Bioresource use and transformation for a sustainable bioeconomy in the tropics

The document examines the transition to a sustainable bioeconomy in the tropics, focusing on the institutional, business, and technological environments of specific bioresources in Thailand, Kenya, and Colombia. It highlights a systemic gap where public policies prioritize economic growth and productivity over environmental and social sustainability, particularly for smallholder farmers. While Thailand leads in high-value bioproducts like bioplastics from cassava, it faces challenges with soil degradation and labor shortages. In contrast, Kenya and Colombia primarily use cassava for food security, with nascent industrial sectors. The paper also explores non-timber forest products (NTFPs), such as croton in Kenya and açaí in Colombia, noting that while they offer high value and conservation potential, they are hindered by complex regulatory permits and a lack of scaled investment. The authors recommend shifting from monocultures to sustainable production systems, strengthening smallholder cooperatives, and streamlining biodiversity regulations to ensure an inclusive and ecologically sound bioeconomy.

• Public policies for bioeconomy in Thailand, Kenya, and Colombia are relatively recent (launched between 2020 and 2022) and predominantly prioritize economic dimensions such as productivity and income generation over environmental and social sustainability.
• Thailand is a global leader in the cassava industry, producing high-value bioproducts including bioplastics and bioethanol, but faces a decline in yields—dropping from 21.7 tons/ha in 2017 to 17.7 tons/ha in 2023—and a reliance on imports to meet processing capacity.
• In Kenya and Colombia, cassava is primarily utilized for food security and domestic consumption, with limited industrial transformation compared to Thailand.
• The sugarcane industry in Thailand is heavily regulated by the Cane and Sugar Act, but sustainability is compromised by the widespread practice of burning cane leaves to facilitate manual harvesting, which causes severe haze pollution.
• Non-timber forest products (NTFPs) like croton in Kenya and açaí in Colombia offer significant bioeconomy potential for biofuels and functional foods, but their growth is constrained by a lack of clear regulatory frameworks and the high cost of obtaining environmental permits for community enterprises.
• Smallholder farmers across all studied bioresources face systemic vulnerabilities, including a lack of formal contracts, limited access to mechanization, and an ageing producer population with no clear strategies for generational renewal.
• Thailand has successfully integrated circularity into its industrial cassava processing, utilizing biogas systems for wastewater treatment and repurposing pulp for animal feed, a level of implementation not found in Kenya or Colombia.

APA

Trujillo, M., Denduang, B., Lutta, A., Yepes, Y., & Johnson, F. X. (2025). Bioresource use and transformation for a sustainable bioeconomy in the tropics. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/bioresource-use-transformation-bioeconomy-tropics-thailand-kenya-colombia-sei2025-014.pdf

Chicago

Trujillo, Mónica, Benjaluck Denduang, Alphayo Lutta, Yudi Yepes, and Francis X. Johnson. Bioresource use and transformation for a sustainable bioeconomy in the tropics. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2025. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/bioresource-use-transformation-bioeconomy-tropics-thailand-kenya-colombia-sei2025-014.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Trujillo |first1=Mónica |last2=Denduang |first2=Benjaluck |last3=Lutta |first3=Alphayo |last4=Yepes |first4=Yudi |last5=Johnson |first5=Francis X. |title=Bioresource use and transformation for a sustainable bioeconomy in the tropics |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=April 2025 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/bioresource-use-transformation-bioeconomy-tropics-thailand-kenya-colombia-sei2025-014.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{trujillo2025bioresource, author = {Trujillo, Mónica and Denduang, Benjaluck and Lutta, Alphayo and Yepes, Yudi and Johnson, Francis X.}, title = {{Bioresource use and transformation for a sustainable bioeconomy in the tropics}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2025}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/bioresource-use-transformation-bioeconomy-tropics-thailand-kenya-colombia-sei2025-014.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }