By Tan Xingyu, Wang Jiping

Bamboo and Rattan for Green Growth

By Tan Xingyu, Wang Jiping

Philippine Embassy in Beijing hosts event on sustainable development

To celebrate Earth Day on April 21, the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines hosted an event on “Bamboo and rattan for ASEAN sustainable development”, with the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization’s (INBAR) support. The event highlighted the importance of bamboo and rattan in driving sustainable, climate-smart growth in Southeast Asia.

Notably, the event took place one day before the Paris Agreement came into ef f ect in the Philippines. Jose Santiago Sta. Romana, the Philippine Ambassador to China, praised “the positive contributions of bamboo and rattan in climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as increased resilience to natural disasters.”

The Ambassador informed attendees that ASEAN accounts for approximately 20 percent of global trade in bamboo and rattan. However, he also noted that despite the huge potential to drive green growth and sustainable development in the area, the Southeast Asian bamboo and rattan industry remains in its early stages of development compared to China.

In his follow-up speech, Dr. Hans Friederich, the INBAR Director General, addressed these concerns and introduced attendees to INBAR’s new Vision for Bamboo and Rattan for ASEAN Development — an important strategy document and a call for all ASEAN members to come together in support of bamboo and rattan development.

The Ambassador commended INBAR on its ASEAN Vision as “a welcome development for us in the region”, and urged other ASEAN member states to consider INBAR’s Vision. The Philippine Embassy in Beijing has already conveyed INBAR’s ASEAN Vision to Manila and to the Philippines’ Permanent Mission to ASEAN in Jakarta, Indonesia.

After the formal introductory remarks and launch of INBAR’s Vision, attendees participated in a bamboo planting activity in the gardens outside the Philippine Embassy: a testament to the longstanding friendship among INBAR, China and the countries of Southeast Asia.