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Sunday, 22.12.2024, 08:54
Latvian bioeconomy: challenges, perspectives and solutions
Recent international conference, which took place in the
Latvian Zemgale region “Bioeconomy and Rural Development” supported by the EU’s
Social and Regional Development Funds has gathered in Jelgava over hundred
participants from about 15 countries, including Latvian decision-makers and
members of European Parliament. The conference discussed three main issues: the
general aspects of a modern bioeconomy’s policy and practical implementation in
Latvian growth strategy; innovations in the bioeconomy’s sector; and
educational issues.
In the conference’s opening addresses, Aigars Laizans,
Latvian University of Life Science and Technology’s vice rector and Dace
Vilmane, head of the regional planning department underlined that
Latvian goo-physical “conditions” provided sufficient impetus into Latvian
bioeconomy’s sector. Already at present, agro-land covers 35% of the Latvian
territory and forests -about 47%. As to the Zemgale region - one of five
regions in Latvia – the “bio-component” sufficiently dominating in the regional
development, including agriculture, forestry and wood processing, as well as
food production, tourism, etc.
Latvian European Parliament members, described the role of
science and innovation in the EU integration and in Latvian growth: about € 80
billion from the EU budget during last five years has been devoted to research
(Inese Vaidere); employment opportunities in the digital society
and bioeconomy was underlined by Latvian MEP Roberts Zile.
Biotechnology development is constantly growing: since 2012 the sector increase
four times (!).
Participants from other EU states featured various aspects
of bioeconomy’s perspectives for Latvia and for the EU in general: sustainable
development strategy’s implementation in Latvia (Eugene Eteris,
Denmark), sustainable resources management (Arne Bardalen,
Norway), and bioeconomy’s potentials in Lithuania (Vilija Alekneviciene,
Lithuania).
During the discussions, (eloquently moderated by Daina
Vasilevska) the participants acknowledged that bioeconomy sector in the
EU-28 has an annual turnover of
about € 2 trillion; the sector employs more than 22 million people, which is
approximately 9% of the total EU workforce.
However, there are some issues which need clarifications,
for example, in the conceptual sense. In the beginning of 2012 (when the bioeconomy’s idea was coined in the EU
policies), the EU Environment Agency defined bioeconomy as the production
of renewable biological resources and their conversion (including waste management) into numerous value added products in
food and feed sectors, bio-based products and in bio-energy.
Source: European
Environment Agency, "Innovating for Sustainable Growth: Bioeconomy for
Europe" (2012), in: https://www.eea.europa.eu/policy-documents/innovating-for-sustainable-growth.
Though globally,
according to the UN FAO, bioeconomy is “the knowledge-based production and
utilization of biological resources,
biological processes and principles to sustainably provide goods and services
across all economic sectors”.
Source: FAO Sustainable Bioeconomy Guidelines, in: http://www.fao.org/energy/bioeconomy/en/.
Whereas, bio-based economy- as well as bioeconomy and bio-techonomy-
according to the popular Wikipedia, includes all economic activities derived
from scientific and research activity focused on bio-technology. In other
words, it is about understanding mechanisms and processes at the genetic
and molecular levels and applying this understanding to creating or improving
industrial processes.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biobased_economy.
Bottom-line:
common denomintors are: a) production of renewable biological resources and
their conversion (including waste management) into numerous value added products in food and feed sectors, in
bio-based products and in bio-energy; b) biological processes in sustainable
goods and services across all economic sectors; c) scientific and research activity
focused on bio-technology. Probably the EU’s approach is uniting all these
factors: for example, in the EU science and research program (Horizon-2020),
there is a special research field called “Food
security, sustainable agriculture and forestry; marine, maritime and inland
water research, and the bio-economy”.
Activating the bioeconomy political economy
The EU states’
activities in elaborating and implementing biostrategies are still far from
being optimal: thus, only seven states have adopted so far bioeconomy
strategies (Finland, Latvia, Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Ireland); six
states states are in the process (Austria, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the
Netherlands and the UK); and seven states in the EU’s eastern part plan to
develop such strategies under the EU Bio-Eeast initiative (Bulgaria, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia); over 50 EU regions
have bioeconomy-related strategies and
almost all EU regions foresee research and innovation in their RIS3 (according
to the CoR’s Opinion).
Latvian
bio-strategy’s goals (bioeconomy strategy for 2030 was adopted in 2017) is
divided into three main elements and is aimed at increasing: a) employment in the national bioeconomy
sectors to at least 128 thousand people; b) a bio-value added component in aspects the final bioeconomy products and services to at least 3,8 bn EUR by 2030 from a present 2 bn EUR; and c) the share of bioeconomy products in the national export to at least 9
bn EUR by 2030 from a previous 4 bn.
More about Latvian bieconomy strategy 2030 “Informativais sinojums Latvias Bioeronomikas strategija 2030”, in: http://ejuz.lv/jah.
