Project/activity information

This Project seeks to establish the feasibility of intensively managed bamboo plantations in the tropics, with a view towards providing a substitute for some types of tropical timbers in certain uses. Project activities include evaluating the social and economic implications of bamboo plantations through a review of available literature and surveys from field visits to relevant tropical countries. The Project falls under Programme Area 5 of the EIMI Work Program contained in the ITTO Action Plan, namely, it will "Evaluate the relative economics of natural and plantation forest management and the corresponding environmental impact assessment."

The Project will result in a research report detailing the current status of bamboo resources in China, and prospects for the substitution of tropical timbers in various uses. The report will also contain a detailed case study of the potential bamboo market in China. The research results will also be presented photographically, to assist in disseminating the findings as extensively as possible. The Project will be implemented by a team of 6 scientists from the Chinese Academy of Forestry over a period of 2 years.