Preface
Critical global interdependencies are becoming increasingly exposed in the 2020s.
Human health and environmental issues are showing their transnational facets ever
more bluntly, while political decisions in one country attract worldwide attention for
how their impacts unfold everywhere. As governments gear up for economic recovery
after the worst pandemic in over a century, questions about the best ways to do so
proliferate. As “green economy” gained ground in the aftermath of the 2008/2009
financial crisis, the bioeconomy today is among the policy ideas that most gather
attention.
How to think critically albeit with enthusiasm about bioeconomy promotion is
the subject of this book. It draws on a large amount of literature, in-depth research in
Brazil, India and Indonesia, and over 100 key-informant interviews with experts to
whom I am grateful for their time and insights. While appreciating the particularities
of each place, it was fascinating to discover some of the common trends across
the globe. (If only I could bring some of those stakeholders, particularly the most
vulnerable ones, into one single conversation.) Sometimes, what was obvious to
actors in one context seemed completely alien to those in another, even if some of
the issues and concerns were the same. If anything, conducting the work for this
book revealed to me the enormous “yield gap” remaining to be filled in South-South
collaboration. Not just intergovernmental, but most especially between civil societies.
Those, however, are insights for another book. Here, what has become clear is
the resilience and power of the bioeconomy as an idea whose time has come—as
Victor Hugo would have it. Although biofuels were heavily critiqued (particularly
in Europe) earlier in this century, the broader bioeconomy agenda now resurfaces
under new clothes. It is fundamental that the lessons be learnt, and that is a central
mission of this work.
I am heavily indebted to Joyeeta Gupta, Harry Aiking, Frank Biermann, Barbara
Hogenboom, Henk Overbeek, Arthur Mol and Sook-Yee Chong for comments or
reflections on earlier versions of this manuscript that have helped sharpen some
of its ideas and much of the writing. As to Jubaedah, my amazing interpreter in
Indonesia. Not the least, I am grateful to the Chalmers University of Technology for
v
Critical global interdependencies are becoming increasingly exposed in the 2020s.
Human health and environmental issues are showing their transnational facets ever
more bluntly, while political decisions in one country attract worldwide attention for
how their impacts unfold everywhere. As governments gear up for economic recovery
after the worst pandemic in over a century, questions about the best ways to do so
proliferate. As “green economy” gained ground in the aftermath of the 2008/2009
financial crisis, the bioeconomy today is among the policy ideas that most gather
attention.
How to think critically albeit with enthusiasm about bioeconomy promotion is
the subject of this book. It draws on a large amount of literature, in-depth research in
Brazil, India and Indonesia, and over 100 key-informant interviews with experts to
whom I am grateful for their time and insights. While appreciating the particularities
of each place, it was fascinating to discover some of the common trends across
the globe. (If only I could bring some of those stakeholders, particularly the most
vulnerable ones, into one single conversation.) Sometimes, what was obvious to
actors in one context seemed completely alien to those in another, even if some of
the issues and concerns were the same. If anything, conducting the work for this
book revealed to me the enormous “yield gap” remaining to be filled in South-South
collaboration. Not just intergovernmental, but most especially between civil societies.
Those, however, are insights for another book. Here, what has become clear is
the resilience and power of the bioeconomy as an idea whose time has come—as
Victor Hugo would have it. Although biofuels were heavily critiqued (particularly
in Europe) earlier in this century, the broader bioeconomy agenda now resurfaces
under new clothes. It is fundamental that the lessons be learnt, and that is a central
mission of this work.
I am heavily indebted to Joyeeta Gupta, Harry Aiking, Frank Biermann, Barbara
Hogenboom, Henk Overbeek, Arthur Mol and Sook-Yee Chong for comments or
reflections on earlier versions of this manuscript that have helped sharpen some
of its ideas and much of the writing. As to Jubaedah, my amazing interpreter in
Indonesia. Not the least, I am grateful to the Chalmers University of Technology for
v