Constructing the Public in Roadmapping the Transition to a Bioeconomy: A Case Study from the Netherlands

Durwin H.J. Lynch,Pim Klaassen,Lan van Wassenaer,Jacqueline E.W. Broerse

doi:10.3390/su12083179

Abstract

In recent years there has been increasing attention to the transition toward a bioeconomy. From comparable transitions toward sustainability, we know that transitions require integral, inclusive approaches toward developing a long-term strategy, focusing not only on technological innovation, but also on involving the public. This is not easy. Public engagement encompasses diverse forms of public and civil society participation, and it is crucial to understand the specificities of these interactions and their effects on potential transition pathways. We present a conceptual-analytical paper where the focus lies on understanding sense-making practices in the construction of publics in the bioeconomy. Using a case-study approach, this article describes five partialities of the constructed public in the bioeconomy and analyzes the orchestration, productive dimensions and effects of these constructions. Our analysis offers a new perspective on, and appreciation of, the partiality of different forms of public participation, and varying degrees in which possibilities of system change in the bioeconomy transition are inclusive or exclusive toward differentially constructed publics. This offers an alternative, constructive way of exploring actor dynamics and politics in system change. We aim to contribute to a more nuanced and integral interpretation of public engagement in sustainability transitions, which is relevant to actors from academia, policy, industry and other spheres relevant to the bioeconomy transition.

Highlights

Over the last two decades, there has been increasing interest in the bioeconomy
This study aims to explore the construction of various publics in the bioeconomy by drawing on a specific case, the “Societal Roadmap for the Bioeconomy in the Netherlands” project
We discuss the construction of the public for the three different bioeconomy technologies—biomaterials, biorefineries and biojetfuels—and the two different objects, i.e., the general public’s perception of each of these technologies and the stakeholders’ views on appropriate governance models for the transition toward a bioeconomy in which these technologies are featured

Summary

Introduction

Over the last two decades, there has been increasing interest in the bioeconomy. Making the transition to a bioeconomy is perceived as being able to address various challenges, including those concerning energy security and worsening environmental conditions—the most prominent of which is climate change induced by greenhouse gases (GHG) [1,2,3]. The bioeconomy is generally portrayed as a positive, stimulating economic development with significant potential, for instance for agriculture, the production of food and beverages, pharmaceuticals, agro-industrial products and energy production [6]. Scaling up the bioeconomy potentially comes with controversial practices, such as promoting monocultures and land grabbing [7,8]. Its polarizing potential warrants an exploration of the—possibly critical—public perceptions of the bioeconomy

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