International Network for Bamboo And Rattan (INBAR)
The International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) is an international organization
established by treaty in November 1997, dedicated to improving the social, economic, and
environmental benefits of bamboo and rattan. INBAR connects a global network of partners
from the government, private, and not-for-profit sectors in over 50 countries to define and
implement a global agenda for sustainable development through bamboo and rattan. INBAR
member countries are sovereign states, including India which is a Founding Member. India’s
accession to the INBAR Treaty implies a formal decision and high degree of policy support of the
Government of India. India signed the INBAR Establishment Treaty in December 1998, and
being a member country India is part of the INBAR Council, the supreme governing organ of
INBAR.
Organization
The supreme governing organ of INBAR is a Council of representatives of countries which are
signatories to the international agreement. All major policies and decisions are ratified by the
Council. Chairman of the Council now is Mr Zhou Shengxian, Administrator of the State Forestry
Administration of China (SFA). The Board of Trustees has the task of developing appropriate
policies, overseeing management and ensuring efficient operations. The Board is made up of ten
Trustees with one Trustee appointed by the Government of the Host State; eight Trustees at large,
three of whom are from bamboo and rattan producing countries and three appointed on the basis
of their scientific or administrative expertise; and the Director General. The Director General is
appointed to implement the policy decisions and to organize and implement the agreed
programme of work. The first Director General, Dr. Cherla B. Sastry, was appointed with an
initial term of two years from 1997. The current Director General, Dr. Ian R. Hunter, has been
appointed with a term of four years from 2000.
Member Countries of INBAR
INBAR currently has 28 countries as its Members as listed below:
Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Ecuador, Ethiopia,
Ghana, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Peru, the Philippines, Sri
Lanka, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Venezuela and Vietnam.
Board of Trustees
Keith Bezanson, of Canada, an economist, is Director of the Institute for Development Studies,
Sussex.
Jiang Zehui, of China, a wood anatomist, is the president of the Chinese Academy of Forestry.
Rodney Cooke, of United Kingdom, is the Director of Technical Advisory Division, International
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Italy.
Romualdo L. Sta. Ana, of the Philippines, is the President of Philippine Bamboo Foundation, Inc.
Yoshiko Y. Nakano, of Japan, is the President of Organization for Industrial, Spiritual and Cultural
Advancement (OISCA-International).
Mme. Josefina Takahashi Sato, of Peru, is the Present Chair of the Council of International
Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO).
Mr. Ir. Surachmanto Hutomo, of Indonesia, is the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Forestry,
Indonesia.
Ian Hunter, of the United Kingdom, a forestry expert, is the Director General of INBAR.
Mission
INBAR mission is to improve the well-being of producers and users of bamboo and cane within
the context of a sustainable bamboo and cane base by consolidating, coordinating and supporting
strategic and adaptive research and development.
Activities
INBAR undertakes all such activities as are conducive to the realization of its mission and
purposes, viz,
- Identify, undertake, coordinate and support strategic research and development on
bamboo and rattan;
- Organize international, regional, national and local fora and workshops on bamboo and
rattan issues and promote the exchange of all types of information relating to bamboo and
rattan;
- Facilitate the linking of scientific, technical, management and financial expertise with local
partners;
- Train manpower and build institutional capacity at regional, national and local levels for
bamboo and rattan scientists and development professionals;
- Provide expert resources that bridge scientific knowledge with local needs in strategic areas
of research, technology transfer, policy formulation and information services; and
- Coordinate and lead teams to develop proposals and fund projects.
Key ongoing projects
-
Community-based Bamboo Development for Poverty Alleviation and
Environmental Protection in the Upper Reach of Yangtze River
-
Collection, Maintenance and Its Methodology of Bamboo Germplasm in the World.
-
Bamboo Species and Site Matching
-
Improving and Maintaining Productivity of Bamboo for Quality Timber and Shoots
in Australia and the Philippines
INBAR – Role in India
With its mandate on bamboo, the predecessor network and INBAR have consistently supported
several bamboo development activities in the country since the 1980s resulting in considerable
national capacity. Major projects have helped develop capacity in technology and product
development, propagation, provenance testing, establishment of bamboo living collections,
bamboo resource inventory, preservation techniques, utilization, socio-economic studies,
rehabilitation of degraded and wastelands, market research and policy development. INBAR has
helped set up the Bamboo Information Centre and helped train a large number of persons to
build up awareness and national capacity.
State Action Plans
National Bamboo Development Action Plans
- Bamboo market report for India
INBAR has carried out studies on the bamboo market opportunity and strategy, and
produced a market report on the bamboo sector for India, which has helped to give the
first definition of the potential that the sector holds for the country's development. The
market study has shown that a lot of potential exists in India for the bamboo sector. The
market study project was supported by IFAD, UNIDO, and INBAR.
