The International Council for Circular Economy (ICCE), India’s pioneer think-tank working on Circular Economy, published a White Paper titled ‘Growing the circular bioeconomy, with a focus on the Global South’ in collaboration with Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP). 

The White Paper was released during the session “Unveiling bio-based solutions from the Global South” at the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2024, held at Brussels, Belgium. The paper calls for a concerted action in the Global South to optimize the use of resources from agriculture, forestry and other biological sources to store carbon, increase climate resilience, safeguard nature, and grow local economies. By using agro-wastes, food wastes, sewage sludge and high-potential products such as hemp and innovating plant-based proteins, several goals for achieving a circular and regenerative bioeconomy can be accomplished in tandem.

“The world today, especially countries in the Global South, is experiencing the adverse impacts of ecological collapses, water shortages, and degradation of natural assets. The production, consumption, and disposal of products in an economy have now become fundamental questions surrounding the preservation of the ecology and environment. A circular bioeconomy can play an instrumental role in reducing carbon emissions, increasing resilience to extreme weather, maintaining air and water quality, and safeguarding biodiversity”, says Mrs Bhalla, Managing Director at the International Council for Circular Economy, who co-authored the paper. 

The paper highlights that inter-departmental collaborations, stakeholder forums, financing avenues for start-up projects, and a data repository of inputs and outputs are needed to accomplish the target potential. It also provides a roadmap with a step-by-step plan for an effective bioeconomy implementation by gathering evidence, strategizing and prioritizing, acting and embedding, and monitoring and reviewing.

Access the paper HERE |  WCEF 2024 website