World BioEconomy Forum concludes in Belém; first bioeconomy strategy published in Brazil

The World BioEconomy Forum concluded its event in Belém, capital city of Pará State, Brazil this afternoon with a firm declaration on the importance of the bioeconomy in relation to tropical forests. The hybrid event attracted delegates in-person and online from across the globe with the Forum discussions including over 60 bioeconomy stakeholders, including keynote speakers, panellists and experts.

The Forum in Belem was run under its usual four-pillar structure by which it evaluates the status of the circular bioeconomy and facilitates developments of the sector. The four pillars are: The Bioeconomy: People, Planet, Policies; Global leaders and the Financial World; Bioproducts Around Us and Looking to the Future. This four-pillar structure ensures that all relevant stakeholders in the circular bioeconomy have a voice and a platform.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Governor of Pará State, Helder Barbalho who took the opportunity to launch a dedicated biostrategy for the state, the first of its kind in Brazil. “In these three days, Belém was the world capital of Bioeconomy. The Forum was a fantastic opportunity not only for Pará, but also for Brazil. Discussing bioeconomy is not just talking about the future, but above all it is talking about the present. Our forests and the environment need effective action today.

“Here in Pará, we have taken important and concrete steps towards a more sustainable, more inclusive, more humane economy. An economy that creates jobs and opportunities for all, with the forest standing. We implemented, by Decree, a State Bioeconomy strategy. We have created new conservation units, we have launched a credit line aimed at bioeconomic initiatives and we have created a steering committee for the State Climate Policy.

“As governor, I am proud to be able to say that Pará is making its contribution and pointing out the way for us to have a better world.” 

Jukka Kantola, Founder of the World BioEconomy Forum, says, “We have been delighted with the response we have got from our Forum delegates during our first event to be held outside of Finland. We brought the bioeconomy world’s finest experts to Belém, both in-person and online, and discussed  the major issues, challenges and opportunities we all face as the bioeconomy concept becomes accepted everywhere as a way to create economic opportunities mitigate climate change.

“It was clear in Belém that there is a huge appetite to create a functioning and working bioeconomy, and the launch of Brazil’s first Biostrategy at the event clearly underlines the Para State’s commitment to commercial and environmental sustainability.”

The final day of the event saw the launch of the Declaration of the World BioEconomy Forum for 2021 which contains statements based on the Four-Pillar structure.

More information:

Jukka Kantola
info@wcbef.com
+358 40 552 888

Appendixes

Declaration 2021
Arrangements for the Forum
Key Facts of the World BioEconomy Forum

APPENDIX 1

Forum 2021

About the World Bioeconomy Forum®

The World BioEconomy Forum is a platform for key stakeholders of the Circular Bioeconomy to share ideas and promote bio-based responsible innovations to replace and supersede non-renewable based industries, products and services to achieve a more sustainable economy while mitigating climate change.

About the State of the Pará (hosting the event)

Pará has 144 municipalities, with a population of 8.6 million inhabitants (IBGE, 2018) distributed over an area of ​​more than 1,245,870.798 km². The state stands out as the largest consumer market and the largest economy in the Amazon and the northern region of Brazil, contributing 2.2% of the national GDP and 43.5% of the GDP of the Northern Region, results that position the Pará economy as the 12th largest economy in Brazil.

About ABAG (organising partner)

The Brazilian Association of Agribusiness (ABAG) was founded in 1993 with the purpose of helping Brazilian agribusiness in the process of sustainable development, engaging the sector and stakeholders of the industry both in Brazil and abroad.  The association plays an important role promoting and strengthening the agro industrial system and its relationships with governments, private sector, class entities and education institutions.  ABAG is the only association that congregates all the players of the segment, from the field to the industry, distribution and services.

About Ibá (organising partner)

The Brazilian Tree Industry (Ibá) is the association responsible for institutional representation of the planted tree production chain, from the fields to the factory. In order to promote products derived from pine, eucalyptus, and other species that are directed toward industrial purposes, Ibá works to defend the interests of the sector to officials and government agencies, entities from the planted tree production chain, and significant sectors of the economy, social and environmental organizations, universities, schools, consumers, and the press – in Brazil as well as abroad.

About the World Bioeconomy News

The World BioEconomy News is a two-part service which includes a mobile application and a rolling daily news service available on the Forum website. The World BioEconomy News focuses on the latest news and developments surrounding the bioeconomy respective to the World BioEconomy Forum’s four thematic sessions.

Belém as a Creative City of Gastronomy

The World BioEconomy Forum 2021 will take place in Belém, Brazil, a city that features not only a stunning bioeconomy, but also a culinary culture which draws from the unique flora and fauna in the region. Belém has been recognized as a Creative City of Gastronomy by UNESCO, due to both the unique cuisine within the region, but also for their efforts to consider sustainability, biodiversity, and cultural aspects of cuisine within the city. As part of their efforts, Belém has established the Global Centre on Gastronomy and Biodiversity, an initiative to create a cluster for food technology and innovation. Regional cuisine includes for example seafood, açaí, and pupunha.

APPENDIX 2

World BioEcomy Forum – Fact sheet

The World BioEconomy Forum has become a key community for promoting the means of the circular biotechnology and at the same time curbing climate change. The first forum has already attracted delegates from 18 different countries and last year already from 51 different countries https://wcbef.com/events/world-bioeconomy-forum-2020/. This year’s main event will be held in Brazil: The World BioEconomy Forum goes to Brazil – live from Belém! 18-20 October 2021 https://wcbef.com/events/upcoming-events/world-bioeconomy-forum-2021/

Our program is built on four focused areas, as different stakeholders are addressed with different emphases. Our priorities are:

  • The Bioeconomy: People, Planet, Policies
  • Global Leaders and Financial World
  • Bioproducts around us
  • Looking to the Future

With these, our advice for actions is communicated to all stakeholders in society. Each forum ends with a joint declaration – last year it was done in a very memorable own way https://wcbef.com/about-us/declarations/declaration-2020/, it also supports cultural communication.

In addition to the forum, we will be holding World BioEconomy Roundtable discussions – most resent was held on May 18, 2021 https://wcbef.com/events/upcoming-events/world-bioeconomy-roundtables/

We are constantly creating new ways to promote the circular bioeconomy – for example we have launched a World BioEconomy News service, which is an app that can be downloaded to receive the very latest news on the circular bioeconomy. We have also launched memberships for interested parties – World BioEconomy Circle. The site was opened end of April 2021 and we immediately got notable members involved. New ones are coming soon https://wcbef.com/world-bioeconomy-circle

To increase awareness on bioeconomy and its bio-based products we have launched World Bioproduct Day, which was held on 7 July this year. We are encouraging people, companies, institutes or any other organizations to share their story on bioproduct with #bioproductday, which will be held annually.

We also think it is important to have online store to help circular bioeconomy society to find sector related products in one site. That why we have introduced World BioEconomy Shop, which is offering spot not only for World BioEconomy Forum own products and services, but stakeholder related to this sector.

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