set of economic activities related to the invention, development, production, and use
of products and processes based on biological resources within the national economy
(OECD 2009). That is, a productive transformation that is both biologically based
(Trigo et al. 2013) and circular (Giampietro 2019) as the ground for a socioecological transition (de Schutter et al. 2019; Ortega-Pacheco et al. 2018).
In summary, a definition could be posited: “The production and use of biological
resources, biological processes and principles to provide intermediate and final
goods and services in a sustainable manner in all economic sectors through the
intensive use of knowledge that displaces the use of products derived from fossil
fuel”.
From this discussion, it is evident the need for a concept of bioeconomy that
contributes to the comparability, applicability, external validity, and scalability of
the applied methodology. Indeed, this concept should allow the incorporation of the
different groups of sectors and subsectors that each country considers to be
“bioeconomy”. Similarly, it should allow to interpret the role over time of actions
such as the provision of biomass resources, economic specialization, and
investments in research and development (R + D) in a context that ensures an
effective governance framework for a “sustainable bioeconomy” (El-Chichakli
et al. 2016; IICA 2019).
3.3
Sectors in the Ecuadorian Bioeconomy
3.3.1 The Ecuadorian Economic Structure
Before detailing the methodology used to identify the sectors that compose the
bioeconomy in Ecuador, it is worth describing the composition of the country’s
economy. Considering the traditional classification of three economic sectors, the
Ecuadorian GDP is distributed as follows: primary 22%, secondary 24%, and tertiary
54% (BCE 2018). Considering a more disaggregated categorization, Fig. 3.1
displays the GDP contribution shares of the most relevant subsectors. Note that
the contribution share of the manufacturing industry is equivalent to that of the Oil
and Mines subsector. In other words, the wealth generation of the country’s industrial apparatus is similar to the contribution of a single natural resource. Such a
characteristic is relevant when determining the contribution of the bioeconomy and
the planning of scenarios for a productive transition.
A priori, an assumption is that the bioeconomy participates more predominantly
in the primary and secondary sectors. Despite the fact that the GDP contributions
from these two are similar, the way their contributions come about is not. Note that
the participation of subsectors in the primary sector (green bars in Fig. 3.1) is mostly
composed of the Agriculture and Oil subsectors, whereas participation in the secondary sector (orange bars in Fig. 3.1) is less concentrated. The tertiary or service
3 Social and Economic Contribution of the Bioeconomic Sector in Ecuador: A. . .
39
of products and processes based on biological resources within the national economy
(OECD 2009). That is, a productive transformation that is both biologically based
(Trigo et al. 2013) and circular (Giampietro 2019) as the ground for a socioecological transition (de Schutter et al. 2019; Ortega-Pacheco et al. 2018).
In summary, a definition could be posited: “The production and use of biological
resources, biological processes and principles to provide intermediate and final
goods and services in a sustainable manner in all economic sectors through the
intensive use of knowledge that displaces the use of products derived from fossil
fuel”.
From this discussion, it is evident the need for a concept of bioeconomy that
contributes to the comparability, applicability, external validity, and scalability of
the applied methodology. Indeed, this concept should allow the incorporation of the
different groups of sectors and subsectors that each country considers to be
“bioeconomy”. Similarly, it should allow to interpret the role over time of actions
such as the provision of biomass resources, economic specialization, and
investments in research and development (R + D) in a context that ensures an
effective governance framework for a “sustainable bioeconomy” (El-Chichakli
et al. 2016; IICA 2019).
3.3
Sectors in the Ecuadorian Bioeconomy
3.3.1 The Ecuadorian Economic Structure
Before detailing the methodology used to identify the sectors that compose the
bioeconomy in Ecuador, it is worth describing the composition of the country’s
economy. Considering the traditional classification of three economic sectors, the
Ecuadorian GDP is distributed as follows: primary 22%, secondary 24%, and tertiary
54% (BCE 2018). Considering a more disaggregated categorization, Fig. 3.1
displays the GDP contribution shares of the most relevant subsectors. Note that
the contribution share of the manufacturing industry is equivalent to that of the Oil
and Mines subsector. In other words, the wealth generation of the country’s industrial apparatus is similar to the contribution of a single natural resource. Such a
characteristic is relevant when determining the contribution of the bioeconomy and
the planning of scenarios for a productive transition.
A priori, an assumption is that the bioeconomy participates more predominantly
in the primary and secondary sectors. Despite the fact that the GDP contributions
from these two are similar, the way their contributions come about is not. Note that
the participation of subsectors in the primary sector (green bars in Fig. 3.1) is mostly
composed of the Agriculture and Oil subsectors, whereas participation in the secondary sector (orange bars in Fig. 3.1) is less concentrated. The tertiary or service
3 Social and Economic Contribution of the Bioeconomic Sector in Ecuador: A. . .
39