Towards sustainable bioeconomy - Lessons learned from case studies

Gomez San Juan, M., Bogdanski, A. & Dubois, O.

Towards sustainable bioeconomy - Lessons learned from case studies

Year of publication 2019

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 132 p.

Author Gomez San Juan, M., Bogdanski, A. & Dubois, O.

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (series)

ISBN 978-92-5-131424-1

Series title Environment and Natural Resources Management Working Paper

Series number 73

Edition 1

Full item page

Synopsis (short abstract) In 2015, at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture meeting in Berlin, 62 ministers of agriculture recommended that FAO coordinate international work on sustainable bioeconomy. The German Ministry for Food and Agriculture has provided support to FAO to assist countries in the development of sustainable bioeconomy strategies and programmes. Bioeconomy activities are not necessarily sustainable. The use of biological resources and the production of biomass for food, feed, fuel and bio-based products can have both positive and negative environmental and socioeconomic impacts. The debates and experience related to bioenergy attest to this. Of paramount concern is that the development of the bioeconomy does not undermine food security, especially in areas with high levels of malnutrition. This includes the impact of environmental microbial resources on the composition of the human microbiome, which plays a role in preventing or contributing to malnourishment, including obesity, and other non-communicable diseases. Moreover, the combination of bioeconomy and digitalization and often seen as major drivers of the transformation of productive sectors. Almost fifty countries have placed the promotion of the bioeconomy on their political agendas, including the creation of dedicated visions, strategies and action plans. In 2016, FAO published the study ‘How sustainability is addressed in official bioeconomy strategies at international, national and regional levels. An overview’. As a continuation of this sustainability overview, the present report reviews how sustainability is addressed in real case studies of bioeconomy implementation around the world and from a range of different sectors. The overall aim of the report is to use these case studies to expand the general understanding of sustainability in the context of the development of the bioeconomy. To this end, this report offers lessons learned from 26 case studies, based on a review of their objectives and how they relate to broader sustainability goals (Principles and criteria for sustainable bioeconomy and the Sustainability Development Goals). The lessons clearly show that sustainability is not something that happens automatically. This document provides policy makers and people working directly in bioeconomy initiatives with examples of the sustainability elements that need to be considered when implementing bioeconomy activities.

Language English

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

Article

Monitoring the bioeconomy in Uruguay: Sectoral and sustainability assessment
XV World Forestry Congress, 2-6 May 2022
2022

Also available in:

No results found.

Strategies for the development of economies aim at transforming them towards a sustainable bioeconomy based on the sustainable use of biological resources. This article presents a method developed by Thünen Institute for the sectoral monitoring of the bioeconomy. Based on national accounts information on economic sectors it is analyzed to which degree economic activities in the sectors are based on biological resources. Subsequently, we examine inputs used in the manufacturing processes of economic activities to determine the bio-based share of the economic activity within the economy as a whole. Our case study present estimates of bio-based shares and sustainability assessment in Uruguay for the years 2012 and 2016. Our preliminary results estimate bio-based shares of around 17% for 2012 and 15% for 2016. Our estimates allow us not only to determine the economic proportion of the bioeconomy within the economy as a whole but also to assess sustainability effects. A possible way to evaluate sustainability effects is through the assessment of selected Sustainable Development Goals as they relate to bioeconomy targets. We therefore applied the bio-based shares obtained to official data on employment, production, and greenhouse gas emissions. Our initial assessment indicates a decrease in bioeconomy-related employment, an increase in value added and production value along with an increase in greenhouse gas emissions from 2012 to 2016. Our preliminary results reveal that calculations for economic and environmental indicators can be estimated but mostly at aggregated levels since disaggregated data for the calculation of bio-based shares remains scattered and incomplete. To further bioeconomy monitoring efforts it is therefore necessary to secure regularly updated disaggregated data. Keywords: Bioeconomy, Bio-based shares, Sustainability Indicators, Data collection, Monitoring ID: 3623037
Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet

Sustainable bioeconomy and FAO
Project brief
2022

Also available in:

No results found.

Bioeconomy is the production, utilization, conservation, and regeneration of biological resources, including related knowledge, science, technology, and innovation, to provide sustainable solutions (information, products, processes and services) within and across all economic sectors and enable a transformation to a sustainable economy. The promotion of a bioeconomy has been placed on the political agenda of more than fifty countries. Its cross-cutting nature offers a unique opportunity to comprehensively address interconnected societal challenges such as food and nutrition security, fossil-resource dependence, natural resource scarcity and climate change, while achieving sustainable economic development. However, bioeconomy activities are not necessarily sustainable, as the development of an economy that is based on biological resources faces several trade-offs. It is crucial that bioeconomy development contributes to sustainability and helps to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Considering this, in January 2015, on the occasion of the Global forum for food and agriculture in Berlin, 62 Ministers of Agriculture recommended that FAO coordinates the international work on sustainable bioeconomy. To that end, the German Ministry for Food and Agriculture has provided support to FAO to guide countries in the development of sustainable bioeconomy strategies and programmes.
Book (series)

How to mainstream sustainability and circularity into the bioeconomy?
A compendium of bioeconomy good practices and policies
2021

Also available in:

No results found.

In its 2020 communiqué, the International Advisory Council on Global Bioeconomy has urged to strengthen good practices and policies to advance the global bioeconomy. The transition from a fossil-based economy to a bioeconomy happens at three levels: technological, organizational and social. In particular, agri-food systems are key to achieve a shift to sustainable and circular production and consumption patterns, since they occupy the biggest share of the bioeconomy from an economic, value-added perspective as well as having potential for discovery and innovation. This Compendium outlines 250 sources of good practices and policies. It covers the entire continuum of economic sectors that have a stake in biological knowledge and resources. The Compendium, therefore, highlights the wide range of aspects that are included in the concept of the bioeconomy. Being an inherently multisectoral process that involves potential synergies and trade-offs among different sustainability objectives, the implementation of bioeconomy strategies presents greater challenges than activities that are focused on a single sector. The report also shows how good practices and policies contribute to the translation of bioeconomy strategies into coordinated actions for the achievement of local priorities and sustainability goals, while also addressing global issues. Overall, the review identifies a knowledge gap: Assessments do not always indicate if practices and policies have enough evidence of impact to be recommended as models that contribute to sustainability objectives of the bioeconomy. To address this, a context-specific approach described in Chapter 5, provides support for countries to make evidence-based decisions on policies and investments for the bioeconomy. The approach helps to identify good practices and policies ex-ante, which can help achieve common sustainability objectives of bioeconomy strategies that were presented in the 2019 FAO report, Towards sustainable bioeconomy - Lessons learned from case studies. Taken together, this Compendium and the 2019 report, provide practical guidelines and resources that can support decision-makers and stakeholders in bioeconomy systems to make progress towards reaching sustainable outcomes.