Creating a multisectoral bioeconomy cluster to bolster Colombia’s bioeconomy
Written by Juan Azcárate, Programme Coordinator, and Saskia Hervey, Public Affairs Adviser.
Developing bioeconomic activities in megadiverse countries such as Colombia is fundamental for equitable, inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
Colombia is designing bioeconomic strategies to transition towards and support an emerging global bioeconomy. The success of this transition, however, greatly depends on whether Colombia has the capability and knowledge needed to strategically assess the risks and opportunities of potential green investments in bioenergy, agriculture, nano- and bio-inputs, foods, fibres, and ecotourism.
In this context, GROW Colombia is teaming up with Cabana, another project funded by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) to extend our programme of capacity building activities and training. This new partnership project will be known as the Bioeconomy Cluster.
We aim to bring together a network of multisectoral stakeholders in Colombia and the United Kingdom to bolster the development of sustainable bio-economy strategies in the agri-food and ecotourism sectors in four Colombian regions.
Specifically, by working in multisectoral partnerships, we aim to assess existing and required capacity and the corresponding market opportunities and challenges in each region. This will enable us to inform an appropriate, evidence-based policy design at both national and local government levels to drive Colombia’s successful bioeconomy.
We believe it is only by bringing together expertise from different disciplines and multi-sectoral perspectives that we can develop Colombia´s bioeconomy for sustained human and environmental wellbeing.
