Measuring and assessing forest-based circular bioeconomy to implement the National Sustainable Development Strategy in Italy

In the last decades, the circular bioeconomy concept has gained research and political interest, in line with the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In this context, the forest-based sector plays a key role ensuring the sustainable and balanced environmental, economic, and social development using bio-based resources. The present study is aimed at implementing the Italian National Sustainable Development Strategy 2017/2030 (NSDS) in the forest-based sector. Specifically, our study aims to define a set of practical, simple, and easy to apply indicators to assess the performance of the forest-wood chain following the principles of circular bioeconomy. Adopting a bottom-up approach the study was structured in three steps: (1) literature review on circular bioeconomy related to forest-based science by applying social network analysis to bibliometric science; (2) identification of a set of indicators suitable to assess the forest-based sector; (3) decision makers' involvement at regional level (Tuscany, Central Italy) through a questionnaire survey and evaluation of the indicators' suitability to assess the performance of the forest-wood chain. The results of literature review show some clusters in the circular bioeconomy literature related to key topics such as climate change mitigation, environmental impacts, biotechnology, and sustainability. Through the literature review, a set of 14 indicators was developed and classified considering the three pillars of sustainability (environmental, economic, and social) and the 4R (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover) of circular economy. 30 decision makers evaluated and prioritized the indicators evidencing the most important to assess circular bioeconomy. Our study of the monitoring of the performance of the forest-based sector provide insights for researchers, managers, and policy makers to network together for advancing the sustainability transition to a circular bioeconomy in accordance with the principles of a low-carbon society.