Following the first two (first, second), online meetings, the time to meet in person has come for the members of the Greek MTF of the RIBES project!
On Friday 4 July, the 3rd meeting of the group took place in Mytilene, at the auditorium of the Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, with the participation of representatives from the primary sector, the University of the Aegean and Harokopeion University, as well as the participation of members from civil society organizations and regional government officials.
The focus of the meeting was the evaluation of the institutional framework and governance structures that promote the development of the Circular Economy and Social Innovation in the North Aegean. This assessment was based on eight social and economic indicators:
- Participation
- Regulatory framework
- Regulatory framework
- Rules of law
- Risk management
- Corruption control
- External measures to support the bioeconomy
- Strategic objectives for the bioeconomy
Participants had the opportunity to actively contribute to the evaluation of the current governance model through a short questionnaire that they were asked to answer after the presentation of these indicators. The results of the questionnaire were presented and the influence of these eight indicators on the development of CBE in the North Aegean region was discussed in detail.
Based on this discussion, citizen participation in decision-making on the development of the circular bioeconomy is largely based on their information about the potential social, environmental and economic risks and opportunities that can arise from the management of bio-waste. It is important that they are aware of the pollution caused by the improper management of by-products of agricultural/livestock processes (olive mill wastewater, sheep wool, cheese milk, etc.) and of the economic benefits that can arise through the use and transformation of by-products into value-added products.
In addition to the above, the issue of the existing state effectiveness and its importance in dealing with pollution incidents by promoting new methods of agricultural/livestock waste management was discussed at length. Furthermore the difficulty of funding new business activities was highlighted, while successful examples were presented concerning the processing of olive pit to produce pellets, pomace oil and furniture.
The common, final conclusion was the necessity of creating a national and/or regional strategy for the development of the circular bioeconomy, the absence of which significantly hampers the overall effectiveness of public administration and the governance of innovation in general.
After the end of the meeting of the Greek MTF group, the 4th Forum on Food Waste Prevention: ‘From Farm to Plate’, organized by Harokopion University with the support of MedINA and under the coordination of the Ministry of Environment and Energy, in the framework of the project “LIFE-IP CEI-Greece – Implementation of the Circular Economy in Greece”, followed in the same venue. The main focus of the discussion was the management of food waste and possible initiatives for its reduction. The RIBES project was presented as an attempt to develop inclusive solutions for the utilization of agricultural residues in the North Aegean Region.
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Regional Inclusive Biobased Entrepreneurship Solutions, or RIBES, is a project that seeks to transition ten European regions to dynamic, circular economic models that foster social innovation. It is funded by the European Union under Grant Agreement No. 101134911.