Targeting sustainable bioeconomy: A new development strategy for Southern European countries. The Manifesto of the European Mezzogiorno

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis policy-oriented opinion paper, which has taken the form of a Manifesto, is co-authored by scientists and engineers from Southern European Union countries that are presently experiencing deep and complex systemic crises: Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and Cyprus. With their Manifesto, the authors advocate the adoption of a new development model, focusing on the target of sustainable bioeconomy, around which other development themes and topics will crystallize. Implementing this model will act as a locomotive to get the economies and societies of these countries efficiently out of their crises, and smoothly into greener post-crisis pastures. The proposal is articulated in ten critical steps or theses for immediate action by the policy-and decision-makers, as well as industry, markets and other key actors within this troubled area of the European Mezzogiorno. Corroborating evidence of these theses comes in the form of short reports or "letters" on the key topics of this Manifesto from the countries and regions concerned.

Evaluation of bioeconomy in the context of strong sustainability

“…Using the biotechnology‐oriented approach and enhancing the growth of economic activities related to bio‐resources are not sufficient to implement bioeconomy strategies towards sustainable development. Therefore, in recent years, the sustainable bioeconomy approach has emerged (Koukios et al, ), which was emphasized in the renewed EU bioeconomy strategy (EU, ). Considering this approach, the sustainable use of biomass is of pivotal importance as a component for sustainable bioeconomy implementation, whereas biomass acts as the main input for the bioeconomy.…”

“…In order to thoroughly examine the role of bioeconomy in the context of sustainability, we exploited ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases by applying the query “bioeconomy AND sustainability.” The role of bioeconomy in sustainability (or sustainable development) was analyzed by Aquilani, Silvestri, Ioppolo, and Ruggieri (), Loiseau et al (), Ramcilovic‐Suominen and Pülzl (), Sadhukhana et al (), Lainez et al (), Koukios et al (), D'Amato et al (), Zilberman, Gordon, Hochman, and Wesseler (), Biber‐Freudenberger, Basukala, Bruckner, and Börner (), and Schütte (). Considering the development of bioeconomy and the two types of sustainability (weak and strong), Loiseau et al () argued that the conventional bioeconomy concept is rather related to weak sustainability as it focuses on using natural resource inputs in the production processes.…”

“…The approach of strong sustainability is the most relevant for policy makers when implementing the sustainable bioeconomy strategy. The strong sustainability bioeconomy can be achieved in case-smart, efficient, and long-lasting use of biomass (Bell et al, 2018;Koukios et al, 2018;Scheiterle et al, 2018) and should encompass circular economy principles (Aguilar et al, 2018a;D'Amato et al, 2017;Dupont-Inglis & Borg, 2018;Mohan et al, 2018;Patermann & Aguilar, 2018), turn waste (food waste, bio-waste) into resource, and stimulate circular supply chains (Song, Peng, Wang, & Dong, 2018).…”

“…The renewed EU bioeconomy strategy (EU, ) maximized its contribution towards the main documents—the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Agreement—and highlighted the importance of a sustainable and circular bioeconomy. Hence, in recent years, the sustainable bioeconomy concept has emerged (Koukios et al, ). In this paper, we have hoisted the sustainability level.…”

Succeeding in bioeconomy: Serbian universities' blueprint

“…The bioeconomy requires permanent and extensive research and innovation in terms of technologies and processes, as well as the development of the market and the competitiveness of the bioeconomy sector. Bioeconomy will have an impact on modes and agendas in education, training and research (Koukios, et al, 2018); (Kangas, Tikkanen, Leskinen, Kurttila & Kajanus, 2016). As providers of the necessary education and research, universities play a critical role in the development of the entrepreneurship culture.…”