{"id":14396,"date":"2008-02-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2008-02-18T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bio-based.eu\/news\/index.php?startid=20080219-07n"},"modified":"2008-02-19T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2008-02-18T22:00:00","slug":"fao-bioenergy-assessment-tool-unveiled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/fao-bioenergy-assessment-tool-unveiled\/","title":{"rendered":"FAO: Bioenergy assessment tool unveiled"},"content":{"rendered":"

A decision-support tool developed by FAO<\/a> will help ensure that countries can enter the rapidly growing field of bioenergy industry to produce benefits for the poor without jeopardizing their food security. The tool, an “analytical framework\u201d designed by a team of economists from FAO, Utrecht University\u2019s Copernicus Institute<\/a> and Darmstadt\u2019s Oeko-Institut<\/a>, was unveiled at a two-day experts\u2019 meeting of FAO\u2019s Bioenergy and Food Security (BEFS<\/a>) project. The three-year project, funded by Germany, is aimed at making sure that bioenergy does not impair global food security.<\/b><\/p>\n

The analytical framework allows governments interested in entering the bioenergy sector to calculate the effect of their policy decisions on the food security of their populations. Bioenergy can affect food prices and rural incomes and thus has important implications \u2013 both positive and negative – for food security.<\/p>\n

Maximizing positive outcomes<\/b>
Applying the analytical framework will enable national policy makers to minimize negative consequences while maximizing positive outcomes. A prerequisite for running the framework is the establishment of a bioenergy development scenario, a process in which FAO helps government clearly define their bioenergy policy options and the various possible strategies to achieve those options.<\/p>\n

The analytical framework then makes it possible, through five steps, to assess: <\/p>\n