Researchers in the forest sector argued that bamboo is among the fastest growing plants. Experts in the sector say that bamboo can grow over 1.20 centimeters within 24 hours or over a half meter within 12 hours. Experts underlined that developing bamboo plays significant role both for income generating and a mitigation method for climate change.
Ethiopia is the largest producer of the bamboo resource in Africa where over 1.47 million hectares of land of the country is already covered by bamboo. This share takes over 60 percent of Africa’s bamboo resource, according to Ethiopia’s Environment, Forest and Climate Change Commission (EFCCC).
In addition, Senior Forest Expert with EFCCC, Tamrat Teshome (PhD) said, Ethiopia has over 3.5 million hectares of suitable land for bamboo development and if efforts continue to develop the bamboo coverage, the current covered land can boost to 3.5 million hectares.
During a recent seminar organized by International Bamboo and Ratting Organization (INBAR) to create a linkage between financial institutions and bamboo investments in Ethiopia in a bid to address financial limitations in the sector, Dr. Tamrat stated that Ethiopia have a huge resource of bamboo product with a huge potential to develop the sector. For him, Ethiopia has the potential to develop the coverage of the plant and the opportunity to exploit benefits from the sector.
According to Dr. Tamrat developing the bamboo product is very important for income generating business and to mitigate climate change challenges. According to him, since bamboo grows very fast, it helps to restore degraded land within short period of time and after restoring the degraded land, it is possible to use it to generate income.
In addition to its direct benefit for green development and as a means of income generating investment, bamboo can replace all plants to use for different commodities and other wood raw material. Since, it grows fast, the productivity of the sector is profitable for both investments, investment for fighting climate change and investment for income generating, he added.
Speaking to The Ethiopian Herald, Dr. Tamrat elaborated that considering the available potential of the sector in Ethiopia, the country has enacted a 10 year bamboo development strategy and action plan to be implemented up to 2030. The ten year plan aims both to develop the coverage of the bamboo sector and to exploit the potential benefits that the country can earn from the sector with investments and value addition exports, Tamrat reiterated.
For Tamrat, in addition to providing license for private sector participants in bamboo investment by planting and use it for commercial purposes, in its strategy, EFCCC plans to cover over 124 thousand hectares of land within 10 years by bamboo plant with public funds. He added that, only during this easily season, parallel to the third green initiative legacy of the country, over 25 thousand hectare of land was covered by bamboo across the country by planting over 56 million new bamboo seedlings.
According to him, in Ethiopia, two types of bamboo species are available and over 20 introduced species of bamboo are adapting. As to him, over 1,200 species of bamboo are available in the world.
If investing in the bamboo sector to wisely and properly use the resource for commercial purposes and to develop the capacity in fighting climate change, Dr. Tamrat said, bamboo have a capacity to replace Ethiopia’s annual wood imports worth over 450 million USD. In addition, he said, bamboo plantation would help Ethiopia’s international commitment to restore over 22 million hectares of dry lands by 2030 as a bid to build carbon neutral economy. Especially to boost the fight against climate change and to restore degraded land, Tamrat noted, bamboo plantation is very important to restore affected dry areas within short period of time.
Bamboo supports for the fast restoration of degraded land and contributes to climate change mitigation. Hence, bamboo plantation and proper utilization of bamboo product would boost Ethiopia’s efforts of building green economy, he added.
INBAR Dutch-Sino Program Manager, Selim Reza (PhD) on his part during the event noted parallel to its benefits for restoring degraded land and helps in building green environment, bamboo is very important product in business sector. As to Dr. Reza bamboo is very important for the development of pro-poor industrial developments from simple to higher industries. For example, in Ethiopia, an estimated 750 thousand people depends on bamboo product, Dr. Reza noted.
According to the manager, not only to generate income for the low income society, the sector can play crucial role for the country’s macro economy development especially in foreign currency earning if the country tries to exploit its resource wisely. For him, though Ethiopia has a huge potential in the sector, still it has importing bamboo commodities worth over 5.7 million USD annually which accounts for 0.43 world’s global imports.
Since the country’s export of the sector is limited to only unfinished raw material, its annual foreign currency earnings from the sector is limited to 0.23 percent, he noted. Hence, Dr. Reza stated, in addition to investing to develop the bamboo coverage, the country should promote manageable investments in the sector to exploit the resource for economic purpose. For the development of investments in the sector, creating suitable environment to financial access and loans for the sector is very crucial.
He underlined that Ethiopia is rich in this resource and if additional investments in boosting the coverage will increase, the country’s resource of the sector will develop more than double. Hence, investment in the sector is very effective and profitable. He calls all private and state-owned financial sectors to provide necessary financial loans for investors in the sector, which is a green economy investment.
Buying Dr. Tamrat idea, the program manager stated that as a fast growing plant and a tree which can replace all wood products, the investment in bamboo product will help to minimize other forest resource damage as industrial inputs. At the same time, it helps the restoration of degraded land within short period, he added.
In Ethiopia huge bamboo resource is available in Amhara, Oromia, Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Regional State, Benishangul Gumuz and Gambela regional states, EFCCC stated. In addition to with limited resource, it plant also available in other states.
According to INBAR bamboo is very important to produce bio-energy, for different construction purposes, carbon credit plantation, laminated furniture, eco-tourism and bio-plastic products. The products from bamboo sector are also important to replace other products which have the capacity to disturb air-pollutions.
Not only that, bamboo is also important as feed and fodder for livestock mainly for mules, horses, cows, sheep’s and goat.
According to INBAR in Ethiopia around 108 enterprises are available engaged in bamboo furniture and bamboo productivity. In addition, six private industries are engaged in the sector of which two of them are operational. Hence, the bamboo industry in Ethiopia is at lower level and needs practical activities to develop the sector both in productivity and to generate income from the sector.
Adane Berhe is an investor who is engaged in bamboo investment during the past three decades said that the sector has a market both at national and international level, but limited financial access remains a huge constraint for investment’s in the sector.
Adane stated that he owns around five different factories that produce various items from bamboo. Recently he started pulp and paper production from bamboo. According to him, the policies and strategies at national level are pro-bamboo investment, but, financial limitation is a headache in the sector.
Adane calls all financial institutions, private and public, to provide financial loans to investors engaged in the sector and he said that he has passed through a lot of ups and downs due to the financial constraints to invest in the sector. As to him, currently, there are new developments in this regard and eyes the sector may get new attention.
Dr. Tamrat on his part argued that incentives and other supportive mechanism are implementing in the sector and there are efforts to have Forest Fund proclamation in the near future. In addition, strategic directions are put by the commission to establish five bamboo clusters, to promote establishment of new bamboo plantations and for the development of bamboo value chain.
According to him, there are also efforts to establish Africa Bamboo Training Center in Addis Ababa with over 56 million USD China funds, which will help to develop skilled man power in the sector, Dr. Tamrat said.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD AUGUST 27/ 2021
