Mariia Levanchuk
Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação, Porto, Portugal
Keywords: Bioeconomy, Latin America and Caribbean, International Cooperation, Business Opportunities, Sustainability.
ABSTRACT
Bioeconomy is an emerging necessity and a great instrument to answer the world’s biggest issues, such as resource limitations, climate change and loss of biodiversity. In the last couple of decades, bioeconomy business started to actively develop in Latin America and in the Caribbean. However, in the political-institutional sphere, the concept of bioeconomy in the region is still underdeveloped. The concept itself was established through projects assisted by European cooperation and other international organizations. This article provides information on different concepts of bioeconomy, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean region. It gives a short overview of the developments in the sector, in particular, national and regional policies on the bioeconomy. It also provides information regarding trends, barriers and opportunities for bioeconomy entrepreneurship.
INTRODUCTION
The primary understanding of bioeconomy can be narrowed down to the fact that it is an economy based on the use of natural assets/ecosystem services, and that this type of economy necessarily involves the use of biotechnology in the production of goods or services.
The concept itself remains rather vague and has many interpretations, varying from stakeholder to stakeholder. In the study done by World Resource Institute in Brazil, the authors distinguish three main directions of interpretation of bioeconomy [1].
The first approach is bio-technological bioeconomy. It is characterized by prioritizing the issue of economic growth and job creation, while the issues of sustainability and environmental friendliness recede into the background. This concept assumes that the use of new high-tech developments in the production process will contribute to environmental efficiency, therefore making the whole process more efficient and supposedly more stable. In this approach, one can very clearly trace a linear approach to the economy, in which degradation and integrity of the ecosystems are acceptable for increasing productivity.
Another concept is bio-resource bioeconomy. It has some very similar ideas to the previous one, for example, usage of the latest technological developments, but unlike bio-technological bioeconomy it focuses not only on improving the production process, but on the product itself, by reduction and use of residues, cascade use of the same raw materials, and similar options. However, land use in contrast to economic diversification based on biodiversity, is still a central part of this concept.
Another approach is the bio-ecology bioeconomy. It can be described as a sustainable alternative to the previous approaches and is based on the principles of the circular economy and nature-based solutions. Therefore, it is not aimed just at improving the product or production, but also to reduce the number of raw materials, intensify the reusing of wastes and take into account the local state of the environment and the biodiversity of the resources used in the production process.
Additionally, authors also mention restorative or development bioeconomy, which is very much like bio-ecology but aims at restoring ecosystems, including social impact (like social participation and fair distribution of benefits).
Bioeconomy is an emerging necessity that comes from the need to rearrange the economy, taking into account the issues of resource limitations, climate change and loss of biodiversity. This is confirmed by the fact that the topic of bioeconomy began to be actively developed by various international organizations, such as the UN, the EU and the Organization for Economic Community and Development.
LAC and EU developments on bioeconomy
Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region is very well placed to both contribute and benefit from the bioeconomy. The region has an immense wealth of natural resources, however, due to climate change, biodegradation, consumerism etc., LAC’s biomes are at risk, making it immensely important for the region to develop specifically bio-ecology and restorative concepts of bioeconomy.
However, the local development of bioeconomy has started long before the term arose, and LAC region has already become one of the world leaders in the bioeconomy, specifically in sectors such as agricultural technologies and biofuel markets. Although business went forward a long time ago, on the political level, bioeconomy is still not defined by all states in the regions and region perception of the term is also vague.
The European Commission is considered as a world driving force behind the political use of the term bioeconomy. Since 2007, bioeconomy in the EU is seen as a strategic opportunity to invest in technologies based on biological origin and has passed through a large amount of re-interpretation inside the organization. The current bioeconomy strategy [2] is very much interlinked with European Green Deal and therefore, has 5 following goals:
- Ensure food and nutrition security;
- Manage natural resources sustainably;
- Reduce dependence on non-renewable, unsustainable resources;
- Limit and adapt to climate change;
- Strengthen European competitiveness and create jobs.
