The Southern Cone of South America is one of the most important world regions for the provision of bio-based feedstock worldwide with many countries in the region currently undergoing dynamic changes in various bioeconomic sectors. Despite the region’s enormous potential for sustainable bio-based transformation, promoting environmentally responsible and equitable bioeconomic change remains a major governance challenge. This project focuses on the emergence and sustainability performance of the bioeconomies from Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay and aims to analyze bio-based initiatives from a political sciences and agricultural economics perspective.
The planned research seeks to inform governmental and non-governmental, including private, decision-makers in South America and beyond about entry points for action towards promoting climate smart bio-based innovation processes that safeguard rural employment and the equitable distribution of the benefits and costs of bio-based transformation. Through strong partnerships with Universities in the Southern Cone and engagement at the science-policy interface, the project will strengthen international collaboration and its impact in the region.
Under what conditions can bioeconomies be developed sustainably? Which governance mechanisms are most effective in fostering and regulating bioeconomic transformations? What are the effects of different policies and technologies associated with the bioeconomy on socioeconomic and environmental dimensions? Using quantitative impact assessment methods from agricultural and environmental economics and qualitative governance analysis from political sciences, these are a few of the questions that the project will tackle.