Resilience Challenge Salience in Bioeconomy Policies: A Global Analysis

Abstract

The sustainability of social-ecological systems has become a major concern in environmental policy. To address the sustainability challenges of the fossil-based economy, more than 50 countries around the world have promulgated policies to promote the transformation towards a bio-based economy. The success of this transformation, in turn, depends on the resilience of the bio-based production systems on which the bioeconomy rests. However, the continued delivery of the desired functions of these systems is challenged by environmental, social, economic, and political short- and long-term stresses. Despite the importance of such resilience challenges for a sustainable bioeconomy transformation, the extent to which they are addressed in bioeconomy policies remains unclear and under-researched. To fill this gap, we investigate the salience of resilience challenges in bioeconomy policies using the Resilience Policy Design (RPD) framework. Specifically, we conduct a systematic content analysis of bioeconomy policy documents in 50 countries to identify and discuss the specific challenges and instruments directly aimed at addressing these challenges. Overall, our analysis contributes to a better understanding of the role and origins of resilience concerns in global bioeconomy policymaking.