Great potential for co-operation on bioeconomy in the Nordic Region

The Nordic Ministers for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Agriculture, Food and Forestry met on 26-27 June in Iceland where they discussed, amongst other things, the development of the Nordic bioeconomy.

In a world of scarce resources there is a growing focus on the so-called circular economy and the bioeconomy - two approaches to the world's resources, which on the one hand will reduce the waste of resources and on the other hand will support the transition from a fossil-based economy to a bio-based economy through research and innovation.

The Nordic Council of Ministers/NordForsk will soon present the results of a major research programme that has studied the impact of climate change on primary industries. The report indicates, amongst other things, that the Nordic countries will have a number of new opportunities as a result of climate change. However, it also stresses that this places demands on the countries if this development is to take place on a sustainable basis.

Strategic analysis of the potential

Bioeconomy is a response to global challenges. But the opportunities, challenges and scope of the bioeconomy are regional. In this context, the Nordic Council of Ministers points to the need for identifying the potential of increased Nordic co-operation on bioeconomy and studying the opportunity of establishing new, sustainable value chains. The starting point is resources from the land, forest and water and the opportunities to create better solutions in relation to food, materials, textiles, plastic, medicine and much more.

 "A number of Nordic initiatives are helping to strengthen the work of a new bioeconomy and the Nordic countries together have a good basis for contributing to a bio-based society", explains the Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, Dagfinn Høybråten at the ministerial meeting in Iceland.

"However, to create the best possible starting point for further work the ministers have now asked the Council of Ministers' Secretariat to examine the possibility of making a larger survey of this area. This could be a strategic screening along the lines of the Stoltenberg Report in the foreign policy sector or the Könberg Report in the health sector, that provides an analysis partly of the bio-economy as such and partly of the possibilities for cross-sector co-operation between the Nordic countries", he added.

Biopanel could strengthen Nordic voice

Recently, under the Icelandic Presidency, the Council of Ministers launched the NordBio initiative - a bioeconomy programme with focus on food innovation in the bioeconomy as well as forestry and fisheries.

Initiatives such as NordBio are wide ranging and have to be seen as part of similar ventures in the Nordic Region and the EU. About 22 million people in the EU work in the many sectors that make up the bioeconomy, so there are many jobs and a lot of money at stake.

"We also want to strengthen the voice of the Nordic countries in Europe and the world in regard to developing the bio-based society. Therefore the Iceland Presidency has recommended that the Nordic Council of Ministers/MR-FJLS sets up a Nordic Bioeconomy Panel.

Such a panel could help to put more focus on regional solutions in the Nordic countries and the adjacent areas including the Arctic and Baltic Sea Regions, and thus strengthen the Nordic countries' voice in relation to the EU and the UN", explains Dagfinn Høybråten.

The matter will be submitted to the ministers later in the year, and if the bioeconomy panel becomes a reality, it will follow up on the proposed survey and contribute to a sustainable Nordic bioeconomy through analysis, debate and recommendations.

Local development

A common goal for all these initiatives is also to strengthen the opportunities for sustainable local economic development everywhere in the Nordic Region through increased focus on investments in the potential of rural and coastal districts.

 "Bioeconomy is local development in a globalised world.   A better and more innovative use of natural resources can create both green jobs and strengthen the local economy in the whole Region", says Secretary General Dagfinn Høybråten.

"Much of the potential in bioeconomy lies in establishing and improving value chains in the local economy and these are goods that are not dependent on being transported a long way to central manufacturing plants or being outsourced to distant countries", he concluded.