Highlights for Wednesday, 27 June 2018

Hans Friederich, Director-General, INBAR, receives a pledge from Li Nuyun, China Green Carbon Foundation (CGCF), affirming commitment to making BARC 2018 a carbon-neutral event.

The final day of the Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress (BARC 2018) focused on technology innovations and business. Scientists and entrepreneurs presented their work in developing high-performance bamboo-based materials that have been used in a wide variety of settings, for example, in building construction, transportation, and power utility poles. Participants also discussed the social aspects of bamboo and rattan in livelihoods and women’s empowerment. The International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) Taskforce on Rattan Uses and Development launched a publication on ‘Rattan Terminologies,’ which provides a common lexicon for users.

At the closing ceremony, Hans Friederich, Director-General, INBAR, announced several outcomes of BARC 2018, including a commitment by the Netherlands to lend support to a new phase of the Dutch-Sino-East Africa project, and several projects in the areas of training and biodiversity protection.

Friederich also announced that the Beijing Declaration had in principle been agreed upon by all members of INBAR, and that the Secretariat would circulate an updated version in coming weeks.

Li Nuyun, China Green Carbon Foundation (CGCF), offered to offset the carbon emissions generated by participants’ travel to the Congress through a bamboo planting project in Yunnan province, China, and Friederich expressed satisfaction that the Congress can claim to be a genuinely carbon-neutral conference. He also presented an award to a representative of the volunteers who had supported the Congress, recognizing their contribution to making the Congress a success.

Jiang Zehui, INBAR Co-Chair, congratulated all concerned on the success of the Congress, which had attracted ministerial-level delegates from over 30 countries. Peng Youdong, National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NGFA), expressed confidence that the Congress discussions would contribute to the achievement of the SDGs by 2030. INBAR Co-Chair William J.C. Hutchinson declared the Congress closed at 4.59 pm.

Hans Friederich, Director-General, INBAR, during the closing ceremony

William J.C. Hutchinson, Minister Without Portfolio, Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Jamaica

Li Nuyun, CGCF

Li Nuyun, CGCF, presents a donation to a project partner for planting bamboo in Yunnan province, China, which will offset the carbon emissions generated by Congress travel.

A representative from Yunnan Suge Horticulture Engineering Co. Ltd. donates US$ 15,153 to CGCF

Hans Friederich presents an award to a representative of the volunteers

Jiang Zehui, INBAR Co-Chair

Peng Youdong, National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NGFA)

John Hardi, Bali, Indonesia

John Hardi (right), presents a gift to Hans Friederich (left), Director-General, INBAR

Participants watched a video about the use of bamboo bikes in Africa during the parallel session on Green Transportation – Bamboo Bikes.

Bernice Dapaah, Ghana Bamboo Bikes

Participants engage in discussion of bamboo bikes.

Bamboo bikes at the session

Highlights for Tuesday, 26 June 2018

The Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress (BARC 2018) entered its second day of discussions in Beijing, China, focusing on the role of bamboo and rattan in climate change and green growth. Speakers from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) opened the morning session, followed by a high-level dialogue on the topic. Participants then met in parallel sessions on topics addressing land restoration, carbon trade, panda habitat, and capacity building, among other topics.

Speakers drew attention to the high rate of carbon sequestration in bamboo and its value as a fast-growing economic resource. Participants discussed methodologies for identifying and assessing bamboo and rattan stocks through the Global Assessment of Bamboo and Rattan (GABAR), an INBAR programme that provides tools and training for countries to conduct their own assessments.

The NGFA, China, announced plans to gazette a large protected area containing bamboo forests as panda habitat. Other highlights of the day included sessions on the use of bamboo to restore degraded lands, with successful examples presented from around the world, and the introduction of bamboo winding technology, which uses bamboo and new types of resin to produce a high-strength composite material suitable for making railway carriages, tunnels and construction pipes.

At the bamboo winding session, MoUs were signed between: the China National Forest Products Industry Association and the Ministry of Forestry and Environment of Nepal; the State Forestry and Grassland Administration Engineering Research Center (ERCBWC) with the Embassy of Myanmar in Beijing; and ERCBWC with five local governments in China to cooperate on applying the technology.

