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Tropicalizing sustainable bioeconomy: Initial lessons from Ecuador

Abstract:

Sustainable bioeconomy is being revised in tropical megabiodiverse developing countries. Given competing economic interests and development inequities, biodiversity may require becoming a strategic and central resource in national economies to ensure political feasibility of bioeconomic models. This paper attempts to address the need to document alternative approaches to transition to sustainable bioeconomy in the context of extractive economies in tropical and megabiodiverse developing countries. Using a case study approach, it reviews the Ecuadorian experience to developing a bio-industry value chain as an institutional arrangement that can enable a more efficient and integrated use of biological resources towards a sustainable and resilient economy, while addressing structural development and biodiversity protection challenges. Knowledge generated from this research can assist policymakers working on optimal design of instruments aiming at unraveling the full potential for biodiversity as a key resource in development strategies of tropical megabiodiverse countries.