July 5, 2011 - New public-private partnership explores the potential of bamboo for promoting sustainable rural development
The Mau Secretariat and the African Wildlife Foundation have organized a workshop with all key stakeholders, as well as Dr. Lou Yiping, from the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), China, to explore the possibility of using bamboo to rehabilitate water catchment areas and develop a new stream of income-generating activities in rural poor areas.
In a water scarce country like Kenya affected by increasing climate variability, the management of the critical catchment areas, such as the water towers, is paramount to secure environmental sustainability, economic development and human well-being. Bamboo is one of the most suitable vegetation cover to secure the functioning of the montane areas as water towers. Bamboo facilitates the percolation of water in the ground during the rainy season, hence recharging the aquifers. In the dry season, the aquifers will feed the springs which will secure a minimum base flow in the rivers. In addition, young and mature bamboo plantations capture more carbon than tree plantations, making bamboo plantations a good option for sequestering carbon and for carbon financing.
The range of products made from bamboo is very wide: house, flooring, partitioning, fiber board, blinder, paper, charcoal briquettes, food (bamboo shoots). In China, the bamboo industry output was estimated at USD 10.76 billion in 2009, contributing greatly to rural development and poverty alleviation.
In light of the multiple benefits that can be derived from bamboo, the workshop set up a small committee to plan the way forward, including the development of a south-south cooperation between China and Kenya.
