Towards the bioeconomy: The role of traditional and emerging products and supporting actions
Special Issue in Forest Policy and Economics. 2021.

Edited by Maarit Kallio, Franziska Schier

The forest-based sector is expected to play an important role in the economic transformation to a sustainable circular bioeconomy. Several countries have formulated policies and strategies with an aim to speed up this process. A range of possibilities of using forests and forest biomass exists in this: within the traditional industries, in replacing non-renewable or otherwise unsustainable materials, or in providing completely new products and services. However, the competition among the alternative uses is expected to intensify in the future when the resources are becoming scarcer due to growing consumption as such and due to environmental and social constraints on land use. Consequently, in order to consider the development of the forest-based sector as a central part of the bioeconomy, the analyses need to consider both traditional and emerging uses of wood and forests, while accounting for the resource availability. In this context, it is useful to investigate and quantify market supply and demand potentials, trade-offs, sectoral impacts, the role of policies and actions catalysing the economic transformation, as well as the related uncertainties. This special issue includes model-based or other quantitative analyses on market and policy driven possibilities and impacts related to a shift to forest bioeconomy on local, national or global scales. Special focus is set on the markets for emerging and new products and changing production portfolios in the forest-based sector. In addition, the issue includes analyses addressing the role of public and private actions and mechanisms that support or enable a shift from a business as usual path to the sustainable bioeconomy.


Available at  https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/forest-policy-and-economics/special-issue/101KTWSPF09