European Union support is essential to LAC, as most of the advances related to the bioeconomy were supported by it and were part of research programs. Since 2011, EU has been financing projects related to bioeconomy in the region as one of the goals for science and technology bi-regional cooperation. These projects provided information on research topics on high-priority bioeconomy issues, for example, new raw materials, biorefineries, waste streams, bioproducts. During those projects, research teams from LAC countries have partnered with European laboratories and that boosted overall regional and also national discussion processes in defining and developing bioeconomy.
For instance, within the framework of the ALCUE-FOOD project of EU Programme IV [3], in 2008 one of the first regional workshops on bioeconomy was organized in Buenos Aires, Argentina. At this point, an institutional commitment was undertaken to carry out a collaborative effort between the LAC countries and the EU countries interested in the subject, to promote the development of a shared vision of the bioeconomy.
Another project, the ALCUE-KBBE “Towards a Latin America and Caribbean Knowledge Based BioEconomy in partnership with Europe”, [4] was approved within the framework of EU Programme VII. Its objective was to establish a cooperative LAC-EU platform to lay down the foundations of a political and institutional environment conducive to the development of the bioeconomy. This project featured participation by 11 countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico) and was carried out between 2011 and 2013. This period can be considered the definitive maturation of the idea of the bioeconomy as a shared vision for sustainable development, and its incorporation into the region’s political agenda. This was clearly reflected in the implementation of the ALCUE-NET project (“Latin America, Caribbean and European Union Network on Research and Innovation”) [5] in 2012-2017, which formally created a bioeconomy forum within the structure of the bi-regional political dialogues that sought to implement the decisions of the EU-LAC Heads of State Summits.
In parallel, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) proposed, between 2008 and 2009, the setup of a working group on the subject. This group of experts, hailing from more than ten EU and LAC countries, delivered a report that highlighted the bioeconomy opportunities for the region and a series of recommendations for action. These included the designing of policies, decision-making, capacity building and the facilitation of business development in the sector [6].
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) is a highly recognized regional organization of the United Nations, with extensive experience in organizing policy dialogues, has also assumed regional leadership for some time in the field of bioeconomy, reflected in the holding of the 2015 LAC Regional Bioeconomy Conference (in conjunction with ALCUE Net), the 2018 LAC Regional Bioeconomy Workshop (with the support of French Cooperation, German Cooperation and FAO/RLC), as well as several publications and the creation of a digital platform for the exchange of information [7]. However, not only international organizations did work in developing the bioeconomy. Several regional organizations are also actively working on the issue.
In particular, the International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) is recognized for the quality and impact of the collaborative research it conducts to improve agricultural productivity and natural resource management in tropical emerging countries. Among its relevant initiatives for bioeconomics, the CIAT BioSciences Regional Platform stands out as a mean to improve the capacity of the countries of Central America and the Andean Region to use advanced biosciences in the development and transfer of effective technological options for the further development and consolidation of their bioeconomy sectors. This platform has two components: a) training activities (short-term); and b) research and support services, aimed at providing scientists in national research institutions (public and private) with access to advanced infrastructure and advice in support of their research efforts [8].
Another organization is The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) with more than 70 years of experience in agriculture and rural development. In its medium-term plan (2018-2022), IICA has included a Bioeconomy and Productive Development Program, on which the initial emphasis has been the identification of opportunities and policy needs and technical assistance for the development of bioeconomy policies in the area of agriculture at the national level [9].
The Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization (ACTO) is an intergovernmental organization formed by the eight Amazonian countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. The organization is oriented to promote the harmonious development of the Amazonian territories, and in 2022, it conducted BioForestALC and bioeconomy Virtual Forum. During the event, ACTO made available the Regional Knowledge Exchange of Information Platform on Forests and Biodiversity Conservation [10] for the identification of bioeconomy experiments with non-timber forest products (NTFPs). Nineteen experiences were recorded, of which 12 were carried out in Brazil, six in Ecuador and two in Suriname.
