Bioeconomy is defined as the production of renewable biological resources and the conversion of these resources and waste streams into value-added products, such as food, feed, bio-based products and bio-energy.
To give emphasis to the importance of research and knowledge, the bioeconomy is also referred to as the knowledge-based bio-economy (KBBE), while others call it the bio-based economy.There are different definitions but they have several factors in common, concepts like renewable energy as opposed to fossil fuels, innovation aligned with knowledge to produce value-added products, bioenergy and the valorisation of waste streams and circularity of products.
Bioeconomy sectors have a strong innovation potential, using a wide range of sciences (life sciences agronomy, ecology, food science and social sciences), enabling and industrial technologies (biotechnology, nanotechnology, information and communication technologies (ICT), and engineering), and local and tacit knowledge.
Multi-functional forests for a European bioeconomy
In the move away from a fossil-based economy towards a bioeconomy based on renewable biological resources, we need a new vision for the future use of Europe’s forest resources and ways to consider the full spectrum of their ecosystem services.
As society demands many things from its forests at the same time, the idea of a transition towards a European bioeconomy is largely compatible with that of multifunctional forests.
Bioeconomy (forest-based):
all economic activities based on the entire spectrum of (forest) ecosystem services