Jakarta, October 29 & 30, 2025 – Cendekia Iklim Indonesia (CII) collaborated with the Directorate of Forestry and Water Resources Conservation (KKSDA) of the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas to hold an interactive Focus Group Discussion (FGD) to examine and map the potential role of various economic sectors in supporting the implementation of bioeconomy for science-based sustainable development in Indonesia. This FGD encourages an inclusive, participatory, and sectoral collaborative approach, involving the government, academics, business actors, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and civil society. Thus, this discussion is a manifestation of public consultation to source the economic model from a bottom-up process.

Currently, Indonesia is developing a strategy to formulate a sustainable economic model as part of the drafting of the 2029-2034 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN). One of the essential agendas in the plan is the development of the bioeconomy, which is seen as part of the national economic transformation.

Bioeconomy is expected to drive Indonesia's economic growth to be more inclusive, green, and innovative, based on the protection and restoration of resources and biodiversity. Moreover, as a country with high biodiversity, Indonesia faces the challenge of protecting its natural resources from extractive economic practices and accelerating the transition to a sustainable economy. Therefore, the formulation and strengthening of the bioeconomy concept is expected to increase Indonesia's contribution and commitment to promoting sustainable economic transformation.

In this activity, the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas proposed that bioeconomy is an economic system that utilizes biological resources and processes sustainably to create higher-value-added goods and services for Indonesia, thereby advancing Indonesia as a fair, prosperous, and sustainable economy that upholds human dignity.

This high added value is expected to be achieved through two approaches, namely the utilization of biotechnology and the strengthening of human resources, thereby ensuring inclusiveness and ownership by the primary beneficiaries, the general public.

However, Bappenas' proposed definition of bioeconomy is based on Indonesia's strength at the smallholder level (farmers, fishermen, and local communities). Indonesia has great potential in the sustainable management of biological resources. Therefore, Indonesia's bioeconomy aims to strengthen the role of communities, particularly local communities, in the biological value chain.

The Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas targets 11 sectors/clusters in the development of Indonesia's bioeconomy, namely industrial processes and product processing, beauty and wellness, health and pharmaceuticals, waste and recycling, renewable energy, coastal and marine, environmental services, hospitality, forestry, agriculture and plantations, and food.

The Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas also emphasizes three criteria in building a national bioeconomy ecosystem:

• Higher value-added - Improving the quality and economy of biological products
• Technology application - Use of biotechnology and biorefinery
• Improved well-being – Improved livelihoods, community empowerment, benefits from climate change adaptation and mitigation activities, and biodiversity conservation (Meza & Rodríguez, 2022)

CII research adds that economic added value can be derived based on a systemic bioeconomy framework consisting of inputs (bio-based inputs in the form of biodiversity utilization and investments that apply sustainable values); processes (technologies with increased community capacity in the form of active participation at the local community level); and outputs (balance between economic, social, and environmental dimensions).

Bioeconomy is seen as a form of integration between economic growth, environmental preservation, and community welfare. Rizky Deco Praha from CII explained that bioeconomy requires fundamental changes in the economic system, namely, how technology and innovation can create added value without sacrificing the environment and local communities.

The discussion on the national bioeconomy deepened during the question-and-answer session. Prof. Dr. Ir. Damayanti Buchori, M.Sc from IPB University emphasized that the biggest challenge is not only building a new foundation, but also shifting the paradigm so that it is no longer measured solely by Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Wisnu W Kusuma from Haskoning reinforced that entrepreneurs still face the dilemma of avoiding bankruptcy. “Financial literacy and the ability to determine the market are still the main obstacles for bioproduct manufacturers, so that the economic value and direction of product utilization are not yet optimal,” he said.

In the pulp and paper industry, Atikah Sekar W from Asosiasi Pulp dan Kertas Indonesia (APKI) added that the industry is already very biomass-based but is hampered by regulations that prevent the utilization of waste across sub-sectors, so that the transformation towards a bioeconomy and biochemistry is not running optimally.

The issue of social justice is also a significant concern. “There is a need to incorporate a rights-based approach, particularly the rights to food, nutrition, and a healthy environment, into the development of the bioeconomy,” said Mufida Kusumaningtyas from FIAN Indonesia.

Feri Nur, from Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara (AMAN), also emphasized this, saying that indigenous peoples have long practiced sustainability but have not received equal economic benefits due to limited access to capital and land conflicts.

Prof. Dr. Ir. Budi Indra Setiawan, M.Agr from IPB University emphasized the importance of measured, participatory, and community-based natural resource management, so that economic activities are not only market-oriented but also maintain ecological and social sustainability.

However, collaboration remains a challenge. “The development of the bioeconomy is hampered by regulatory disharmony and a lack of collaboration across stakeholders, so harmonization of regulations between regions and agencies is needed,” said Hendri Surya from PISAgro.

Therefore, Adi. M from the Ministry of National Development Planning/Bappenas highlighted the need for policy harmonization across ministries and regions, including the potential establishment of a Bioeconomy Special Economic Zone (Kawasan Ekonomi Khusus (KEK) that can integrate upstream and downstream activities into one ecosystem.

In this interactive sectoral FGD, participants jointly conducted a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis - Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal (PESTEL) to identify the position of Indonesia's bioeconomy development and determine strategies for collaboration between sectors.

In this interactive sectoral FGD, participants jointly conducted a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) analysis - Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal (PESTEL) to identify the position of Indonesia's bioeconomy development and determine strategies for collaboration between sectors.

Bioeconomy emphasizes not only economic benefits, but also positive impacts on the environment and society. Thus, the bioeconomy is seen as an integration of economic growth, environmental conservation, and community welfare.
However, collaboration remains a challenge. “The development of the bioeconomy is hampered by regulatory disharmony and a lack of collaboration across stakeholders, so harmonization of regulations between regions and agencies is needed,” said Hendri Surya from PISAgro.

Therefore, as part of the government's commitment to developing the national bioeconomy, Bappenas will formulate a national bioeconomy framework based on the results of sectoral focus group discussions, to be used as a consideration and input for the formulation of the 2029-2034 National Medium-Term Development Plan.