, government agencies and private-sector actors on issues such as deforestation, conservation finance and deforestation-free supply chains. By consolidating and expanding these networks, the TFA is now creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary research, external collaboration, and practical solutions that contribute to tropical forest conservation and sustainable livelihoods.

    • Vision

      Norway has since 2008 played a leading international role in protecting tropical forests. The total spending and commitments are approaching NOK 100 billion – comparable to the contributions of all other donors combined. NMBU hosts Norway’s most prominent academic authorities on tropical forests. Building on existing teaching and research at NMBU, as well as established relations with Norwegian and international policy and decision makers, NGOs, private sector and academic institutions, the proposed Tropical Forest Arena (TFA) will strengthen NMBU’s position to become among the world’s leading research and education institutions on tropical forests.

      • At NMBU, the TFA will become a focal point for tropical forest research, education, supervision, and outreach activities. More specifically, the TFA will:
      • 1. Foster increased collaboration on research, teaching, and supervision across faculties.
      • 2. Reinforce the integration between research and education.
      • 3. Strengthen NMBU's position as an attractive partner for Norwegian governmental institutions, NGOs and the private sector, and for international research collaboration.
      • 4. Secure external funding for new research and outreach activities.

    Participants

    • Steering committee

    • Members

    • Coordination

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