Towards a sustainable biobased economy in Colombia: integrated environmental and economic analyses of land use and biomass value chains
This thesis aims to analyses different scenarios for the implementation of a biobased economy in Colombia integrating environmental and economic analyses of land use and biomass value chains. Through the thesis, the main lacks for the implementation of a sustainable economy in this country are identified. Firstly the management practices and scenarios considering the environmental and economic impacts of some productions systems are analyzed. Secondly, it analyzes the most important measures to improve biomass production in the future, and thirdly, the design of frameworks for the regional application and impacts of land-use change and bioenergy use in a specific area in Colombia is analyzed.
As key conclusions, it is highlighted that i) improving agricultural practices can be an effective strategy for reducing the pressure on natural land in Colombia and can allow for increasing sustainable biomass production for energy and materials; ii) better data and spatial planning are needed at a local scale to avoid the use of areas with natural vegetation iii) the integrated approach to evaluate the impacts of land-use scenarios and different management options for agricultural land use and protection of natural resources can provide a comprehensive understanding of all major environmental and socio-economic impacts; iv) a combined analysis with energy models is desirable for optimal implementation of biobased options in the energy transition; v) the application of regulatory frameworks and stringent certification schemes needs to be part of national governance for sustainable biomass production.