Bamboo: the green gold mine

Abstract

It has been dubbed a gold mine – green in colour, Bamboo.  It is an important forest resource ‘with wide distribution, fast growth, high ecological and economic value (Wang, 2019). 

It all began with discussions at the 1991 International Workshop in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  The following year, in Japan, the International Bamboo Association was established to facilitate exchanges of information on the ‘environmental, socioeconomic, biological, and cultural aspects of bamboo’ (WBO, 2019).

Members include individual bamboo enthusiasts, commercial enterprises, non-profit associations, and institutions all of whom are dedicated to the use of bamboo for the sake of the planet’s environment and the world’s economies (Akpan, 2019)