Bamboo for climate Resilience

By Caroline Tomno

The Kenya forest service has introduced tissue culture propagation in bamboo for mass   to boost the Bamboo sector in the country. The acting director of the Kenya forestry research institute KEFRI Dr. Jane Njuguna, says the tall fast-growing woody plant is also used as an important control measure for soil erosion. It is used in protecting water catchments areas as well as mitigating against climate change effects . “Bamboo has now been recognized as an important cash crop in Kenya”, says  Dr Njuguna.

Land restoration

Bamboo has been successfully used in land restoration in various parts  of  Busia county. It was  used  to restore the  Odia and  osipata wetlands  in Teso  south, after it  was degraded through gulley erosion According to Dr. Njuguna, the wetland is  a hotspot  of  biodiversity with over 500 bird  and over  200 plant species.

The species had nearly been wiped out because of unsustainable land use, but bamboo was successfully used in restoration of the degraded   landscape.

Dr Njuguna, says planting bamboo trees along the shores of the flood-prone River Nzoia to curb persistent flooding that displaced scores of people in the recent past. Bamboo is used to prevent the floodwaters from breaking the dykes and eventually finding their way into homes and farms. For instance, in May 2020, over 40,000 people in Bunyala sub-county were displaced by the raging floods and forced to relocate to sixty-two internally displaced persons (IDP) camps set up by the government across the sub-county when River Nzoia burst its banks.

Source of livelihood

Apart from environmental conservation, bamboo plants are also planted for commercial purposes. They are used in construction activities which comprise flooring, roofing, designing and scaffolding, furniture making, food for livestock and shoots as food for humans, bio-fuel, fabrics, cloth, paper, pulp, charcoal, ornamental garden planting,

Global Perspective

The International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) is a multilateral development organization which promotes environmentally sustainable development using bamboo and rattan. It has 43 Members. In addition to its Secretariat headquarters in China, INBAR has regional offices in India, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Ecuador.

Its unique set-up makes INBAR an important representative for Members. With over 40 of its members from the Global South, INBAR has played an especially strong role in promoting South-South cooperation for the last 20 years.

The deputy director of INBAR, Dr Lu Wenming  director of the  international bamboo  organization INBAR says the organization is dedicated to harnessing the  immense potential of  bamboo to address the global challenges  like   land degradation, climate change, poverty alleviation and  plastic pollution. rural poor people are the most susceptible to the effects of climate change . According to Jayaraman  countries  in the world  including Kenya, should adopt large scale bamboo developments. He added  that the  value  chains should  be  strengthened and  scaled up to create a  sustainable  and lucrative  value chain.

According to Jayaraman Durai, the director of global  programs in INBAR,large scale bamboo developments in different parts of the world including  Kenya   should adopt   bamboo  growing as a  sustainable  means of livelihood. He says that the  production  of  bamboo  products should  be  scaled  up  and the  value  chain   strengthened.

Tom  Okello  the executive director  of the  national forestry authority in Uganda, says  several forests  that had  been    badly  degraded were restored  through  growing of  bamboo.

He  added that  more that 2700  hectares of  bamboo   had been   planted  by  small   holder farmers in Uganda  over the  last  5 years. He said  the   livelihoods for many  people   mainly  women   had  improved  through production of  briquettes and selling of  bamboo  products to  be used  for industrial purposes.

Mohammed Safdar  the commercial manager at  climate  impact partners  organization, says the organization is providing seed funding and finance to support small holder farmers across  the bamboo  value chain.

Isaac Aquah from Ghana   says bamboo is being used to establish riparian vegetation along  river  banks  along  rivers  that   have  been  heavily  degraded through  mining. He says   this had led to  a lot   of  siltation and  subsequent loss  of human  life through  flash floods.

To help the country, to attain the 30 percent forest cover. They were speaking at the  global conference, GLF Nairobi 2023 Thousands of leading African changemakers, scientists, practitioners and community leaders of all ages convened in Nairobi and online from 130 countries to discuss ways to transform food systems, secure land rights and restore landscapes through African-led solutions.

Speakers outlined numerous ways that Africa and its people can build resilience to the climate crisis and other ecological challenges.