Session 1: Transition towards bioeconomy: changing production systems and consumption patterns
Biomass has been used by humans to provide shelter, food, energy and other goods for many millennia. The status of biomass has shifted in our industrialized society where fossil resources have facilitated an exponential increase in technology and welfare. Nowadays, biomass is seen as a sustainable alternative to fossil resources. In order to satisfy consumers' needs and industry demand and to tackle climate change, EU and individual countries have adopted bioeconomy strategies which might significantly increase the demand for biomass.
Well adapted policy measures and market instruments are needed to support increasing biomass production, recycling and cascade use. Introducing such instruments could affect industries and favour one type of biomass use over other competing uses. The transition towards a bioeconomy is a challenge that requires significant change in our production systems and consumption patterns. Bringing about this change in turn requires answering questions about sustainable biomass use:
- How can we meet the needs of a growing global population within the limits of natural resources?
- How can cascade use of biomass reduce the supply gap under increasing demand?
- How can policy support the transition to a bio-based circular economy?
- How can we study and respond to competition for biomass utilization?
The session was chaired by Marcus Lindner, Head of Programme, European Forest Institute, and the presentations in this session were the following:
|
Name |
Affiliation |
Presentation title |
Presentation (15 min.) / Speed talk (1 min.) |
|
Salvatore Martire |
Researcher at European Forest Institute, Finland |
Wood flow modelling for a more sustainable regional forest-based sector |
Presentation |
|
Luc Pelkmans |
Project manager of biobased economy at VITO, Belgium |
Strategies towards a resource-efficient biobased economy – benchmarking country approaches |
Presentation |
|
Tiina Härkäsalmi |
Research Fellow at School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of Design at Aalto University, Finland |
System design for circular Bioeconomy. Case: Biocycles of linseed flax reinforced biocomposites |
Presentation |
|
Oludunsin Arodudu |
Researcher at Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research (ZALF), Germany |
Sustainability of agro-bioenergy land use: industrial agriculture vs. ecological agriculture |
Presentation |
|
Elias Hurmekoski |
Researcher at European Forest Institute, Finland |
Context, drivers and tensions for the market potential of wood construction in Europe |
Presentation |
|
Gert-Jan Nabuurs |
Professor of European Forest Resources, Alterra / Wageningen University and Research, the Netherlands |
New perspectives on the role of the Dutch forest sector in the EU Bioeconomy |
Presentation |
