INBAR’s global bamboo initiatives are aimed at driving inclusive and green development | T.P. Subramony

April 28, 2017 | Guwahati | Assam | Established in 1997, INBAR is a multilateral inter‐governmental organization that works towards improving the lives of producers and users of bamboo and rattan across the world.

Speaking at the inaugural edition of Green Gold Bamboo Summit, INBAR’s Director & Regional Coordinator for South Asia T.P. Subramony said “INBAR’s global initiatives and partnerships result in the creation and validation of new development tools and approaches for bamboo and rattan, such as value chains, enterprise models, natural resource management approaches or technical innovation”.

Subramony touched upon how in Chishui (Guizhou County) INBAR worked alongside the local forestry bureau with the support of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), to explore how communities can more effectively harness the potential of bamboo. He mentioned that the project resulted in farmers income go up by between 600 yuan (USD 90)/ha for bamboo culms and 8,895 yuan (USD 1300)/ha for bamboo shoots.

His presentation also included case studies that enlightened the audience about South‐South knowledge transfer strategies for scaling up pro‐poor bamboo livelihoods, income generation and employment creation, and environmental management in Africa (Ethiopia, Tanzania, Madagascar).

Green Gold Bamboo Summit, an initiative of Government of Assam brought together all relevant stakeholders associated with the Bamboo value chain. The Summit was attended by close to 300 delegates from Assam, the rest of North East region and potential investors form across the country apart from an international delegation from Taiwan. The overall theme of the Summit was ‘Make In Assam: Harnessing the Bamboo Wealth’.

NGO Care Luit in association with India’s First Bamboo Promotion and Bamboo Entrepreneurship development Digital media platform GreenGoldBamboo.com were the organizers of the Summit. The summit was held under the aegis of Assam Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC). SMEpost.com was the digital media partner of the summit.

 “It was great to witness Assam government leadership articulate its policy intent while subject matter experts shared their experience and some of the young Bamboo entrepreneurs gained from the emerging conversation. The idea is to create linkages between all relevant stakeholders to enable and empower Assam’s Bamboo Sector take the big leap. We are confident that this initiative will pave the way for significant developmental work to happen in the Bamboo Sector in Assam”, said Raktim Das, Founder, GreenGoldBamboo.com.

Mr. Subramony also spoke about INABR’s ‘Global Assessment of Bamboo and Rattan for Green Development (GABAR)’ program. He said “GABAR is a new global initiative and it aims to unlock the potential of bamboo and rattan for rural communities – creating jobs, local income streams, and regenerating degraded lands and forests”.

The benefits of bamboo and rattan are well recognised – but their vast scope for new and innovative uses needs to be better understood. Today, many bamboo- and rattan-producing countries can harness these resources to boost local economic growth, address climate change and protect the natural environment – as part of their sustainable development action plans.

Mr. Subramony concluded his presentation by inviting all delegates to the Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress (BARC) to be held in Beijing in 2018.