Paper details

Title:

BioEconomy Regional Strategy Toolkit - The BERST Project

Author(s):

Guisson, R., Van Leeuwen, M.

Document(s):

Abstract:

The implementation of the European bioeconomy occurs under the impulse of entrepreneurs (ranging from carbon­based industries to farmers and foresters) and political authorities, assisted by knowledge workers (R&D). The drivers are (1) the search for alternative resources for fossil fuels, (2) the response to climate warming by becoming as CO2 neutral as possible and (3) the industrial demand for new functionalities offered by biobased materials and chemicals. Regions can be encouraged to apply new development strategies. Regions can also be guided to find ways to support, encourage and enhance concrete actions towards the bioeconomy by current and potential entrepreneurs within a bioeconomy. The BERST project intends to capture the specific characteristics of the bioeconomy within a particular region that are critical for its development as a bioregion. All regions are potentially ‘bioregions’, and therefore the BERST project provides tools (sets of criteria, catalogues both of instruments and measures as well as of good practices and case studies, and guidelines for elaborating regional profiles to prepare for smart specialisation strategies) to help regions in their trajectory of bioeconomic development. The project innovativeness lies within the triangular interdependency of the abovementioned tools leading to regional profiles. Criteria will be correlated against instruments/measures and will be validated with good practices. At the same time the instruments/measures will be referenced with good practices . The aim of this project is to take into account the bioeconomy potential and strategies of a range of different regions in Europe, and therefore to gain understanding of the possibilities and challenges related to the enhancement of biobased economies. The project’s key objectives are the following: (1) facilitate the understanding of bioeconomy potential (biomass availability, bio­refining capacity, bioeconomy­related market accessibility), (2) help decision makers decide on their region’s bioeconomy potential and its utilisation, as well as (3) help regional authorities and stakeholders choose and apply suitable instruments and measures to enhance positive development in the bioeconomy sector, e.g. in encouraging establishment of new companies and investments. The project also provides a support network in order to promote the development of smart specialisation strategies based on regional bioeconomic potential. The results and outcomes of this project will be linked to each region’s “normal” planning and strategic development processes, and therefore to give additional tools for the regions to enhance their bioeconomies. This also means to promote stakeholder relations within bioregions, so that entrepreneurs can guide regional priorities in the development of the bioeconomy. The outcome of the project – with both a toolkit and an operating bioregional network – is intended to be taken over by the nascent EU Bioeconomy Observatory.

Keywords:

bioeconomy, policy, strategy, regional, policies, strategies, biobased

Topic:

Biomass Policies, Markets and Sustainability

Subtopic:

Resource efficient bioeconomy

Event:

22nd European Biomass Conference and Exhibition

Session:

4DO.9.3

Pages:

1486 - 1488

ISBN:

978-88-89407-52-3

Paper DOI:

10.5071/22ndEUBCE2014-4DO.9.3

Price:

FREE