Introduction - Circular bioeconomy (CBE) is attracting increasing attention from public authorities and private stakeholders as a way to drive sustainable transitions in agri-food-waste systems (AFWS). Previous studies have identified various barriers to the development of a CBE including technological, cultural, political and organizational(Kirchherr et al., 2018).These barriers have primarily been studied at the scale of industrial sectors valorizing bio-based products (Chrispim et al., 2024; Neves and Marques, 2022). However, very few studies have examined the mechanisms of barriers and lock-ins underlying transitions through a CBE in AFWS (Chhetri et al., 2010; Magrini et al., 2016; Meynard et al., 2018). To address this gap, we sought to identify the barriers encountered in the development of CBE initiatives within the AFWS of Reunion Island. Methods - To this end, a comprehensive approach was employed to identify barriers hindering the development of CBE initiatives. A stakeholder mapping exercise, 44 semi-structured interviews, and a participatory workshop involving 30 AFWS stakeholders were conducted. For each initiative, barriers were identified and then grouped into different categories commonly found in the literature: technical, environmental, economic or organizational commonly found in the literature. Results - Among the 38 identified CBE initiatives, organizational barriers related with governance issues emerge as the primary challenge, surpassing technical, environmental, or economic barriers. The most frequently cited barriers include: i) a low degree of participation in collective actions (e.g., consumer awareness campaigns); ii) administrative burden; iii) tensions in actor dialogues; iv) inadequate regulations (e.g., ICPE(1) standards); v) difficulties in accessing financing; and vi) an increased workload associated with innovation development. Initiatives requiring strong coordination among stakeholders, such as the development of fodder banks,