- Bamboo policy report for India
INBAR produced a major bamboo policy analysis and action report for India. A regional
policy workshop was held to discuss and address the policy constraints and opportunities
for the development of the bamboo and cane-based economy in the north-eastern states of
India. The goal is to develop an enabling policy and institutional framework and needed
reforms to develop the bamboo and cane sector. This workshop was part of a process that
started with secondary and primary research and discussions, followed by the holding of
state policy workshops on bamboo and cane in each of the NE States. The Policy Study
was supported by NEC, UNIDO, and INBAR.
- Market & Policy Study for Orissa
INBAR has also completed a market study on the bamboo sector in Orissa. A policy study
for the bamboo sector in the state is underway.
- Bamboo Housing Sector Study
Supported by UNDP, INBAR completed a report on the bamboo housing sector with
three states (Maharashtra, Uttaranchal and Tripura) as pilot locations.
Project collaborations, networking and information dissemination
- Livelihood Development (LD) Projects
Pilot projects on a realistic scale at district levels are being implemented by INBAR in
Tripura, Manipur and Uttaranchal for people to see for themselves, experience and
participate. These projects will demonstrate the working of the system whereby the
community as the principal beneficiary and the market as the goal would integrate into the
local socio-cultural-environment by introducing formal agreements between the community
and the markets. The endeavour will be to ensure smooth supply of standard and graded
material and processed forms from the producers – self-help groups (SHGs) or joint forest
management (JFM) committees – to the user industries that would be set up. These, in turn,
will be supplying standardised finished goods to the buyer industries that manufacture
products such as board, paper, housing components, bamboo shoot products, etc. The
projects, "Increasing Livelihood Opportunities and Socio-economic Development through
Community-based Industrial Approaches Using Bamboo and Cane", are co-financed by
the union ministry of Rural Development, the state governments of Tripura and Manipur,
and INBAR.
- INBAR-Uttahan Project
INBAR has completed a project in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, in reclaiming degraded land
through bamboo plantation. The objective of the project was to halt and reverse land
degradation. This involved testing and transferring appropriate bamboo plantation
technologies in a sustainable manner to enhance biomass availability. It also encompassed
upgrading the skills of the community in creating utilitarian bamboo handicrafts through
institutional mechanisms, thus facilitating socio-economic development.
- INBAR-GTZ Project (funded by the German Trade Cooperation)
INBAR has collaborated with the German Trade Cooperation (GTZ) to provide technical
assistance to their Indo-German Changar Eco-Development Project (IGCEDP) in
Himachal Pradesh. The objective of the project is to promote bamboo as an eco-income
generation activity by involvement of local communities and developing their technical
capabilities.
- Capacity building, market assessment & technology transfer
INBAR has been undertaking activities such as market analysis and study like determining
the existing scenario of the bamboo products, identifying market driven products with the
objective of enhancing the economic status, assessing the market potential, capacity building
through training and workshops for assessment and enhancement of skill through technical
training on design and manufacture of products.
INBAR, jointly with UNIDO, and the Government of Mizoram conducted a training
workshop on 'Affordable Bamboo Housing in Earthquake-prone Areas' in November
2001 in Mizoram State. The workshop was focused on the practical aspects of
bamboo housing, and intended to transfer Latin American earthquake-resistant and
affordable bamboo housing technology to India and to adapt it to local needs. A model
house was built during the workshop. INBAR is working towards developing draft
codes and standards for bamboo scaffolds widely used in building sites, and submit to
the International Standard Organization (ISO) and correspondent national agencies.
Development of international and national standards would aid development and use of
modern bamboo scaffolds in construction sites and other civil works in developing
countries like India, and such nations.
As part of its Outreach activities, INBAR publishes a series of technical reports, working
papers, transfer of technology models (TOTEMS) CDs, news magazines, journals, annual
reports, etc. and these are distributed nation-wide and globally to stakeholders, affiliates,
and project partners including entrepreneurs, government agencies, bilateral/multi-lateral
organizations, etc.
Future activities
In terms of future activities to be undertaken by INBAR in India, a wide range of projects
is being planned. These include:
- Bamboo and cane based sustainable development projects in various states of India
- Training workshops and capacity building activities
- Awareness raising about the potential of the bamboo and cane sectors in income and
employment generation
- Infrastructure development
- Soil conservation and land rehabilitation
- Watershed development
- Wastewater treatment through bamboo, etc.
For further information, please visit the INBAR website
http://www.inbar.int/.
