Norway's International Climate and Forest Initiative

Organizational profile: The Norwegian government launched NICFI in 2008, and the initiative has pledged up to 3 billion NOK a year to help save the world’s tropical forests while improving the livelihoods of those who live there. NICFI is administered by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and the Environment in collaboration with Norad – The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. The initiative supports bilateral agreements with forest countries, multinational organizations and civil society. Norad manages significant parts of the NICFI funds under the climate and forest initiative on behalf of the Ministry, and is responsible for the initiative’s grant scheme for civil society.

Through its international Climate and Forest Initiative (NICFI), the Norwegian government aims at supporting efforts to slow, halt and eventually reduce greenhouse gas emissions resulting from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+). NICFI has the following key objectives:

- To ensure that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an effective tool for reducing emissions.

- To contribute to early actions for measurable emission reductions from deforestation and forest degradation.

- To promote the conservation of primary forests, due to their particular importance as carbon stores and for their biological diversity.

All these efforts should promote sustainable development and the reduction of poverty. While the initiative was originally thought to last until 2020, the Norwegian government has since promised to extend it through 2030. Norway has so far supported efforts to reduce deforestation in more than 70 countries.

Financing Instrument: Grants

Project scale: The most recently completed funding cycle allocated NOK 300 million per year through grants to 39 organizations. Projects ranged from NOK 7,5 million to 140 000 000 NOK. Priority is given to projects with a total budget over the 5-year period above 20 million NOK.

Applicable geographical regions/country groups: Global

Recipient categories: Potential grant recipients include various legally registered entities, including public authorities, business and industry, inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations, expert communities/institutions and other actors that can contribute to NICFI's goals and milestones being achieved. All these groups can apply for funding from the scheme.

Eligibility Criteria: Projects funded under NICFI must address one or more of the five following categories:

1. Indigenous peoples, local communities and environmental defenders

2. Deforestation-free supply chains and financial markets

3. Reduced forest crime and improved forest monitoring

4. Mobilising ambition and support for forest friendly policies

5. Groundbreaking ideas to reduce deforestation

All projects must demonstrate a plausible causal link to reduced deforestation and to sustainable development effects in developing countries with tropical forests. The countries where NICFI has large partnerships will be prioritized.

Application guidelines: The Grants Portal for grants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norad is a digital portal for applying for grants from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Norad. Organisations that wish to apply for funding in response to calls shall use the application form found under each call.

The implementation plan should include general descriptions of the types of activities the project will execute to achieve each of the outputs included in the results framework. The descriptions should be kept general. The applicant needs to demonstrate how the target group depends on forests for subsistence and link this to the priorities set out in the call for proposals. Applications will also be assessed on how the cross-cutting issues human rights and women’s rights and gender equality are included in the proposal. It is required to provide an analysis of relevant risk factors and to include a mitigation plan for possible risk factors that can have a negative impact on human rights and gender equality.