The Development Fund (''Utviklingsfondet'') is a Norwegian

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...

(NGO) founded in 1978 by Norwegian author,

Erik Dammann Sir Erik Dammann (born 9 May 1931 in Oslo) is a Norwegian author, environmentalist and government scholar. He is mostly known for founding of the Norwegian-based organization, The Future in Our Hands (''Framtiden i våre hender''). In 1982, he was ...

Utviklingsfondet

Published in 1972, Dammann's book ''The Future in Our Hands'' raised social and environmental questions and put them in a much larger perspective than until then had been the norm. Inspired by the interest for this book, in 1974 he initiated Framtiden i våre hender (The Future in Our Hands), today a world wide organisation with thirty partner organisations over the globe. In 1978, that organization established The Development Fund (''Utviklingsfondet'').''Framtiden i våre hender'' (Store norske leksikon)
/ref> Utviklingsfondet is an independent environment and development organization. The organization’s mission is “to contribute, with emphasis on long-term measures, to promoting a fairer distribution of the world’s resources, supporting

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

and local participation aimed at promoting democracy and human rights, reducing

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse social, economic, and political causes and effects. When evaluating poverty in ...

and safeguarding the environment.” The Development Fund addresses in particular the challenges of small scale farmers in the South in advancing

food security Food security speaks to the availability of food in a country (or geography) and the ability of individuals within that country (geography) to access, afford, and source adequate foodstuffs. According to the United Nations' Committee on World F ...

and make for sustainable agricultural practices when facing the

effects of climate change The effects of climate change impact the physical environment, ecosystems and human societies. The environmental effects of climate change are broad and far-reaching. They affect the water cycle, oceans, sea and land ice (glaciers), sea level ...

. Through local partners in Asia (

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

), Africa (

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

) and Latin America (

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

), The Development Fund works with different development and environment projects related to such as food security,

pastoralists Pastoralism is a form of animal husbandry where domesticated animals (known as "livestock") are released onto large vegetated outdoor lands (pastures) for grazing, historically by nomadic people who moved around with their herds. The animal s ...

in dry-land areas, and agricultural

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

Spire

Utviklingsfondet has a related youth group,

Spire A spire is a tall, slender, pointed structure on top of a roof of a building or tower, especially at the summit of church steeples. A spire may have a square, circular, or polygonal plan, with a roughly conical or pyramidal shape. Spires are ...

. Spire was established in 2003 and has local branches in

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

, Ås and

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

. Spire works across party lines with global issues related to trade, development, environment, food and agriculture. Spire is an organization established for the purpose of working across party lines with global issues related to trade, climate and food. This youth group works on collaborative projects in Malawi, Central America and Sri Lanka.

References

External links

Utviklingsfondet homepage (english)

Spire homepage (english)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Development Fund Environmental organisations based in Norway Organizations established in 1978 1978 establishments in Norway