The systematization of experiments in bioeconomy will collaborate with BioForestALC in achieving its objective of identifying and formulating joint initiatives to strengthen the bioeconomy in Latin America and the Caribbean based on the development of value chains of non-timber forest products [11]. Great number of advances related to the bioeconomy have also been done at the national level (LAC countries). This applies to both business and scientific developments, as well as to policy development.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the elaboration of policy frameworks for the development of the bioeconomy is underway in several countries, at various stages of progress. Several countries have already developed their national bioeconomy strategies:
- Argentina – “Argentinian Biotechnology in the Year 2030: Strategic key for a Techno-Productive Development Model” by Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation [12]
- Brazil – “Plano Decenal de Expansão de Energia 2023” by Ministry of Mines and Energy and “Política de Proteção de Desenvolvimento da Tecnologia” by Brazilian Government [13]
- Colombia – “Politica para el Desarrollo Commercial de la Biotecnología a partir del Uso Sostenible de la Biodiversidad” by Council for Economic and Social Policy (Interministerial) [14]
- Paraguay – “Politica y Programa Nacional de Biotecnología Agroprecuaria y Forestal del Parauay” by Agriculture Ministry [15]
- Uruguay – “Plan Sectorial de Biotechnología 2011–2020” (Interministerial) [16]
- Mexico – “Estrategia Intersecretarial de los Bioenergéticos” (Interministerial) [17]
As mentioned before, bioeconomy businesses in LAC appeared much earlier than policies and strategies focused on the subject. In the mid-1990s the region began to use new technologies to make more efficient and sustainable use of biological resources in agriculture and other economic areas. Althoughdifferent terms were used at that time, several LAC countries were early adopters, trailblazers that today are world leaders in some bioeconomy businesses, such as the production and export of biofuels, liquids, biotechnological applications in agriculture, carbon neutrality in agricultural chains, and the sustainable use of biodiversity, among several others.
In the case of bioethanol, for example, about 14 Latin American countries have established mandates for the compulsory mixing of ethanol with conventional fuels, ranging from 5% in Guatemala and Uruguay to 27% in Brazil [18].
In the case of the biodiesel industry, Argentina is the world’s third-largest producer, second consumer and first exporter. The case of Colombia is of special note, as it is the only country in the region that uses palm diesel to comply with the mandatory inclusion of biofuels (10%), and is the leader in the LAC in the production of biodiesel of this type.
Latin America is a mega biodiverse region. Several mega biodiverse countries are located in the Amazon Basin and in Mesoamerica. There is a great variety of unique ecosystems, such as desert zones (northern Chile and southern Peru) and semi-desert zones (Caatinga, Brazil), Patagonia (southern Chile and Argentina); the humid pampas (southern Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina) and dry pampas (Argentina), and the Pantanal (Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay). Marine ecosystems, many still little known, both in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans and in the Caribbean Sea. Therefore, in LAC, the sustainable productive use of biodiversity represents both potential and a challenge for the development of the bioeconomy.
The biggest opportunities for business lay in several areas [19]:
- A high potential for biomass production (availability of land, adequate soils and water). It has already allowed the consolidation of many production chains in traditional areas of food (human and animal food), fiber and forestry sectors, and bioenergy, in which there is still room to increase value addition. For example, the production of biomasses for advanced non-conventional uses, e.g. energy crops for bioenergy production and specialized crops for the production of biomolecules (plants such as bioreactors) for applications in the food, chemical and pharmaceutical industries, etc.
- The availability of large quantities of waste biomass generated in biologically based primary sectors (crops, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture and forestry), is considered pollution and problematic in the linear view of the economy. However, these elements are resources in the circular view of the bioeconomy and are valuable for new value chains. Examples include the production of energy, bioplastics and other biomaterials, the recovery of proteins and enzymes for industrial use, and others.
