Press Release: Growing the circular bioeconomy, with a focus on the Global South

Bengaluru, 16 April 2024: The Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), a research-based think tank, in collaboration with the International Council for Circular Economy (ICCE), published a White Paper titled ‘Growing the circular bioeconomy, with a focus on the Global South’ and presented the findings at the World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2024, held at Brussels, Belgium.

The White Paper calls for concerted action in the Global South to optimise the use of resources from agriculture, forestry, and other biological sources to store carbon, increase climate resilience, safeguard nature, and grow local economies. By utilising 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 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, strategising and prioritising, acting and embedding, and monitoring and reviewing.