Managing complex bioeconomy interventions in the agrarian sector
Calls for a “sustainable bioeconomy” have recently begun to proliferate in academic and political circles as an answer to global challenges such as the rapidly increasing world population and changing environmental conditions due to climate change. To build economies that rely on various sources of biomass rather than on fossil-based resources, bioeconomy policies highlight a need to explore ways in which productivity in agriculture can be increased. While the focus on productivity growth has largely been inspired by technology optimism and modernisation thinking, the local knowledge of farmers and other rural stakeholders – as a means of contributing to socially and ecologically more sustainable bioeconomy pathways – has frequently been sidelined. This perspective article proposes and discusses a participatory approach to strategy formulation and evaluation in agricultural transformation and bioeconomy development that is based on the methodological toolbox MARISCO (Adaptive MAnagement of vulnerability and RISk at COnservation sites). By offering a means of developing a comprehensive knowledge map, bringing together both insights and perspectives from diverse local stakeholders, this approach enables a systemic evaluation of the social and ecological effects of intervention strategies on the ground. The article outlines the benefits – and challenges – of such a systemic and participatory approach and briefly sketches how the results can be utilised in more sustainable governance processes in the development of bioeconomy strategies. We conclude that our adapted MARISCO methodology offers a viable tool to make more visible the perspectives and knowledge of biomass producers for policymakers and to contribute to a much-needed discursive shift in bioeconomy debates towards more holistic and inclusive perspectives.
Keywords: Bio-based economy; Participatory methods; Social-ecological systems; Intensification; Agriculture
Reference:
Michael Spies, M.; Zuberi, M.; Mählis, M., Zakirova, A., Alff, H., Raab, C. Towards a participatory systems approach to managing complex bioeconomy interventions in the agrarian sector, Sustainable Production and Consumption, Volume 31, 2022, 557-568, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spc.2022.03.020.
On October 21 and 22, 2019 the Kick-off Workshop of the junior research group TRANSECT took place at HNEE forest campus. While the first day of the workshop was dedicated to past and current agricultural transformations, the second one highlighted future thematical and methodological pathways in the TRANSECT context.
After opening remarks by Michael Spies and two professors from the Centre for Econics and Ecosystem Management, Martin Welp and Pierre Ibisch, participants provided glimpses into their work and gave thus important access points and food for thought for our research: Irna Hofman from University of Oxford presented her research work on Chinese farming in Tajikistan, posing important methodological questions of how Chinese engagement can be adequately grasped while avoiding generalisations. Based on his long-standing expertise, Martin Petrick from Gießen University demonstrated the added value of social science with regard to agricultural change across Central Asia. Nazia Yasmin from Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) in Potsdam elaborated upon household-based bioeconomy solutions in Pakistan, focusing on her work on micro-level biogas production from livestock manure. more
by Annika Bischof, Communications Team, Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development
A team of young researchers at University for Sustainable Development, Eberswalde (HNEE), Germany, investigates possible future pathways in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Pakistan. In terms of an emerging bioeconomy, the three countries have not yet been well attended in international debates. But with recent developments and the impact of China’s growing economy the re-gion is back into focus. more
BIOPOLISTA
Agricultural and Food Policy Group
Humboldt Universität zu Berlin
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