Categoria: Noticias & Eventos PT

On November 29th 2021 the virtual workshop “Research and Public policies for a sustainable bioeconomy in Uruguay” took place. More than 50 participants from research centers, Universities, ministries and international organizations took part in the workshop.

As a result of a four-year participatory process, the technical staff of an interinstitutional governing body developed the Uruguayan National Strategy for a Circular and Sustainable Bioeconomy, whose approval by the national authorities is still pending. The next step is to continue building the Action Plan to effectively implement the national Strategy.

In this framework, the SABio Project with its Uruguayan partners – Universidad ORT and Universidad de la República – organized a workshop with the following objectives:

• Level-up and diffuse the scientific knowledge that can feed into the four pillars of the Action Plan of the Bioeconomy Strategy;

• Identify the gaps and set the basis for the generation of additional scientific knowledge related to the Action Plan in future years;
• Build a network of researchers working in bioeconomy-related topics;
• Bring researchers and scientists closer to the policy-makers in charge of the Strategy.

The workshop was organized around the strategic pillars of the Bioeconomy Strategy. First, representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture and Industry presented the key components of the Strategy as a framework to guide future bioeconomy policies and discussed the research needs for its implementation. Then, three initiatives and research projects related to the pillars of the Strategy were presented:

• In the pillar Sustainable and circular production and consumption, Alejandro Carbajales, from Centro Tecnológico del Agua, presented the most relevant projects of the Center;
• The pillar International insertion based on environmental added value was covered by the presentation of Michael Carroll and the initiatives deployed by the Grupo de Productores del Sur and Alianza del Pastizal;
• Under the pillar Inclusive local development, Amalia Stuhldreher and Isabel Bortagaray presented the Project Bioeconomy as a development model for the Uruguayan North East region.

The purpose of these presentations was to showcase research-based initiatives and research projects that can contribute to the implementation of the action plan of the Strategy.

Finally, after a Q&A session, there was a debate between the audience and the speakers to discuss how research, science and technology should be articulated to support the implementation of public policies.

Policy Brief

The outcomes of the fruitful exchange will be used to produce a policy brief by the SABio project containing the main conclusions of the workshop. The policy brief will highlight how research can contribute to the effective implementation of actions framed in the Bioeconomy Strategy, the main gaps in research and the suggested mechanisms for a better articulation between public policies and science and research.

Download Policy Brief:

Kefeli, D., & Silva Carrazzone, M. E. (2023). Estrategia uruguaya para una bioeconomía circular y sostenible: desafíos en promover la ciencia, tecnología e innovación (Issue 47). ZEF – Center for Development Research. https://www.zef.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Policy_Brief_47_spanish.pdf

No dia 02 de dezembro de 2021, o pesquisador Guilherme de Queiroz-Stein, participou como representante da WWU-Münster no workshop “Inovações em Bioeconomia”, promovido pela Fraunhofer Liaison Office Brazil. Sua apresentação focou-se no potencial de uma bioeconomia baseada na biodiversidade no Brasil, tema de sua atual pesquisa. Segundo Queiroz-Stein, existe a necessidade de se avançar em uma bioeconomia que, ao mesmo tempo que promova desenvolvimento econômico, seja inclusiva, adotando estratégias de combate à pobreza, de geração de emprego e de renda. Uma nova bioeconomia, que valorize a biodiversidade nacional, também será fundamental para promover a preservação ambiental e a segurança alimentar e nutricional para a população. Para exemplificar as possibilidades de fomentar essas estratégias, apresentou três casos. Primeiro, a pesquisa “Plantas para o Futuro”, promovida pelo Ministério do Meio Ambiente, que identificou 674 plantas com valor econômico atual e futuro, nas cinco macrorregiões do país. O segund caso foi da empresa Natura S.A., que incorpora atividades de bioprospecção e repartição de benefícios com comunidades tradicionais em seu modelo de negócios. Atualmente, a Natura é um dos maiores players globais no mercado de cosméticos, com grande impacto em termos de geração de emprego no país. Por fim, discutiu o potencial do Açaí da Palmeira Juçara (Euterpe edulis), espécie da Mata Atlântica, para se aliar estratégias de segurança alimentar com preservação ambiental.

A apresentação pode ser vista no seguinte link, em 2:51:40: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4KA7bfm5dk&t=4s&ab_channel=AHKBrasil

On December 7, 2021 a SABio Interdisciplinary Colloquium took place in a hybrid format. Different members of the scientific staff from both Universities and the steering committee joined the event, part of them virtually from different parts of South America and Europe, and part of them in person at the Center for Development Research in Bonn.

In the Colloquium, Junior Researchers from the University of Bonn presented advances in their research.

Trevor Tisler presented his paper “Deforestation Contamination in Brazil’s Ethanol Supply Chains under the National Biofuels Policy”. The main research question focuses on identifying and quantifying direct and indirect deforestation and its linked carbon emissions that may be contaminating carbon offset credit sales in Brazil’s first regulated carbon marketplace, the CBIO marketplace.

Pablo Mac Clay presented his work “Value chains in the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy”. There, he analyzed which value chain features are associated with a process of intensified innovation in the bioeconomy and presented an overarching typology of bioeconomic value chains. Finally, he introduced a preliminary discussion on the potential implications for the social welfare for different actors from an increased rate of innovation in the bioeconomy.

Finally, María Eugenia Silva Carrazzone presented her paper “The role of the Reference point and Time inconsistencies in farmers’ compliance with sustainable soil policies”. The aim of her work is to assess how the reference point of the Prospect Theory -against which individuals define losses and gains- and their time inconsistencies can contribute to

farmers’ compliance to soil conservation policies that imply trade-offs. While most of the papers that model decision-making consider Expected Utility assumptions, the novelty of her work lies in the introduction of behavioral hints to the discussion.

Melisa Deciancio participated in the Roundtable: “Latin American knowledge contributions to International Relations” invited by the Centre for the International Politics of Knowledge (KNOWLEDGE Centre) at the University of Aberystwyth, UK, on December 1st, 2021, chaired by Amaya Querejazu (University of Aberystwyth) and with the participation of Marcos Scauso (Quinnipiac University) and Kinti Pablo Orellana (Queen Mary University of London).

She focused on her more recent research agenda on a renewed reading and conceptualization of dependency approaches based on the study of bioeconomy as a policy agenda in South America. She addressed the contributions of Latin America to International Relations based on her recently published book “Latin America in Global International Relations” (Routledge, 2022), edited with Amitav Acharya (American University) and Diana Tussie (FLACSO Argentina).

O Workshop de Stakeholders sobre Bioeconomia Argentina aconteceu no dia 28 de julho e reuniu um grupo diversificado de cerca de 40 profissionais de diferentes áreas e disciplinas. Seu principal objetivo era obter insights sobre a situação e os desenvolvimentos futuros da bioeconomia argentina. Foi moderado por Melisa Deciancio (Uni Münster) e Pablo Mac Clay (Uni Bonn).

Partindo do pressuposto de que a bioeconomia é um conceito amplo, a discussão foi organizada com base nas definições de bioeconomia da Comissão Europeia e da CEPAL, incluindo trajetórias biotecnológicas e iniciativas locais construídas sobre sistemas socioecológicos. A discussão foi organizada em dois blocos principais: (1) conhecimentos e habilidades para a bioeconomia e (2) sustentabilidade social e ambiental da bioeconomia.
Este workshop foi uma excelente oportunidade para os pesquisadores da SABio interagirem com as partes interessadas argentinas e entender mais sobre os desafios e oportunidades para o desenvolvimento da bioeconomia no país.

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.