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The paper examines bioeconomy implementation in Colombia, Thailand, and East Africa, highlighting a common gap between high-level strategies and ground-level execution. In Colombia, the focus is on territorial strategies and balancing biodiversity conservation with sustainable use. Thailand emphasizes a Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) model driven by Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), though it faces challenges in including artisanal bioeconomy and smallholder farmers. East Africa utilizes a regional strategy (2022–2032) focusing on circularity and value addition, but struggles with infrastructure and funding. Cross-regional findings suggest that successful implementation requires robust monitoring, tailored capacity building, diverse financial support, and inclusive governance.

The document examines the role of bio-inputs and biological control agents in Colombia's transition toward a sustainable bioeconomy. It highlights Colombia's early leadership in regulatory frameworks, the growth of a science-intensive industry comprising 238 registered companies, and the preference for these tools among exporters of high-value crops. However, it identifies significant barriers, including lengthy and costly registration processes (up to 5 years and $15,000), a lack of farmer education regarding the preventive nature of bio-inputs, the risks of unregulated artisanal production, and a reliance on imported cosmopolitan microorganisms over native biodiversity.

The document details a participatory process to define a subnational bioeconomy for Valle del Cauca, Colombia, focusing on the agricultural, agro-industrial, and nature tourism sectors. It proposes a transition toward 'bioresource' and 'bioecology' visions that balance economic growth with environmental sustainability and social inclusion. The resulting roadmap emphasizes the need for a multi-actor governance scheme, targeted financial incentives for circularity, and critical infrastructure improvements in rural transport and basic services to enable the processing of biological resources.

The report evaluates Colombia's departmental energy performance using a trilemma framework. It finds that while regions like Antioquia and Boyacá excel in energy security due to hydroelectric and thermal resources, significant gaps persist in energy equity between the National Interconnected System (SIN) and Non-Interconnected Zones (ZNI). Environmental sustainability is hindered by a reliance on fossil fuels, particularly gas and coal in departments like Atlántico and La Guajira, while non-conventional renewable energy sources (FNCER) remain underutilized.

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) provides technical tools and research in Colombia to bridge science and policy across water management, energy transition, and sustainable sanitation. Key efforts include the use of WEAP for water resource planning, LEAP for low-emission energy modeling, and TRASE for mapping deforestation in agricultural supply chains. SEI also investigates the socio-economic transition away from thermal coal in the César and La Guajira departments and supports the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The 'Ríos del Páramo al Valle' project (2012-2015) focused on enhancing the adaptive capacity of Colombia's regional environmental authorities (CAR) in managing water resources under climate uncertainty. By implementing the Robust Decision Support (ADR) framework and the WEAP modeling system, the project provided technical tools and capacity building across several key basins: the Otún, La Vieja, Alto Magdalena, and the broader Magdalena-Cauca macro-basin. Key outcomes include the identification of basin-specific adaptation strategies—such as páramo conservation in the Otún and wastewater treatment in La Vieja—and the development of new WEAP functionalities to model floodplain dynamics and hydrological alteration. The project emphasized a gender-inclusive approach and the creation of a regional community of practice involving universities and government agencies like IDEAM to ensure the long-term sustainability of climate-informed water planning in Colombia.

The document details the application of the Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) system to model the La Vieja river basin, covering an area of approximately 2,880 km2 across the departments of Quindío, Valle del Cauca, and Risaralda. The model incorporates 37 watercourses, 16 human consumption demands, and 4 hydroelectric demands. By utilizing a soil moisture rain-runoff method and calibrating parameters such as runoff resistance and hydraulic conductivity, the project established a framework to evaluate 1,728 scenarios involving climate variability and demographic changes. This process aims to support regional environmental authorities in formulating adaptation strategies for water resource planning through 2050.

The study estimated that the La Vieja river basin receives approximately 15 tons of pollutant load per day, primarily from domestic sources. By integrating WEAP and QUAL2K tools, the project modeled 12 tributary sources and identified six sub-basins responsible for 96% of the pollutant load. The analysis included a participatory XLRM process to identify 14 uncertainties and 10 management strategies, while incorporating 30 climate change scenarios for the 2010-2050 period to support institutional decision-making.

The document uses a departmental input-output model to project that Colombia could lose up to 448,000 jobs by 2035 due to decreased coal, oil, and gas production. It highlights a significant disparity in impact: 'Vulnerable' departments (Arauca, Casanare, Cesar, La Guajira, and Meta) face severe production drops (32%-38%) and job losses that cannot be offset by renewable energy projects alone. While 'Large Economies' and 'Limited Affectation' departments also face job losses due to interdepartmental linkages, they possess higher potential for compensation through structural changes in agro-industry and nature tourism. The brief argues that a 'just transition' requires a structural economic shift, specifically proposing the creation of food manufacturing clusters and local-content requirements for renewable energy imports to maximize domestic employment.