Perceptions of bioeconomy and the desire for governmental action: Regional actors’ connotations of wood-based bioeconomy in germany

Abstract

The term bioeconomy denotes political strategies that affect all areas of life and economy and require broad social support. Nevertheless, the term has not yet pervaded the everyday lives of many people. It is yet unclear what effects these concepts generate in the form of associations and what conflicts and political demands could be associated with them. Using an ethnographic approach, different actors from the forest and wood field of action were interviewed in two study regions in Germany, who are already, consciously or unconsciously, engaged in bioeconomy at a regional level. Different perceptions and interpretations of bioeconomies can be identified, which are often linked to political demands. These can be clustered into two groups. The first group refers to the forest as a place of primary production and demands an adaptation of forest management. The second group refers to wood as the most important raw material of bioeconomy and demands planning security necessary for change. The paper shows that, from the perspective of the interviewees, government action can contribute to the definition of concepts by sending clear signals and thus overcome the limited reach of strategy papers.