Bioeconomy Regions Summit: place-based forest bioeconomy transition
The well-known saying, “There is no such thing as one-size-fits-all”, perfectly encapsulates the essence of the place-based approach. Place-based forest bioeconomy refers to developing the forest bioeconomy in specific places, communities, locations, or regions, considering their characteristics, forest resources, and socio-economic conditions.
On 28 November 2024, regional government representatives, European Commission representatives, researchers, media, and other forest bioeconomy stakeholders gathered in Brussels for the Bioeconomy Regions Summit.
During the summit, the ‘Declaration of EU regions in relation to the update of the EU Bioeconomy Strategy’ was launched. In it, the co-organisers from the governments of North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany), the Basque Country and Catalonia (Spain), the participating regions, and stakeholders expressed commitment to further developing the circular bioeconomy as a pivotal solution for Europe’s transition towards a low-carbon, circular and competitive economy.
The event brought together over 100 participants from 43 diverse European regions, offering valuable opportunities for networking and insights from our 18 speakers.
EU Bioeconomy Strategy
At the European level, there is a growing recognition of the need for tailored, place-based approaches. Regions can play a key role as they are closer connected to on-the-ground socio-economic, biomass, and other characteristics – a sentiment echoed by our speakers.
“National and regional bioeconomy strategies are becoming more numerous throughout Europe”, said Peter Wehrheim, Head of Unit “Food Systems and Bioeconomy” at the European Commission, DG Research and Innovation.
In fact, in the EU-27, 194 regions either have or are developing bioeconomy-related strategies. Twenty-eight regions already have a dedicated bioeconomy strategy, while others are in different stages of tackling the bioeconomy.
Roby Biwer, Committee of Regions, NAT Commission & Member of Bettembourg Municipal Council, said, “Regions and local entities have been invited and responded positively in recent years to contribute to drawing up higher bioeconomy action plans at the most appropriate territorial level based on local specificities and potential”.
Regional Bioeconomy Strategies and Actions
Innovation is a tool for transformative change, but it needs direction. Municipal and regional governments benefit from place-based innovation to reduce fossil fuel dependency and develop local self-resilience.
This bottom-up approach identifies a region’s strengths in sectors such as science and technology. Carlos Torrecilla Salinas, Head of the Innovation Policies and Economic Impact Unit at Joint Research Centre, elaborated on these ideas in his keynote speech, which focused on Innovation for Place-Based Transformations: ACTIONbook, Practices, and Tools.
A regional approach is essential for advancing the global sustainability agenda. This includes structuring a bioeconomy strategy, establishing councils with experts from diverse fields and sectors, and exploring market opportunities. Here are three examples from our speakers:
“It’s a priority to use the Catalan bioeconomy strategy launched in 2021 to foster a transition to an economy based on optimal use of local and renewable biological resources to create high-value products”, said Cristina Massot Berna, Secretary General of the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Government of Catalonia, Spain.
“The Bioeconomy Council North Rhine-Westphalia supports the State government in developing the bioeconomy strategy. It evaluates current bioeconomic developments, identifies region-specific action areas, develops appropriate evaluation principles and usage hierarchies for the region and aligns them with European and federal concepts”, said Katja Frühwald, Chairwoman of the Bioeconomy Council of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, & Professor at OWL University of Applied Sciences and Arts.
“In the last eight years, the Basque government has worked strongly to connect all the actors in all value chains in the region”, Leire Barañano, General Director at Neiker, “For example, in the forest sector, companies have invested in finding solutions and working on opening more market for the bioeconomy and create diversification”.
We Need a Competitive Bioeconomy
Market opportunity is very important for the success of any business or project. However, “the bioeconomy market is characterised by its granularity and higher risk perception by financial markets”, said Sylvain Caurla, Sector Economist at the European Investment Bank (EIB). This, for instance, was one of the barriers highlighted in the Overcoming Investment Barriers in the Forest report.
Innovation is essential, but bringing technologies to life and making them market-ready requires timely access to funding.
“Bioeconomy projects were more likely to succeed when a market already existed, making it easier to convince clients. Additionally, financial support from CBE JU enabled projects to approach venture capitalists and banks to secure funding”, said Nicoló Giacomuzzi-Moore, Executive Director at the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU).
This is why we need a new EU Bioeconomy Strategy. It would help to “boost innovations, high-tech and high value-added products and materials, scale up from ‘lab to fab,’ and enhance industrialisation”, as stated by Emmanuelle Maire, Deputy Director and Head of Unit for Circular Economy, Sustainable Consumption and Production at the European Commission’s DG Environment.
Bioeconomy Collaboration
Network events, joint projects, workshops, clusters, partnerships, alliances, and other exploratory activities can serve as tools to facilitate collaboration between regions and promote innovation. When territories collaborate by combining their expertise, intellectual property, and resources, they are better positioned to overcome challenges.
Initiatives such as the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), the Network of European Regions for Innovation in Agriculture, Food, and Forestry (ERIAFF), the European Regions Research and Innovation Network (ERRIN), the Vanguard Initiative, and the Bioregions Facility are great examples.
These initiatives foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing among European regions, enabling them to learn from one another, leverage shared resources, and align their efforts toward sustainable bioeconomy development. These networks strengthen regional innovation ecosystems by connecting stakeholders across sectors, helping regions overcome barriers and maximise their bioeconomy potential.
The Bioregions Facility, coordinated by the European Forest Institute, is dedicated to accelerating and bridging the gap between knowledge and policies, enhancing collaboration, co-creation, and communication among its member regions and beyond.
Quotes were edited for content and clarity.