Author: SABio

Helena Varkkey (Universiti Malaya and Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore) and Karen Siegel presented a paper comparing soybean production in South America and palm oil production in Southeast Asia to examine how the extractive imperative shapes approaches to sustainability. The paper was part of the panel “The Extractive Imperative: a Global Phenomenon?” chaired by Lorenzo Pellegrini and Murat Arsel (both International Institute of Social Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam).

More information about EADI ISS General Conference 2021.

To launch the book “The Politics of Bioeconomy and Sustainability: Lessons from Biofuel Governance, Policies and Production Strategies in the Emerging World” by Mairon Bastos Lima (Research Fellow SEI and scientific advisor of the SABio project), Stockholm Environment Institute hosted a virtual panel debate with the author and three international bioeconomy experts: Francis X. Johnson, Senior Research Fellow and Leader of the Initiative on Governing Bioeconomy Pathways, Stockholm Environment Institute; Karen Siegel, Head of the research group “Transformation and Sustainability Governance in South American Bioeconomies”, Institute of Political Science, University of Münster; and Wahida Maghraby, Researcher, Indonesian Center for Agricultural Socio Economic and Policy Studies (ICASEPS), Ministry of Agriculture Indonesia. With an audience from several countries and continents including South Africa, Uruguay, Brazil, Sweden, Germany and Ireland the Q+A was lively and insightful.

For those who missed the event, a recording is available on SEI’s YouTube channel:

On 31^st of May, 2021, at the invitation of the National Council for Innovation, Science and Technology (CONICYT) of Uruguay, Karen Siegel and Daniel Kefeli gave a presentation on “Agri-food governance, sustainable development and bioeconomy in Uruguay”. About 30 attendees from different institutions participated, including the National Agricultural Research Institute (INIA), the Universidad de la República (UdelaR), the Ministry of Livestock, Agriculture and Fisheries (MGAP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Instituto Saras (South American Institute for Resilience and Sustainability Studies), the National Secretariat for Science and Technology and the Basic Sciences Development Program (PEDECIBA).

Karen Siegel presented the main results of the Policy Brief “Promoting inclusive bioeconomies? Lessons from agri-food governance and the politics of the Sustainable Development Goals in South America” where she highlighted how Uruguay and Paraguay have taken up the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), emphasizing the level of inclusion and participation of the different actors involved. She also presented the SABio Project and its main lines of research. Daniel Kefeli described the different concepts and existing visions of the bioeconomy, as well as the characteristics of the strategies implemented internationally to promote this paradigm and to contemplate the risks implicit in it. Finally, he reported on the process that took place in Uruguay to incorporate the bioeconomy into the country’s public policies and commented on some ongoing projects related to this topic.

During the session there was an enriching and active discussion among the participants where questions were raised and comments were made regarding the challenges in the implementation of the SDGs, the participation of agroecology in the concept of bioeconomy, the role and learning of the public participation in the design of public policies, among other issues. Finally, the workshop promoted the exchange of ideas for future work on issues related to the bioeconomy.

Projects and institutions that are carrying out projects related to the bioeconomy in Uruguay:

• Research group in bioeconomy. Instituto de Economía – Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics Area. FCEA – Udelar. http://www.iecon.ccee.edu.uy/economia-agropecuaria-ambiental-y-de-los-recursos-naturales/area/24/es/

• ANII Project: Design and evaluation of technological alternatives for the development of bio-refineries. https://www.anii.org.uy/proyectos/FSE_1_2018_1_152900/diseno-y-evaluacion-de-alternativas-tecnologicas-para-el-desarrollo-de-biorefinerias/

• CSIC – Udelar Project: Is the bioeconomy a plausible sustainable human development strategy for the northeast of Uruguay? Theoretical-conceptual discussion and empirical bases for its implementation. Instituto de Desarrollo Sostenible, Innovación e Inclusión Social (IDIIS) – Centro Universitario de Tacuarembó – Udelar. http://www.idiis.edu.uy/

Melisa Deciancio participated in the panel “Inequalities in Bodies, Land and the Biosphere” at the British International Studies Association Conference, addressing core-periphery dynamics on bioeconomy projects in Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and, in a broader sense, the impacts of bioeconomy on creating new forms of dependency for South American countries. The other panellists included Nicola Smith (University of Birmingham), Amelia Morris (University of Law); and Sulagna Basu (University of Sydney).

The papers were commented on by Ben Richardson from University of Warwick.

The bioeconomy offers a way to transition away from fossil fuels and transform our economies. But, like any profound change, this transition won’t be without challenges. Who will benefit and who may be left behind? How are the new institutions and policies being shaped, and by whom? And how can the development of the bioeconomy be steered to addressing socio-economic and environmental issues without perpetuating the inequalities of the fossil economy (or creating new ones)?

