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ASSESSMENT OF IMPLEMENTING THE BIOECONOMY STRATEGY IN LATVIA

Irina Pilvere, Aina Muška, Aleksejs Nipers, Edgars Pazerausks

Abstract

A bioeconomy refers to economic activities using renewable biological resources to produce energy and consumer goods. The role of the bioeconomy in the world tends to increase, as countries need to find environmentally friendly solutions under changing climate conditions. For this reason, bioeconomy strategies are developed in many countries to purposefully contribute to their development. Among the Baltic States, Latvia was the first one to design and adopt its national bioeconomy strategy (Latvian Bioeconomy Strategy 2030) in 2017. Therefore, the aim of the present research is to assess progress in implementing the Latvian Bioeconomy Strategy 2030 and analyze stakeholder assessments of the progress. The research found that two of the three objectives defined in the strategy are likely to be achieved – to increase the bioeconomy export production value, which could be achieved as early as 2027, while the objective to increase the added value of bioeconomy products could be achieved by 2030. The analysis performed showed that the third objective – the promotion and preservation of employment in bioeconomy industries to up to 128 thou. – might not be achieved, as the employment in the bioeconomy decreased by 3% in the period 2017-2018. The failure to achieve the third objective defined in the strategy regarding employment indicates an increase in labor productivity in the bioeconomy industries. The industry experts and scientists interviewed emphasized that growth in the bioeconomy industries would require investment in research and development (R&D) to realize their potential for development.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgem2021/5.1/s21.078

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