- Use of biodiversity resources, including scenarios in which the distinctive feature is the valorization (domestication, transformation, links to markets, etc.) of biodiversity; for example, the recovery of traditional seeds, the discovery of functional traits related to specific sectors and uses, the development of new products through innovative transformations, and the development of markets for local products, among others.
- Ecosystem services, including the processes through which the environment produces resources used by humans, such as air, water, food and materials. Due to the special nature of the relationship between natural resources and social and economic activities under a bioeconomy approach, the ecosystem perspective must be a crucial component of any strategy to foster a sustainable bioeconomy.
- Biotechnology applications (products, tools and processes), through the cultivation of industrial tissues, selection assisted by markers in culture and breeding of animals, plants and improved seeds, molecular diagnosis, improvement of animal reproduction through molecular techniques, modified enzymes, microorganisms and yeasts, etc. Also included in this pathway are applications in the management of natural resources, food, fibers and chemical industries, as well as in the supply of energy.
- Bioenergy – bioproducts; biorefineries – the circular economy. The bioenergy sector seeks to replacement of fossil fuels, through the full use of biomass, including waste biomass. Ethanol, biodiesel, biogas and bioelectricity plants, as well as different biomanufacturing activities related to the production of bioproducts, are examples.
- Eco intensification in agriculture and efficiency of agrifood value chains. This relates to agricultural practices aimed at improving the environmental performance of agricultural activities (e.g. precision farming, direct seeding, agroecology) without sacrificing, and even increasing current levels of production/productivity, as well as to the activities that reduce post-harvest losses and food waste at any level that may occur.
Even though the bioeconomy presents a wide range of opportunities, a number of significant barriers exist. For example, as can be seen from the section “LAC developments in bioeconomy”, there is a lack of regulatory frameworks, especially in fields of rapid advancement in knowledge and application of the technologies and weakness in capacities to comply with regulations in destination markets and/lacking knowledge of such requirements. Other relevant barriers are: incompatibility of regulations between conventional products and similar bio-based products and absence of harmonization in the classification criteria for bio-related products. There is also a small number of qualitative technical and scientific studies to comply with regulations in destination countries.
Another considerable issue is logistic barriers, related to obtaining export certification, labels and seals. From that, a number of economic barriers follow due to the high cost involved to comply with the requirements of seals or certification schemes. Last, but not least important is the perception barrier, which occurs due to the producers’ need to show the great consumer that their product is harmless and safe.
Despite all these challenges for bioeconomy businesses in Latin America, there are a large number of financial and other supporting programs for businesses at all stages of development and this gives a great advantage to the development of the entire sector in the region.
For instance, in Ecuador, there are several institutions that help biobusiness. These are the Unit for Promotion of Bioeconomy and Entrepreneurship in the Ministry of the Environment, Centre of promotion of biobusiness “BioEmprende” [20]. There is also a National Fund “Fondo Emprende: Ecuador Productivo” that is financing the implementation of innovations in the businesses, including bioeconomy innovations [21].
Funding opportunities in other countries also can be found under the agenda of country governmental institutions/ development agencies, such as CORFO in Chile [22], Colciencias in Colobbia [23], Mincyt in Argentina [24], Concytec in Peru [25], Conacyt in Mexico [26], etc. There are also other funds that work in the bioeconomy sector, among them are Bancoldex in Colambia and Fund cooperacfion in Costa Rica.
Finally, there are some private funds that support bioeconomy initiatives as well: LP HUB in Argentina, Venture Institute in Mexico, Bioincuba in Peru, Ingenio in Uruguay, Carao Ventures in Costa Rica, Nazca Ventures, WAYRA, Telefonica Foundation.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
Mariia Levanchuk elaborated this article, while Caíque Neves and Luize Ferreira revised it.
FUNDING
This article was produced in the scope of the ENRICH in LAC project. The project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 101004572.
