The rise of the bioeconomy in Colombia addresses the need to rethink resource use in the face of the socio-environmental and economic challenges the country faces. Urban growth and its effects have highlighted the tensions between development and sustainability. While cities and metropolitan areas concentrate a significant portion of national economic production, they also contribute substantially to carbon emissions and intensive resource use. This duality has driven interest in economic models such as the circular economy, green growth, and more recently, the bioeconomy.

The bioeconomy emerges as a strategic solution to optimize the utilization of biological resources, integrating sustainable practices with economic and social development. In Colombia, however, the implementation of this model faces challenges stemming from the marked socio-economic and geographic disparities among its regions. While departments like Bogotá-Cundinamarca and Antioquia have managed to justify their environmental impact through improvements in well-being indicators, others, such as Atlántico, show high levels of anthropogenic impact without corresponding advancements in quality of life (Murcia et al. 2020).

Given this context, it is crucial to assess the readiness level of the regions to effectively adopt the bioeconomy. This entails identifying the specific capacities and limitations of each territory to guide tailored strategies. In this framework, the Smart Specialization Strategy methodology of the European Union, adapted to the Colombian context, is employed to measure the readiness and potential of regions in developing the bioeconomy.

Methodology

To determine the current state of the bioeconomy in Europe, the BERST (Building Regional BioEconomies) project defines eight categories based on indicators collected by the European Union related to bioeconomy development. In the case of Colombia, the Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística (DANE) is in the process of constructing the Bioeconomy Satellite Account, which means that clear indicators of the bioeconomy’s current status are not yet available. Nevertheless, it is possible to assess the readiness level of the bioeconomy at a departmental level, allowing for comparisons between departments regarding their biotic capacity (biological resources or reports), basic infrastructure, business ecosystem, and human capital required to strengthen the bioeconomy in each region.

For this assessment, 56 variables distributed across six categories were selected. The criteria and indicators used were designed to reflect the characteristics of all the departments under study. These criteria and indicators were chosen based on a comprehensive review of the literature and validated in regional workshops conducted in Boyacá, Huila, Tolima, Dinamarca, and Meta.

While the selected criteria should, in theory, be applicable to any department, practical application reveals challenges in identifying a single combination of indicators equally meaningful for all regions. This variability arises due to two main factors:

Certain criteria lack a consistently measured indicator across all departments.
Departments differ in their perspectives on which indicators should be prioritized in specific cases.

Despite these challenges, the selected framework provides a robust foundation for evaluating the readiness level of Colombian departments to adopt the bioeconomy. It highlights regional disparities while offering insights into the strengths and areas for improvement that can guide policy and investment decisions tailored to the unique needs of each territory.

Tool

The presented tool enables the evaluation of the readiness level for the bioeconomy across Colombian departments through a visual and interactive approach. Its design allows users to identify strengths and areas for improvement in each region, using key variables organized into categories that assess the preparedness for various aspects of the bioeconomy.

Category	Description
General	Includes basic economic indicators such as GDP, reflecting the overall capacity of the department.
Biological Reports	Assesses the biological richness of the department based on species records (mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, etc.).
Human Capital	Measures the availability of skilled talent through indicators such as university graduates, postgraduate programs, and specializations in relevant fields.
Infrastructure	Considers variables such as fixed internet access, energy coverage, and the availability of research and development (R&D) centers.
Business Ecosystem	Evaluates business and innovation dynamics through metrics like unemployment rates and industrial and commercial development indices (IDIC).
Biological Resources	Analyzes natural resources such as the density of biological resources per km², forest cover, protected areas, and strategic ecosystems.

Classification

Each variable and category is classified according to a Z-score, which measures the department’s relative performance compared to the rest of the country. These classifications fall into six levels:

Classification Level	Description
Very High	Represents outstanding performance, significantly above the national average for this variable or category.
High	Reflects above-average performance, although not as prominent as the very high level.
Medium	Indicates average performance, aligning with the national mean.
Low	Signals below-average performance, highlighting areas that require attention.
Very Low	Shows significantly lower performance compared to other departments, emphasizing critical improvement opportunities.

viewof selectedDep = Inputs.select(Deplist, { label: "Seleccionar Departamento" })

// Cargar Highcharts y módulos necesarios
Highcharts = {
  const Highcharts = await require("highcharts");
  await require("highcharts/modules/sunburst"); // Cargar el módulo Sunburst
  await require("highcharts/highcharts-more"); // Cargar Highcharts-more
  return Highcharts;
}

data = FileAttachment("Out_rueda_bioe_km2_dep.csv").csv({ typed: true })

// Obtener lista de departamentos únicos y ordenados
Deplist = Array.from(new Set(data.map(d => d.DEP))).sort();

filteredData = data.filter(d => d.DEP === selectedDep);

chartData = filteredData.map(item => ({
  id: item.id,
  parent: item.parent,
  name: item.name,
  value: Math.abs(item.displayValue), // Usar valor absoluto para el gráfico
  color: item.color,
  originalValue: item.originalValue // Valor original para el tooltip
}));

Highcharts.chart('container', {
    chart: {
        type: 'sunburst',
        backgroundColor: 'transparent' // Fondo transparente para el gráfico

    },
    title: {
        text: null
    },
    credits: {enabled: false},
    tooltip: {
        formatter: function() {
            const name = this.point.name;
            const originalValue = this.point.options.originalValue;
            return `<b>${name}</b>: ${originalValue}`;
        }
    },
    series: [{
        data: chartData,
        cursor: 'pointer',
        name: "Bioeconomy",
        allowDrillToNode: true,
        dataLabels: {
            format: '{point.name}',
            rotationMode: 'circular',
            style: {fontFamily: 'Roboto Condensed'}
        },
        levels: [
            { level: 1, colorByPoint: true, dataLabels: {style: {fontSize:30}} },
            { level: 2, colorByPoint: true, dataLabels: {style: {fontSize:16}} },
            { level: 3, dataLabels: {style: {fontSize:14}}, colorVariation: { key: 'brightness', to: -0.5 } }
        ]
    }]
});

It is important to emphasize that the purpose of this tool is not to encourage direct comparisons between departments. Instead, it is designed to serve as a guide for each region to identify its specific areas for improvement. By focusing on strengthening unique capabilities, the tool supports the development of tailored strategies that foster sustainable growth.

Each region in Colombia has a distinct ecosystem, vision, and set of challenges, which means that the bioeconomy must be approached as a flexible framework that can be adopted differently across departments or regions. This diversity represents both a strength and a challenge: while it enables tailored solutions, it also requires careful coordination and context-specific strategies. This is the great challenge that Colombia faces—ensuring that the bioeconomy becomes a sustainable and inclusive proposition adapted to the unique characteristics of each region.

References

Murcia, Juan Sebastían Valle, Brian Amaya, Rocio Acuña, Julián Diaz-Timoté, Jhonatan Julián Diaz, and Sergio Rojas. 2020. “Agrupaciones socioecológicas del desarrollo en Colombia | Biodiversidad 2020.” In, 112. Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt. http://reporte.humboldt.org.co/biodiversidad/2020/cap4/410/.

Level of readiness of the bioeconomy in Colombia

Methodology

Tool

Categories

Classification

References