Bioeconomy: this is reality

January 22, 2008 Raif Vasilov, the President of the Yu.A.Ovchinnikov Russian Biotechnologists Society, the Chairman of Board of Directors of the Russian National Biofuel Association and Alex Ablaev, the Vice-president of the Russian National Biofuel Association took part in the program "The personal opinion" of the broadcasting station "Radio of Russia". They discussed the problems and prospects of bioeconomy's development.

R. Vasilov believes that knowledge-based bioeconomy is ongoing reality presenting an economic system in which biotechnology and biological resources provide food, energy, chemicals and materials as well as environmental benefits.

The term "bioeconomy" has appeared recently when biotechnology has broken the boundary of traditional industries producing and processing bioresources as agriculture, food and fish industries, forestry and begun to penetrate such economy fields as energy, mining, light, textile industries, etc.

Currently we can see a real "biotechnology conquest" in the world. Driving forces of the process are firstly, a high demand in energy and raw materials, secondly, huge environmental problems, thirdly, the need for development of depressive and rural regions and fourth, a desire to improve the quality of life.

In China so A.Ablaev's, for example, a program on bioeconomy's development has been already adopted. China above all focuses on its own technologies. A big flow of investments in biotechnology is coming to the country and foreign companies are ready to produce biomaterials for own markets. An explosive growth of bioenergy i.e. biofuels production is witness in China, big subsidies and grants are allocated for research and development in production of food and raw from biomaterials.

Who else in the world is involved so active as Chinese in research and development in bioeconomy? First of all, A. Ablaev mentioned the USA that has taken the lead in this area. Two factories manufacturing industrial plastics from recycling raw materials (from maize). For example a different floor-clothes which possesses with unique consumer characteristics are produced from such plastics. Moreover these plastics are cheaper then produced from oil.

There exist many reasons for bioeconomy's rapid development in the world. By 2010, as the experts forecast, turnover the industries where biotechnology plays a key role will reach 2.0 trillion euros. A lot of counties have the programs for development of knowledge-based bioeconomy. China for example is going to reach 100 bln. USD of the national bioeconomy's volume by 2010, 200 bln. USD - by 2015 and 500 bln. USD - by 2020 and to become a world leader in the field.

Дата: 04.02.2008