These questions will be discussed at the book launch event: “The politics of bioeconomy and sustainability: Lessons from biofuel governance, policies and production strategies in the emerging world” by Mairon G. Bastos Lima.

Speakers:

• Mairon G. Bastos Lima, author of the book. Research Fellow, Stockholm Environment Institute
• Francis X. Johnson, Senior Research Fellow and Leader of the Initiative on Governing Bioeconomy Pathways, Stockholm Environment Institute
• Karen Siegel, Head of the research group “Transformation and Sustainability Governance in South American Bioeconomies”, Institute of Political Science, University of Münster
• Wahida Maghraby, Researcher, Indonesian Center for Agricultural Socio Economic and Policy Studies (ICASEPS), Ministry of Agriculture Indonesia

Zoom meeting 14:00-15:00 CEST online, register here to receive the link.

More information at https://www.sei.org/events/the-politics-of-biofuels-and-bioeconomy-who-wins-and-who-loses/

Karen Siegel, Thomas Dietz and Melisa Deciancio participated in the panel “Governing Sustainable Development Agendas in the Global South: Global, Regional and Local Governance of Bioeconomy Agendas”, addressing the challenges and potential that the implementation of sustainable bioeconomy strategies face in countries in the Global South across multiple scales.

Karen Siegel discussed to what extent the concept of bioeconomy fosters or hinders inclusive and peaceful sustainability transitions in South American natural resource governance.

Focusing on the Argentine case, Melisa Deciancio discussed how the implementation of a bioeconomy policy strategy can shape the development model and the risks of reproducing new forms of dependency in Latin America.

The other panellists included Rocio Diaz Chavez from Stockholm Environment Institute Africa Centre and Imperial College London who, focusing on gender equality and poverty reduction goals, addressed the need for sustainability indicators to monitor bioeconomy development in Africa; and Mairon Bastos Lima from Chalmers University of Technology, who addressed how corporate dominance by agribusiness can threaten the sustainability of the bioeconomy transition in Brazil.

The papers were commented on by Carole-Anne Sénit from Utrecht University.

Prof. Eduardo Brondizio, Indiana University-Bloomington

This presentation reflects on the opportunities and challenges of place-based sustainability initiatives in the Amazon in light of development inequalities, global markets, and climate change. The context is set with an overview of the findings of the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). It then introduces the AGENTS project (Amazonian Governance to Enable Transformation to Sustainability), which has been documenting local-level initiatives across the Brazilian Amazon. These are place-based initiatives in rural areas pursuing changes in productive systems, governance arrangements, value-aggregation and access to markets with the goals of improving living standards and environmental sustainability. The presentation examines challenges and opportunities for local initiatives at the intersection with historical and current trends in economic development and policies in the region.

​Zoom meeting 16:00-17:00 CEST online, register here to receive the link.

More information at https://www.cedla.nl/30421

The Bioeconomy Science Centre of North Rhine Westphalia held its 5^th Symposium on 5 March which also celebrated the centre’s 10-year anniversary. The symposium was opened by Christine Lang, Co-Chair of the International Advisory Council for Global Bioeconomy and former Co-Chair of the German Bioeconomy Council. She outlined the growing importance of the bioeconomy in the global context. 49 countries already have bioeconomy-related policy strategies, 16 of them dedicated bioeconomy strategies.

Karen Siegel presented the SABio project in the section “Bioeconomy and Society”. Her presentation focussed on bioeconomy and the SDGs in South America and highlighted both, potential opportunities and important challenges in international cooperation on bioeconomy.

On March 19, Jorge Sellare spoke at the FAO Geneva’s webcast series Agriculture Trade Talks. The series started in 2018 and it aims to be a platform for dialogue where member countries can discuss about trade policies and agreements that are conducive to improved food security.

This latest iteration of the webcast was titled “Agri-food Value Chains (GVCs) & Sustainability Certification.” It counted with the participation from members of the academia, the private sector, development organizations, and representatives of three FAO member states. The panelists spoke about how standards can contribute to sustainable development, emerging trends in sustainably-certified products, and the potential of new technologies that can facilitate traceability across value chains.

Jorge Sellare presented a brief overview of the latest research on the impacts of certification under sustainability standards on smallholder farmers in developing countries. He presented some evidence that sustainability standards can have positive impacts on all three dimensions of sustainability, but highlighted that the average effects tend to be rather heterogeneous. He emphasized the importance of distinguishing between different standards and noted that we still have a significant knowledge gap regarding how value chain structures might affect whether and how smallholder farmers benefit from certification.

More information about this event can be found at the FAO Geneva’s website (http://www.fao.org/geneva/news/detail/en/c/1379083/) and the full recording can be seen below.