Group gathers in Beijing to promote bamboo

Latin America has one-third of the world's bamboo — and has made good use of it over the years — but its bamboo resources are not being used to their full potential, said Ali Mchumo, director general of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization, or INBAR, on Thursday.

"More work is needed to raise awareness, share techniques and technologies, and help countries learn from each other about the potential of this golden grass," he said at the Consultative Forum of the Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries, which was held by the organization in Beijing.

Latin America and the Caribbean region have been searching for ways to bring socioeconomic prosperity to the most vulnerable communities in the region, he said.

As an organization made up of 50 member states, most of them developing countries from the Global South, INBAR has acted as an important network for South-South cooperation for more than 25 years.

"Millions of people depend on bamboo and rattan to sustain their livelihoods in the Latin America and Caribbean region, and the same is true in other regions of the world," he said.

The organization has carried out projects, research, capacity-building workshops and field trips in more than 50 countries, generating hundreds of thousands of jobs and training more than 40,000 people.

Jiang Zehui, co-chair and acting chair of INBAR, said that bamboo and rattan are the two most important non-wood forest resources in the world, assisting in improving livelihoods, protecting the environment and addressing climate change. She said she hopes that more countries will join the organization.

Fernando Lugris, Uruguay's ambassador to China, said that INBAR has shown its ability to promote safe, resilient bamboo growing and restore degraded land.

"That is why I honestly believe that our nations should look at INBAR with an embracing attitude, either to integrate with it or collaborate with it in multiple ways," he said.

A sharp rise in single-use plastics, which are produced almost entirely from fossil fuels, has damaged the well-being of the planet, according to INBAR.

Bamboo, on the other hand, is fast-growing, resilient and sustainable and is a good substitute for single-use plastics. The grass, which is recyclable and environmentally friendly, can be used to produce cups, straws, paper and packaging, the organization said.