Upcoming Events

Description: 
Over the past two decades (since UNFCCC COP11, 2005), Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) has emerged as a key mechanism for addressing global climate change though increasing forest carbon stocks. The initiative raised global awareness about the critical role of forests in mitigating carbon emissions, mobilized significant financial investments (with Norway playing a leading role), and fostered multi-stakeholder collaborations. The REDD+ framework has brought NGOs, governments, indigenous peoples, private sectors and academics to work together.
Along the way, REDD+ has navigated significant challenges, yielding key lessons such as the need to integrate social safeguards to protect the rights of indigenous communities, aligning national policies with local contexts, and emphasizing capacity-building to enhance implementation. 
Nevertheless, persistent issues—including equitable benefit- and cost-sharing, governance deficits, and weaknesses in monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems—continue to highlight the necessity for ongoing innovation and commitment. 
This session will reflect on the two decades of REDD+, exploring: (i) lessons learned, i.e., key lessons identified and widely adopted; (ii) lessons to be learned, i.e., findings from research and practices not widely adopted in practices, and (iii) lessons not learned, i.e., areas where the evidence base is too thin to draw robust lessons, or lessons that must be relearned considering evolving national and global contexts. For instance, to look ahead REDD+ need to deepen its integration within broader climate and biodiversity frameworks, strengthen incentives for sustainable outcomes, and balance ecological conservation with socio-economic development. By revisiting these experiences, the session aims to suggest or inform future debate and initiatives on forest-based climate solutions.
Format: PetchaKucha session with a panel discussion at the end. 
PetchaKucha format: ~20 seconds each slide, 20 slides, and a total of 7 min. 
At the end, all the speakers and chairs will have a panel discussion lasting 25 - 30 minutes. 
Duration: 90 minutes

Conveners/chairs: 

Arild Angelsen, Professor, School of Economics and Business, Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). 

Aida Cuni-Sanchez, Associate Professor, Department of International Environmental and Development Studies (NORAGRIC), Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

Andrea F. Vallejo-Vargas, PhD., coordinator Tropical Forest Arena, & Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management (MINA) NMBU.

Possible contributors/paper submissions: Six representatives from government (NICFI), NGOs (Rainforest Foundation + one more), private sector (to be identified) and research (NMBU). This session will be a combination of invited speakers (3 speakers), and we welcome abstracts or perspectives submission (3 speakers) that could be the basis for a paper.

We aim to publish a short communication to the Forum for Development Studies journal or a similar one, based on the presentations.

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