Biomass for landscape restoration: how can the bioeconomy contribute to the UN Decade on ecosystem restoration?
Side Event at the European Biomass Conference and Exhibition (EUBCE) 2021
Virtual Event, 29/04/2021
GBEP: Together for sustainable development
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Bioeconomy – the use of renewable biological resources from land and sea to produce food,
materials and energy – not only depends on ecosystem services for its functioning but it also has the
potential to positively contribute to the restoration of the landscapes that host these ecosystems.
The sustainable production of bioenergy, as part of the broader bioeconomy, can contribute to reducing
the pressures on natural ecosystems, whilst helping to restore degraded land and improving local health
and livelihoods. On the other hand, the use of traditional wood fuel – i.e. the inefficient use of fuelwood
and charcoal for cooking and heating – is a large contributor to landscape degradation as demand
increases and the sustainable supply of fuelwood cannot keep up. Therefore, sustainability is a key
concern; better management practices and improved technologies, along with the policies that incentivize
these practices, are required to ensure a transition to sustainable biomass production and use.
The Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) has been investigating some of the positive impacts of the
production and use of biomass for energy to contribute to landscape restoration. This workshop
showcases some promising examples from around the world, in order to draw out similarities and
understand the factors that contribute to the enabling environment for these practices to be replicated
elsewhere.
The workshop features interventions by Dr. Maria Michela Morese (FAO, GBEP Executive Secretary), Dr. Annette Cowie (University of New England, Australia), Dr. Tiziana Pirelli (CREA, Italy), Dr. Sola Phosiso (ICRAF), Dr. Calliope Panoutsou (Imperial College of London), Christian Rakos (Chairman, World Bioenergy Association), Dr. Maria Luz Cayuela (Spanish National Research Council) and Myrsini Christou (Head of Biomass Department, Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving CRES)
materials and energy – not only depends on ecosystem services for its functioning but it also has the
potential to positively contribute to the restoration of the landscapes that host these ecosystems.
The sustainable production of bioenergy, as part of the broader bioeconomy, can contribute to reducing
the pressures on natural ecosystems, whilst helping to restore degraded land and improving local health
and livelihoods. On the other hand, the use of traditional wood fuel – i.e. the inefficient use of fuelwood
and charcoal for cooking and heating – is a large contributor to landscape degradation as demand
increases and the sustainable supply of fuelwood cannot keep up. Therefore, sustainability is a key
concern; better management practices and improved technologies, along with the policies that incentivize
these practices, are required to ensure a transition to sustainable biomass production and use.
The Global Bioenergy Partnership (GBEP) has been investigating some of the positive impacts of the
production and use of biomass for energy to contribute to landscape restoration. This workshop
showcases some promising examples from around the world, in order to draw out similarities and
understand the factors that contribute to the enabling environment for these practices to be replicated
elsewhere.
The workshop features interventions by Dr. Maria Michela Morese (FAO, GBEP Executive Secretary), Dr. Annette Cowie (University of New England, Australia), Dr. Tiziana Pirelli (CREA, Italy), Dr. Sola Phosiso (ICRAF), Dr. Calliope Panoutsou (Imperial College of London), Christian Rakos (Chairman, World Bioenergy Association), Dr. Maria Luz Cayuela (Spanish National Research Council) and Myrsini Christou (Head of Biomass Department, Centre for Renewable Energy Sources and Saving CRES)
