Specie Conservation Project on Bamboo(source:BAMBOONET)

Australia –Philippine Partnership in Bamboo for Sustainable Regional Development (Outcomes from an ACIAR funded Project)

Rationale

Conservation and enhancement of renewable resources and the natural resources base are priority issues for both Australia and the Philippines. Bamboo is well suited to the twin concerns of both countries. It is a perennial plant with multiple uses ranging from subsistence to commercial food, to processing into building and furniture. Bamboo products are not listed in the major commodity databases. However, it is estimated that 12 kg of bamboo products are used per capita in Asia annually, with annual harvest of 30 million tons of timber products and more than 2 million tons of edible vegetable shoots worldwide. Total trade in bamboo products has been estimated at US$4.5 billion/year. This figure however, does not include the subsistence uses of bamboo and its by-products.

 In Australia, commercial bamboo growing is new. Most bamboo farms are small, and usually a side-business to other primary production. Approximately, c.150 enterprises have engaged in bamboo growing whether for shoots and/or timber.In the Philippines, the largest demand for bamboo goes to the furniture and handicraft sector. Locally, increasing demand for bamboo furniture is driven by the increasing cost of wood furniture and the heightened interest in traditional and ethnic furnishings not only in residential households but in commercial establishments as well.Due to the downturn in the output from the timber-logging industries worldwide, it is anticipated that bamboo will increasingly substitute for wood. However, under current levels of productivity, acute scarcity in the Philippines is also forecasted for bamboo poles. Assessment of bamboo resources relative to national pole requirements indicates inadequate supply for sustained yield. Given the worsening status of forest resources now, there is a need to increase the areas planted to bamboo and the yields of existing bamboo plantations and natural bamboo stands. With the six years implementation (2001-2006) of the ACIAR funded project on bamboo, through the collaborative efforts of the Central Queensland University (CQU), Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystem Research and Development Services (DENR-ERDS Regions 6 and 10); Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU); Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI); and the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) together with some local private enterprises, good silvicultural  and management protocols that will provide bamboo raw material of suitable quality to satisfy current and anticipated demands were developed. With this at hand, it is hoped that extension of research results through this symposium will not only underpin its adoption, but will further enhance the relevance of this research.

The symposium aims to fortify the bamboo industry by extending the research results to a wider audience and to promote and encourage the adoption of the generated silvicultural and management technologies. Specifically, it intends:

 Objectives:

a)To present research results of the project
 

b)To encourage more planting and establishment of premium bamboo species
 

c)To present the economic prospects of bamboo growing and processing in the Philippines.
 

d)To promote awareness on the socio-economic and environmental importance of bamboo
 

e)To provide avenues for the sale of basic products from small-scale entities;
 

f)To address the constraints (both biological and institutional) to the expansion of the bamboo industry.