About

The Local Organizing Committee

The Local Organizing Committee is a broad, interdisciplinary group, including members of the NMBU Sustainability Arena “Embedding planetary boundaries in science, policy and education”, the NMBU Political Ecology Forum, the UiO Include Centre, Degrowth Norway, Rethinking Economics Norway, and Postgrowth Nordics.
 
Erik Gómez-Baggethun (chair)
Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research

Erik Gómez-Baggethun is a Professor of Environmental Governance at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, a Senior Scientific Advisor at the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, and a Senior Visiting Researcher at the University of Oxford. He is President of the International Society for Ecological Economics and editorial board member of Ecological Economics.
Elisabeth Veivåg Helseth (co-chair)
Norwegian Institute for Nature Research

Elisabeth is a researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Nature research. She is dedicated to knowledge developments within ecological economics, and her main research interests are the diverse values of nature, and degrowth/ postgrowth futures. Prior to becoming a researcher (2023), she has extensive experience from working with sustainable community development in Norwegian public sector.

Tor Arve Benjaminsen
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Most of Tor Arve's work has been in the field of political ecology focusing in particular on issues of environmental governance, land-use conflicts and environmental/climate justice, and with a particular interest in the relationship between pastoralists and the state. This research has brought him to study this relationship in the Sahel (Mali), Eastern and South Africa, and northern Norway.
Svein-Magne Gjessing
Degrowth Norway (coordinator), ISEE (member)

Svein-Magne's research interests and practices are within ecological economics and how to create regenerative cultures, with special emphasis on agroecology and the degrowth/post-growth movement. He holds an interdisciplinary master's degree (2017) from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, with economics, land use, ecology, and agriculture as main fields of study. He has extensive experience from asset management and financing (1996 - 2009), and voluntary and non-profit organisations for nature, outdoor life, and agriculture.
Lukas Godé
Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Lukas is a PhD candidate in Ecological Economics at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. His research is about the displacement of paid labour through international trade, and options for work in post-growth economies. Lukas is also a coordination member of the Postgrowth Economics Network, and a founder of the Nordic Network for Postgrowth Research.
Arve Hansen
University of Oslo

Arve Hansen is a Senior Researcher at Centre for Development and the Environment, University of Oslo, where he leads the centre’s research group on sustainable consumption and energy equity. His research focuses on consumption and sustainability, both in affluent societies and emerging economies.
Thomas Røkås
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Thomas holds a master's degree in International Environmental studies, where he wrote a thesis on the Norwegian economy applying the Doughnut economics framework. He is associated with and a board member of several initiatives and organisations that promote post- and degrowth and heterodox economics, such as Rethinking Economics Norway, Doughnut Economics Network Norway and Foreningen Robust. He currently works as a sustainability advisor for Eika Gruppen AS.

Ellen Stenslie
Rethinking Economics Norge, Doughnut Economics Norway
Ellen is the Head of Academic Advisory Board- Rethinking Economics Norge, and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Network Norway. She has been an active member of the Ecological Economics community for a over a decade. She has been researching alternative forms of enterprise for a sustainable, post-growth economy, and is passionate about building both theory and practice for transformative pathways.
Tone Smith
Independant scholar

Tone Smith is an independent scholar, degrowth activist and freelance writer. She has previously worked at Statistics Norway, the OECD, the Austrian Ministry of Sustainability and Tourism and taught at several Austrian Universities. Smith is on the board of the ESEE and a founding member of Rethinking Economics Norway. She obtained her PhD in economics from Vienna University of Economics and Business.
Arild Vatn
Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Arild Vatn is professor emeritus at the Department of International Environment and Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. His main expertise is in insti­tut­ional and ecological economics with specific focus on sustainability, environ­mental governance and policy processes. Vatn has been Presi­dent of the European Society of Ecological Economics and coordinating lead author of the IPBES Values Assessment. He has also been awarded several national and international prices for his work.
Hege Westskog
University of Oslo

Hege Westskog is senior researcher and programme coordinator for Include- research centre for socially inclusive energy transition at the University of Oslo. Her research has for many years been focused on policy instrument to transform towards a low emission society studying both households’ practices and municipalities work with climate and environmental issues. 
Poul Wisborg
Norwegian University of Life Sciences
Poul has a background in research on land. He teaches human rights, gender and global development, and has broad interests in socio-ecological justice, alternative development, degrowth, decolonization and non-violence.

I8th Conference of the International Society for Ecological Economics and 11th International Degrowth Conference
Oslo, 24 - 27 June 2025  |   ✉  contact [at] isee-degrowth2025.no