REFERENCES
[1] WRI Brazil “Bioeconomy for the Amazon: concepts, limits, and trends for a proper definition of the tropical forest biome” – https://www.wri.org/research/bioeconomy-amazon-concepts-limits-and-trends-proper-definition-tropical-forest-biome [2] EU bioeconomy straregy: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research area/environment/bioeconomy/bioeconomy-strategy_en [3] From European fork to Latin American farm:an innovative networking platform for EU-LAC partnerships in food quality and safety R&D (ALCUE-FOOD) : https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/7176/es. [4] ALCUE KBBE project: http://alcuenet.eu/ALCUE_KBBE.php [5] ALCUE-NET project “Latin America, Caribbean and European Union Network on Research and Innovation”: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/311953 [6] H. Chavarría, E. Trigo, J. F. Martínez “Policies and Business for the Bioeconomy in LAC: An ongoing process” – https://www.uco.es/ucopress/ojs/index.php/bioeconomy/article/download/13150/11977/v [7] Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) – https://sdgs.un.org/un-system-sdg-implementation/economic-commission-latin-america-and-caribbean-eclac-24520 [8] CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture) – https://ciat.cgiar.org/about/ [9] The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) – https://www.iica.int/en [10] Regional Platform for the Exchange of Information and Knowledge on Forests and Biodiversity Conservation – http://pric.otca.org.br/pt/iexperiencia/index/grupo/9 [11] BioForestALC and bioeconomy – http://otca.org/en/bioforestalc-and-bioeconomy [12] “Biotecnología argentina al año 2030: Llave estratégica para un modelo de desarrollo tecno-productivo” by Ministry of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation – https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/est_bio_biotecnologia-argentina-al-2030-sintesis.pdf [13] An Overview of the Bioeconomy in Brazil – https://www.bioeconomy-news.com/2021/01/an-overview-of-the-bioeconomy-in-brazil/ [14] Politica para el Desarrollo Commercial de la Biotecnología a partir del Uso Sostenible de la Biodiversidad – https://colaboracion.dnp.gov.co/CDT/Conpes/Econ%C3%B3micos/3697.pdf [15] Politica y Programa Nacional de Biotecnología Agroprecuaria y Forestal del Parauay –http://extwprlegs1.fao.org/docs/pdf/par199773.pdf [16] Plan Sectorial de Biotechnología 2011–2020 – https://portal.concytec.gob.pe/images/noticias/PRONBIOTEC_FINAL.pdf [17] Estrategia Intersecretarial de los Bioenergéticos – http://centro.paot.org.mx/documentos/sagarpa/est_intersecretarial_bioenergeticos.pdf [18] RENEWABLES 2019 GLOBAL STATUS REPORT – https://www.ren21.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/gsr_2019_full_report_en.pdf [19] A. G. Rodríguez, M. Rodrigues, O. Sotomayor “Towards a sustainable bioeconomy in Latin America and the Caribbean Elements for a regional vision” https://repositorio.cepal.org/bitstream/handle/11362/44994/1/S1901014_en.pdf [20] Gobierno Nacional implementa el Primer Centro de Promoción y Fomento de BioNegocios Sostenible del Ecuador – BioEmprende – https://www.ambiente.gob.ec/gobierno-nacional-implementa-el-primer-centro-de-promocion-y-fomento-de-bionegocios-sostenible-del-ecuador-bioemprende/ [21] El Fondo Emprende: Ecuador Productivo – https://www.fondoemprende.gob.ec/ [22] CORFO – https://www.corfo.cl/sites/cpp/homecorfo [23] Colciencias (Departamento Administrativo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación) – https://legadoweb.minciencias.gov.co/faq/qu-es-colciencias[24] Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación – https://www.argentina.gob.ar/ciencia [25] Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Tecnológica – https://www.gob.pe/concytec [26] Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) – https://conacyt.mx/
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