Last November 18, 2020, in Rome, a new five-year partnership was signed between the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, aiming to scale up the benefits and opportunities that these fast-growing tropical plants provide, including reducing rural poverty, increasing carbon sequestration, promoting biodiversity and land restoration, and the greening of the construction industry worldwide.
The FAO-INBAR strategic alliance is particularly important and meaningful as “Africa and South Asia are the two regions that face the most serious problem of food security, while, on the other hand, they have some of the most abundant bamboo and rattan resources in the world,” said Professor Jiang Zehui, Co-Chair of INBAR’s Board of Trustees. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by FAO and INBAR was designed in a highly participatory manner, illustrating both organizations’ commitment and providing promising support for sustainable development, said INBAR Director-General Ali Mchumo.
The partnership will allow efforts to “reap more benefits” for the world’s most vulnerable people, he said. Bamboo and rattan grow in the vicinity of some of the world’s poorest communities in the tropics and subtropics and their special characteristics fit well into green development plans.
They can provide a fast-renewing alternative to timber fuel as well as cutting-edge building materials to replace emissions-intensive materials such as steel, plastics, and concrete. Rattan, a member of the palm family, grows like a rope and is widely used to make woven items, furniture, baskets, and birdcages, and is being experimented on as the basis for bone replacement material. Like bamboo, it grows quickly and grows back after harvesting, creating a fast-acting source of sustainable income.
Combined, the two plants support a $60 billion global industry, according to INBAR, which estimates that exports in 2017 amounted to $1.7 billion. There are 1,642 known bamboo species and about 600 species of rattan.
Beyond their own biodiversity, the plants play a key role in ecosystems, and many of the world’s most iconic and endangered animals – such as the giant panda, mountain gorilla, and greater bamboo lemur, as well as a sizable share of bird species in the Amazon – depend on them for survival, highlighting their range of relevance in conserving the world’s biodiversity.
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization
