Characteristics of Sustainable Bioeconomy in the CEE Macro-region

Abstract

In the coming decades to achieve further progress in sustainable growth of agriculture, aquaculture, forestry and food industry in the CEE countries there is a need to face specific challenges through the lens of bioeconomy, thus by shifting the emphasis to research, innovation and transnational cooperation for knowledge-based development. A shared strategic research and innovation framework that has already been offered by the Central-Eastern European Initiative for Knowledge-based Agriculture, Aquaculture and Forestry in the Bioeconomy, i.e. by the BIOEAST Initiative might enable these countries to work towards the development of a sustainable bioeconomy while effectively joining the European Research Area. The study is aimed at conceptualizing bioeconomy, analysing key socio-economic indicators of the ‘BIOEAST countries’ bioeconomy and describing the implications for policymakers based on the results of the ‘BIOEAST Bioeconomy Capacity Building Survey’. Based on the results of the survey the major findings of the research verify and strengthen the objectives of the BIOEAST Initiative. The individual results of the survey in terms of major bottlenecks in the supply chain, missing elements hindering competitiveness, the opportunities to raise competitiveness and functions of the intervention system led to the conclusion that the creation of sustainable bioeconomy explicitly requires triple-helix stakeholders to find efficient collaboration mechanisms and build synergies.