On 18 May 2023, a workshop on “Scientific and Technological Innovation and Standardization of Bamboo and Rattan in Developing Countries” organized by the International Centre for Bamboo and Rattan (ICAR) and co-organized by the International Organization for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) was held in Beijing. Professor Jiang Zehui, Co-Chair of the Board of Trustees of INBAR, Chief Scientist of ICBR and Academician of the International Academy of Timber Sciences, Xu Qiangxing, Level II Bureau Rank Official of the International Department of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, and Lu Wenming, Deputy Director General of INBAR, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speech. Wang Gang, Director of the Training Department of ICBR presided over the opening ceremony.
In her speech, Professor Jiang Zehui said that bamboo and rattan are important renewable resources widely distributed in developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, and are also valuable treasures given by nature to mankind. Over the years, ICBR has successfully organized 59 international training courses on bamboo and rattan, training more than 2,100 senior officials and technicians from 84 countries, in accordance with the deployment of foreign aid work by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce and the National Forestry and Grassland Administration and other departments around serving the INBAR and its member countries. In this workshop, we aim to share the ideas, practices, experiences and achievements of China’s bamboo and rattan science and technology innovation and standardization development, so that participants from different countries can fully understand the significance of the bamboo and rattan industry in promoting economic and social development and improving the ecological environment, enhancing the capacity of bamboo and rattan science and technology innovation and achievement transformation, upgrading industrial restructuring and economic growth transformation, and promoting the sustainable development of the bamboo and rattan industry and economic and social development in developing countries. It is also a concrete initiative to serve the INBAR and its member countries, implement the Belt and Road Initiative, deepen South-South cooperation and help achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. I hope that participants from all countries will take this opportunity to further strengthen their cooperation through the platform of the Chinese government, ICBR and INBAR, and make greater contributions to the promotion of scientific and technological innovation in bamboo and rattan, to the green and sustainable development of the world's bamboo and rattan industry, and to the expansion and deepening of South-South cooperation.
Xu Qiangxing said in his speech that this workshop is an important initiative to implement President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road initiative, deepen South-South cooperation and promote the implementation of the "Bamboo as a substitute for Plastic" Initiative. ICAR and INBAR have made careful preparations and designed a rich curriculum, covering the overview of bamboo and rattan resources in the world and China, the current situation and policies of China’s bamboo industry development, capacity-building for scientific and technological innovation in the bamboo industry, standardization of bamboo and rattan products, customs codes and international trade of bamboo and rattan products, etc. It will further promote in-depth exchanges and cooperation among developing countries in the fields of forestry, grass, bamboo and rattan. We hope that the participants will learn from each other, exchange experiences and conduct in-depth discussions, implement the "Bamboo for Plastic" initiative, and contribute their wisdom and strength to the development of the global bamboo and rattan industry and the fight against climate change.
Ms Priscilla Kimani, a researcher at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute, spoke as a representative of the participants. She thanked the ICBR for providing this training opportunity to improve the level of bamboo processing and added value, and INBAR for donating bamboo seeds and funding bamboo research projects in Kenya. The workshop was attended by participants from Fiji, Laos, Malaysia, Malaysia, Malaysia and the Philippines.
A total of 54 bamboo and rattan officials, experts and technicians from seven countries, including Fiji, Laos, the Philippines, Mozambique, Kenya, Ethiopia and Malawi, will participate in the workshop, which will take place over 14 days in an online format. The workshop will arrange courses and exchanges on topics such as China’s bamboo resources, bamboo timber properties and processing and utilisation, bamboo products R&D and application, bamboo instead of plastic, international trade and standards of bamboo products, China's bamboo industry policies, bamboo culture and life, bamboo architecture, bamboo and rattan home and decoration, China's rural precision poverty alleviation policies and practices, etc., to share technologies, achievements and experiences and practices in China's bamboo and rattan science and technology innovation and standards system construction, bamboo and rattan industry and cultural development, etc, The event will further enhance friendship, promote exchanges, strengthen the international circle of friends in the field of bamboo and rattan, and contribute to the high-quality and sustainable development of the world's bamboo and rattan industry.