Jovrine Kallisa Kyomukama, Member of Parliament, Uganda

Martin Frick, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat

Pablo van der Lugt, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands

L-R: Patricia Appiagyei, Vice-Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ghana; Gerhard Dieterle, Executive Director, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO); Pradeep Monga, UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Secretariat; Martin Frick, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat; Meng Han, UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC); Saibal Dasgupta, Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Climate Change, India; and Chunfeng Wang, China National Forestry and Grassland Administration

Kathomi Gatugi Njeru, Director, Green Pot Enterprise, Kenya

Caroline Wangui Kariuki, CEO, Green Pot Enterprise, Kenya

L-R: Pradeep Monga, UNCCD Secretariat; Han Meng, UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC); John Liu, Commonland Foundation; and Li Jia, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)

L-R: B.N. Mohanty, Director, Indian Plywood Industries Research and Training Institute (IPIRTI), India; Vipin Chawla, IPIRTI, India; and Neelam Manjunath, Managing Trustee, Center for Green Building Materials and Technology, India

L-R: Scott Perkin, IUCN; Piliippe Pypaert, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); Zhang Zhiyong, National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), China; Fan Zhiyong, WWF; Aimin Wang, World Conservation Society; Zhang Xiaoquan, The Nature Conservancy (TNC); and Zeyin Jian, Conservation International (CI)

Highlights for Monday, 25 June 2018

Melodious a capella chorus by Miao and She singers from the cultural heritage bamboo forest areas of Yong’an and Yibin, China

The Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress (BARC 2018) opened today at the China National Convention Center in Beijing, China, welcoming around 1,200 participants, including 500 from other countries. Zhang Jianlong, Administrator, National Forestry and Grassland Administration (NFGA), conveyed a welcome message from Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, followed by video messages from Lenin Moreno, President, Ecuador, and Juan Manuel Santos, President, Colombia, and an address by Shitaye Minale, Deputy Speaker of the House, Ethiopia. Speakers highlighted their commitment to sustainable development and highlighted ongoing cooperation efforts on the use of bamboo and rattan in livelihoods, land restoration and mitigation of climate change.

Hans Friederich, Director-General, INBAR, expressed appreciation to the Government of China for its role in organizing the conference. Hao Mingjin, Standing Committee, China National People’s Congress, highlighted China’s readiness to promote and deepen South-South cooperation, support INBAR’s work, and cooperate with the international community to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Rubén Flores, Chair, INBAR Board of Trustees, presented Jiang Zehui, Chair, BARC organizing committee, with a lifetime achievement award for her work in forest science, developing global standards for bamboo engineering, and enabling China’s support for INBAR and its establishment as an international organization.

A ministerial summit took place in the morning, and a plenary dialogue on South-South cooperation in the early afternoon. Later in the day, parallel sessions convened around the venue, discussing experiences of bamboo and rattan-related cooperation among countries, public and private sectors, and industry and research actors.

The Congress features an exhibition of bamboo products and innovations such as wind turbine blades made from bamboo.

In the evening, participants attended a welcome dinner on the theme ‘Yong’an Night.’

Lenin Moreno, President of Ecuador, addresses participants via a video message

Juan Manuel Santos, President of Colombia, delivers a speech via a video message

Jiang Zehui, Chair, BARC Organizing Committee

Nicolas Rossellini, UN Resident Coordinator and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in China

Zhang Jianlong, Administrator, NFGA

Charlotte Salford, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and Hans Friederich, INBAR Director-General

Hans Friederich, INBAR Director-General, and Gerhard Dieterle, Executive Director, International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO)

Francois Martel, Secretary General of the Pacific Island Development Forum, Fiji, and Charlotte Salford, IFAD

Around the Venue

The IISD team at BARC 2018. L-R: Delia Paul, Malaysia/Australia; Laura Bullon-Cassis, Switzerland/Spain; Diego Noguera, Colombia; Keith Ripley, US; Elaine De la Rosa Limjoco, the Philippines; and Wang Yan, China.