Bio-economy
Bio-economy is a novel approach towards the use of natural resources, and one which is gaining in international importance. Across Europe 22 million people work in sectors of the bio-economy, producing around 1.7 trillion Euro of turnover each year. In Germany the figures are two million people and a revenue of 300 billion Euro.
Why bio-economy?
All the major challenges we face today have a global dimension. Population growth, climate change, water shortages, starvation, as well as health issues and inequality in resource distribution – all these can only be tackled by a joint international effort. The current economic crisis highlights that global change has concrete effects in Germany down to regional and local structures. Rural communities ceased a long time ago to be self-contained entities functioning independently of global processes. Mega-trends take place right outside our front doors. Restraint in our use of natural resources, therefore, represents a challenge facing not only international, but regional and local policy.
What is the bio-economy?
The bio-economy encompasses precisely those areas which in English come under the headings of Food, Feed, Fibre and Fuel. The term ‘knowledge-based bio-economy’ (KBBE) used in the European Research Area encompasses all industrial and business sectors and their related services which produce, treat, process or in any way use biological products (plants, animals, micro-organisms). This includes agriculture, forestry, the food industry, fisheries, aquaculture, sections of the chemical, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and textile industries, as well as energy production. The BioEconomyCouncil adheres to the European Commission’s definition of the term ‘bio-economy’.
Bio-economy is diverse
The wide diversity of subjects in this area ranges from the re-evaluation of existing and new systems of land use, processing and harvesting technologies, optimised forms of breeding, the development of plants with new kinds of characteristics, the use of new technologies for reducing poverty, customised foodstuffs, biodegradable fuels, the different possibilities for using genetic technology in industrial development and production, the acceptance and adoption of new products and technologies, biologically based fuels, to new biorefinery technologies. Many of these subjects assist with the efficient and sustainable handling of biotic and abiotic resources.