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Links with other thematic areas now being solidified

Bioeconomy was high on the agenda during the Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) annual meeting held in FAO’s Rome headquarters on 9–11 May, confirming its growing role as a cross-cutting framework that could help bring about agrifood system transformation.

Bioeconomy for sustainable food and agriculture in action

Bioeconomy for sustainable food and agriculture is one FAO’s 20 programme priority areas (PPAs) over the next decade, as outlined in the FAO Strategic Framework 2022-31. FAO is the first United Nations entity to give bioeconomy such strategic importance, seeing its leapfrogging potential to deliver the “Four Betters” in food and agriculture – Better Production, Better Nutrition, Better Environment, and a Better Life.

And the fruits of this strategic positioning are now beginning to be seen across related agrifood work streams, including bioenergy, One Health and livestock.

Bioenergy

Presenting the bioeconomy PPA at the GBEP meeting, FAO senior bioeconomy expert Marta Gomez San Juan highlighted areas where bioeconomy could support delivery of sustainable bioenergy in agrifood systems. She explained that "bioeconomy, if done right, can provide a range of opportunities to improve environmental and socio-economic sustainability in different sectors, including the bio-based energy sector. In FAO we work both at policy and at field level to ensure this." Her comments were echoed by those of the Director of FAO’s Office of Climate Change, Biodiversity and Environment, Kaveh Zahedi, who nonetheless cautioned that “as countries invest more in bioenergy and bioeconomy, we need to ensure bioenergy policies support sustainable growth and climate change mitigation”.

One Health

At the same time as the GBEP meeting on 11 May meeting, parallel discussions were taking place on how to use bioeconomy and One Health approaches to integrate environmental concerns at national, regional and global levels. There is a lot of crossover between bioeconomy and One Health, which aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals and ecosystems. FAO’s bioeconomy team outlined areas where cooperation is happening and can be enhanced, including on reducing risks associated with the use of pesticides, fertilizers and other agricultural inputs; and ensuring safety of water, soil and land in the face of chemicals and pathogens. Non-toxic bio-based alternatives to agrochemicals can support the former; whereas sustainable bioeconomy practices, such as bioremediation, can support the latter in terms of ecosystem restoration and biodiversity regeneration.

Livestock

On 18–19 April the Technical Advisory Group on Circular Bioeconomy of the FAO-led Livestock Environmental Assessment and Performance Partnership met to discuss issues including the need to harmonize methodologies to assess the potential of the livestock sector to contribute to circular bioeconomy approaches. These approaches include possible recovery options for livestock residues, waste streams from agrifood industries, and manure.

Embracing the possibilities

Bioecnonomy’s increasingly influential role in different agrifood sectors is a positive development according to Gomez San Juan. “Bioeconomy is still a relatively new concept both within and outside FAO, but the willingness of so many stakeholders to embrace its possibilities is really heartening,” she said. “We know that agrifood systems will have to deliver more food for a growing population in the coming decades while reducing their environmental and carbon impacts. Bioeconomy offers incredible opportunities to do this, but it’s important that we discuss these openly with a broad range of stakeholders to better understand the challenges they face and work together to mitigate any trade-offs,” she concluded.

Link: Sustainable and circular bioeconomy for food systems transformation

17/05/2023