Sustainable Bioeconomy: Pathways to Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable development is the most important challenge facing humanity in the 21^st century. The global economic growth in the recent past has indeed exhibited marked progress in many countries. Nevertheless, the issues of income disparity, poverty, gender gaps, and malnutrition are not uncommon in the global landscape, in spite of the upward growth of the economy and technological advances. This grim picture is further exacerbated by our growing human population, unmindful resource use, ever-increasing consumption trends, and changing climate. In order to protect humanity and preserve the planet, the United Nations issued the “2030 agenda for sustainable development,” which includes but is not limited to sustainable production and consumption practices, e.g. in a sustainable bioeconomy. The hallmark of the sustainable bioeconomy is a paradigm shift from a fossil-fuel-based economy to a biological-based one, which is driven by the virtues of sustainability, efficient utilization of resources, and “circular economy.” As the sustainable bioeconomy is based on the efficient utilization of biological resources and societal transformations, it holds the immense potential to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. This book shares valuable insights into the linkages between the sustainable bioeconomy and Sustainable Development Goals, making it an essential read for policymakers, researchers and students of environmental studies. 

V. Venkatramanan, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi. His interests include climate smart agriculture, climate policy, biodegradation and green technologies for environmental management. He has published more than 20 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, and several book chapters.

Shachi Shah, Ph.D. is an environmentalist with nearly two decades of teaching and research experience at various respected universities and institutes. Currently an Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at the School of Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Studies, IGNOU, New Delhi, her research interests include green technologies for waste management and energy generation, bioremediation, waste valorization, plant growth promoting organisms, and biodiversity conservation. She has authored more than 50 publications.

Ram Prasad, Ph.D. is associated with Department of Botany, Mahatma Gandhi Central University, Motihari, Bihar, India. His research interests include applied & environmental microbiology, plant-microbe interactions, sustainable agriculture and nanobiotechnology. Dr. Prasad has more than 150 publications to his credit, including research papers, review articles & book chapters, five patents issued or pending, and has edited or authored several books. Dr. Prasad has twelve years of teaching experience and has been awarded the Young Scientist Award & Prof. J.S. Datta Munshi Gold Medal by the International Society for Ecological Communications; an FSAB fellowship by the Society for Applied Biotechnology; the American Cancer Society UICC International Fellowship for Beginning Investigators, USA; Outstanding Scientist Award in the Field of Microbiology by Venus International Foundation; BRICPL Science Investigator Award and Research Excellence Award etc.

Dr. Prasad has previously served as an Assistant Professor at Amity University Uttar Pradesh, India; Visiting Assistant Professor, Whiting School of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA; and Research Associate Professor at the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China. He is currently an editorial board member for several journals, e.g. Frontiers in Microbiology, Frontiers in Nutrition, and Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection, and Series editor of Nanotechnology in the Life Sciences, Springer Nature, USA.