A new business initiative has brought China's State Forestry Administration, the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), and the Netherlands' Ministry of Foreign Affairs together to stimulate the bamboo and rattan industry in three African countries - Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda. The tripartite partnership was announced on November 20 with the aim of boosting the three African countries' rural incomes, helping them restore their degraded landscapes, and combating climate change.

The South-South-North business initiative has been inspired by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in New York in September to "transform" the world.

The partnership will link China's vast experience in developing bamboo resources for poverty alleviation and livelihoods development with the Netherlands' expertise in production, marketing and standards in the bamboo sector to benefit the three African countries.

China's State Forestry Administration Vice Minister Zhang Yongli said China looks forward to collaborating with the Netherlands to promote global bamboo and rattan sector development through the INBAR platform.

As a world leader in bamboo processing and value chain development, China has supported the development of the bamboo sector in Africa for years, sharing its wealth of practical expertise. Innovations and policy support from the government have seen China's domestic bamboo sector grow from subsistence activity in the 1980s to a vast industry. With a total output value of about $30 billion a year, the industry employs 7.75 million people, and has restored over 3 million hectares of degraded land. Internationally, China leads the bamboo export market, accounting for over 60 percent of trade, according to INBAR.

INBAR, a multilateral development organization of 41 member states, supports its members to find and demonstrate innovative ways of using bamboo and rattan to protect the environment and biodiversity, and alleviate poverty. (http://www.inbar.int/)