It seems, the participants noticed, that although the
“universal” SDGs do not contain the bioeconomy’s concept, one goal (SDG-12)
indirectly refer to the use of biological resources. And that’s true: the
SDG-12, in fact “ensures sustainable
consumption and production patterns” in the following way: “Economic growth and development require the
production of goods and services that improve the quality of life. Sustainable
growth and development require minimizing the natural resources and toxic
materials used, and the waste and pollutants generated, throughout the entire
production and consumption process”. Thus, ultimate goals are the
following: by 2030, the states have to a) achieve the sustainable management
and efficient use of natural resources; b) reduce by half per capita food waste
at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and
supply chains, including post-harvest losses; c) ensure that people have
relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles
in harmony with nature.
References to: https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html
Teaching bioeconomy and SDGs
The participants of the second session “Innovations in the
bioeconomy sector and higher education”, (moderated by Aigars Laizans)
stressed that the success of implementing both bioeconomy and SDGs depended,
first of all at the ability at states’ education policies to accommodate these
two issues into the states’ educational process. The bioeconomy’s teaching
shall be divided among several education policy’s levels: schools, colleagues,
higher education institutions (general and special), etc.
Presently, teaching and training in bioeconomy today’s youth
means providing contemporary skills to tomorrow’s policy- and economy- decision
makers, giving them the necessary basic knowledge on modern 4th
industrial revolution challenges coped with system-thinking and critical
approaches to complex socio-economic problems.
Therefore, both existing education institutions and teaching
methods shall be re-assessed fundamentally according to the following
guidelines: higher education institutions shall teach the necessary skills; the
teaching methods shall be adapted to the needed general and professional skills
to practically implement bioeconomy tasks in the transformed socio-economic
policies. Long-term professional and vocational education/training shall be
available through people’s life span. All national middle- and high- education
institutions shall provide valuable examples for teaching future
decision-makers providing them with the necessary bioeconomy’s skills.
For example, cross-sectoral approaches to syllabus and
curricular shall have a cross-faculty approach to a new knowledge-system to
include SDGs components and bioeconomy;s thinking. Besides, the following
aspects shall be considered: to “teach the teachers” about the SDGs and
bioeconomy’s requirements; develop new e-learning skills; developing
partnerships with other universities teaching bioeconomy and SDGs; providing coordination
among national political, economic, business, cultural and educational
authorities to facilitate the bioeconomy’s priorities in national planning and
management, as well as an exchange of positive practices.
See, e.g.: https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20181106131352348.
Teachers are the most important resource in modern education
processes; thus, “investment in teachers” is having significant returns:
research shows that being taught by the best teachers can change lives and
improve education that universities provide.
Improving the effectiveness of schooling depends, in large
measure, on ensuring that competent people work as teachers, that their
teaching is of high quality.
Source: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/effective-teacher-policies_9789264301603-en
Using biomass potentials
Latvian present political economy is fully aware about modern
bioeconomy’s potentials, in particular biomass opportunities. Latvian and
European biomass industry is facing a new set of policy and regulations for
biomass’ handling, storage and management, as well as investment opportunities
in biomass energy sector. In business there are opportunities for the “biomass
to power” and biomass conversion developments (mainly, in stimulating and
transforming the biomass industry).
Particular attention shall be devoted to biomass' role in
the nation’s renewable energy: using different types of biomass for fuel and
sustainably transferring biomass to energy.
For example, the European biogas market is set to witness
strong growth on account of growing focus toward decarbonizing the energy
sector supported by policy’s decisions and legislation. Increased production
and use of biogas to support the circular economy and renewables in the
national energy mix will favor growth in Latvian regions. According to recent
report by Global Market Insights, Inc. European biogas market is expected to
reach 6 bn USD by 2025. The World Biogas Association estimates that by 2020,
the biogas sector in some EU states has already shown advantages: e.g. in the
Netherlands the sector produced 1.2 billion m3 of biogas or 0.75 billion m3 of
bio-methane, increasing to 3.7 billion and 2.2 billion m3 respectively by 2030
(Green Gas Forum, 2014). Significant growth is expected in biogas from manure,
sewage sludge, grass and seaweed.
The perspectives and recommendations
The conference’s organizing committee's editorial board
summarized discussions and opinions and formulated some recommendations for
Latvian politicians and decision-makers. Among most interesting have been the
following: a) making sustainable development and bio-economy the integral part
of national and regional growth patterns; b) finding “specialization niches” in
managing bio-resources in Latvian regions (including Zemgale); c) in the
education sector – organizing training courses/ master classes for
decision-makers on bio- and sustainability trends (specifically at the Latvian
agricultural university), as well as to the Latvian “teaching community”; d)
establishing a kind of “Eco-bio-Hippocratic oath” for students in agricultural
studies and sustainability; e) making Jelgava a CO2 neutral city by 2050.