Bamboo project in Baguio bringing Philippines, China together

BAGUIO CITY – A GROUP of Chinese experts is participating in the Baguio-Benguet Bamboo Initiative, a project of the non-government organization Philippine Bamboo Foundation Inc. (PBFI), the Catholic diocese of Baguio, the Rotary Club and local officials.

The initiative aims to use bamboo in the reforestation of denuded forests in Baguio and Benguet, to push for Philippines-China partnership in developing the local bamboo industry, and to convince the government to include bamboo in its National Greening Program.

Leading the Chinese delegation are Zhu Zhaohua, former head of the Beijing-based International Network for Bamboo and Rattan, and Wang Anguo of the Lin’an Modern Forestry Technology Service Center, the international cooperation unit of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.

On July 13 and 14, Zhu and Wang will take part in a PBFI conference at the Baguio Country Club, where they will share their technical expertise on bamboo production and reforestation with local bamboo farmers and foresters.

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario said the Chinese participation was “good news.”

“Cooperation projects, such as the sharing of technical expertise, become all the more significant at a time when both sides encounter the occasional bumps on the road,” said Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Eduardo Malaya.

Ethan Y. Sun, spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy, said, “China always welcomes strengthened and fruitful exchanges in various fields of cooperation between our two countries.”

PBFI president Edgardo Manda noted that “bamboo, which grows to maturity in just four to five years and grows well in a tropical climate, is best for reforestation.”

“Converting large areas of grassland into bamboo forests will increase farmers’ incomes and expand their work opportunities,” said Manda.

China has nurtured over 6 million hectares of bamboo forests, which sustain a $2 billion-plus annual export industry that makes food, medicine, beverages, tiles, textile, furniture, and handicraft, among other things, of bamboo.