Editor’s choice
Editor’s choice
In analysing the relation between bioeconomy visions and pathways and their governance SEI researchers found that the bioeconomy offers a cross-cutting perspective on the societal transformation towards long-term sustainability and the transition away from the non-renewable economy. They also found that the identification of future pathways towards a sustainable bioeconomy can be related to different ‘visions’ of the bioeconomy.
This paper synthesises empirical work from stakeholder dialogues conducted in Colombia, Rwanda, Sweden, and Thailand. The dialogues were constructed around the elaboration of bioeconomy pathways arising from different visions with a consideration of the key driving factors and enabling conditions for different institutional levels ranging from local to regional. By conducting this multi-country and regional analysis the researchers aimed at looking across different economic development levels, different sectoral perspectives, and different innovation and bioresource strategies.
The results of the dialogues suggest that a cross-cutting bioeconomy perspective offers a useful lens for stakeholders in envisioning alternative pathways to sustainable futures and identifying tangible approaches for implementation. The dialogues facilitated the identification and characterisation of some broadly relevant components of the long-term transformations required for a sustainable bioeconomy: products and resources, cross-sector linkages, bioeconomy clusters, and landscape transitions. These components are useful in framing bioeconomy discussions as they can in principle play a valuable role in connecting different levels from local to regional level as well as stimulating ideas for measures and actions aimed at innovation and improved value-added. Taken together, the dialogues enabled the identification of commonalities in bioeconomy visions and pathways across different levels of development, biophysical resource bases, and socio-economic conditions.
The research identified key components for bioeconomy pathways with respect to bio-based products and resources, sectoral alignment, innovation clusters or hubs, and landscape transitions. The resultant comparative analysis findings suggest some future lines of research on governing bioeconomy pathways.
Initiative / This initiative aims to guide decision-makers towards more cohesive and constructive governance of bioeconomy pathways, with a focus on the Global South.
Past event / Join the first of its kind regional conference in Africa.
Past event / SEI and BioInnovate Africa Program Advisory Committee will have its 14th meeting during which the eastern Africa bioeconomy report 2022 will be launched
Past event / This event will discuss the contradictions of existing political approaches to a sustainable bioeconomy in various regions as well as their backgrounds.
