Uruguay
Uruguay has a long track record of environmental governance. Its constitution recognises the importance of environmental protection, and successive governments have developed policies across energy, agriculture and land use. With agriculture, livestock and forestry central to the economy, the sustainable use of biological resources is both a national priority and a natural entry point for bioeconomy development.
FAO'S support and monitoring pilot
Uruguay was the first country to pilot FAO's sustainable bioeconomy guidelines. Since 2018, FAO has supported the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries through a participatory process involving ministries, research institutes and universities. This work helped establish an intersectoral coordination mechanism and map existing public policies and private initiatives already aligned with bioeconomy principles.
Timeline
2024 Entry in FAO's Bioeconomy Toolbox
2024 Uruguay presents its Bioeconomy Action Plan 2024–2026 at Expo Uruguay Sostenible, with twelve prioritised actions across sustainable production, research and industrialisation.
2024 Uruguay presents its Sustainable Bioeconomy Strategy
2021 FAO, the Thünen Institute and Germany's Federal Ministry for Food and Agriculture launch the bioeconomy sustainability monitoring pilot.
2019 Two national workshops held; Uruguay hosts the 5th annual ISBWG meeting in Montevideo as the first pilot country for FAO's sustainable bioeconomy guidelines.
2018 FAO begins supporting Uruguay in developing its national bioeconomy strategy through a participatory process coordinated by the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries.
Uruguay pilot
Uruguay also served as the pilot country for a bioeconomy sustainability monitoring system developed jointly by FAO, Germany's Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and the Thünen Institute. The pilot focused on five key sectors (soybean, beef, pulp, dairy and fisheries) and generated baseline sustainability indicators on employment, value added, land use, agrochemical use and greenhouse gas emissions. The results informed FAO's broader work on bioeconomy monitoring frameworks at the global level.