23 April 2020 - What exactly is the Bioeconomy and what is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) doing to promote its sustainable and circular implementation?

Bioeconomy is generally understood as “the production, utilization and conservation of biological resources, including related knowledge, science, technology and innovation, to provide information, products, processes and services across all economic sectors aiming towards a sustainable economy”.

Bioeconomy, if done sustainably, can comprehensively address interconnected societal challenges such as food security, fossil-resource dependence, natural resource scarcity and climate change, while achieving sustainable economic development, and supporting the achievement of many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

To this end, the FAO Climate and Environment Division (OCB) is implementing the project ‘Towards sustainable bioeconomy guidelines’ to support countries in the development of sustainable and circular bioeconomy strategies and action plans, including in Uruguay and Namibia. In 2016, an FAO-led International Sustainable Bioeconomy Working Group (ISBWG) was established as the first output of the project, to provide advice to the project and to support knowledge exchange between its members regarding sustainable and circular bioeconomy. 

The ISBWG is a South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) platform as it provides knowledge and experience-sharing related to bioeconomy-relevant good practices, monitoring systems and tools. The Group comprises a diverse pool of experts, including fourteen Member countries, as well as regional governing bodies and affiliated institutions, non-governmental organizations, private sector entities and research institutions. 

Through SSTC, the Office of South-South and Triangular Cooperation (OSS) spreads traditional knowledge, exchanges of ideas, knowledge and good practices based on the concept of solidarity and willingness to share and learn from one another. SSTC has been working in various areas, including bioeconomy.  

The sharing of knowledge and lessons learned through SSTC is an important tool available within FAO that supports the dissemination of sustainable bioeconomy in developing countries. 

The United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation report “South-South and Triangular Cooperation on the Bioeconomy in light of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” does exactly that, by serving as a knowledge resource to inspire, replicate and upscale SSTC in the bioeconomy and providing insights into practical and effective development solutions undertaken by Southern countries. 

Mr. Rene Castro Salazar, Assistant Director-General, Climate, Biodiversity, Land and Water Department (CB) presented FAO’s contributions to the publication, in the form of a joint case study, during the event “Achieving NDC targets through South-South and triangular cooperation on bioeconomy” held at the 2019 United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties, also known as COP25. The case study highlights FAO’s work in promoting sustainable bioeconomy and it was jointly developed by OSS and CBC.

Other presenters included an outstanding member of the ISBWG, Mr. Adrián Rodriguez, Chief Agricultural Development and Biodiversity Unit, ECLAC, and the project partner in Uruguay, Mr. Walter Oyhantcabal, Uruguayan Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP).

A series of lessons are presented in the case study, concerning the development of sustainable bioeconomy strategies and programmes, which are relevant to the Global South.