Bamboo is a versatile and multifaceted non-timber plant. In the last 15-20 years it has emerged as a valuable wood substitute. Virtually every product which is now produced from wood can be effectively produced from bamboo including panels, boards, flooring, roofing, pulp and paper, fabrics and cloth, charcoal, oil, gas and even vegetables - bamboo shoots. Development of bamboo resources and industries worldwide promotes economic and environmental growth, mitigates deforestation and illegal logging, prevents soil degradation and restores degraded lands. These qualities of bamboo have been well studied and are widely known.

 

Less is known about bamboo as a carbon sink. Carbon dioxide is one of the major gases in the Green House Gases (GHGs) family responsible for global warming. The Kyoto Protocol entered into force in 2005 and promoted the Clean Development Mechanism as a powerful vehicle for combating global warming. Bamboo can easily compete with the most effective wood species in terms of carbon sequestration capacities, but unlike wood species it is not yet a part of CDM projects. The current study, implemented jointly with FAO, aims to identify opportunities for bamboo within the CDM in conjunction with its role as a resource for poverty reduction.

 

The main findings of the study are outlined below. We believe that an immediate impact of the study will be integration of bamboo along with the forest wood species under the current framework of the CDM. We are sure that this integration will contribute effectively to the proper carbon dioxide balance as well as to countries’ economic and environmental development and global fair trade.

 

Acknowledgements

The authors of the report are grateful to FAO for the cooperation and funding of the global bamboo carbon study. We are particularly grateful to Mr. Dieter Schoene for his guidance and help during the preparation and implementation of the agreement.

Part I: The bamboo resource and its roles in environment, poverty alleviation and sustainable development

 

Bamboo is an ancient grass, a woody plant. There are 60 to 90 genera of bamboo with over 1,200 species. Bamboo is mostly distributed in tropical and subtropical zones between 46 North and 47 south latitude in Asia, Africa and America. The most widely known features of bamboo are its fast growth, adaptability, resilience and substantial biomass production. Bamboo is also an environmentally friendly plant and net carbon sink, producing 35% more oxygen than wood.

 

It is estimated that bamboo occupies over one percent of the tropical and subtropical forest area - over 22 million ha. Over 80% of the total area covered by bamboo is located in Asia, 10% in Africa and 10% in America. About 30% of bamboo may be classified as forest plantations vs 3.8% of wood plantations. According to the FAO/INBAR global thematic study, over 63% of bamboo resources are privately owned with 36% bamboo owned by governmental entities. In comparison 80% of all world forests are on public lands.

 

 

About 1.5 billion people depend on bamboo for their daily lives. Over 20 million tons of bamboo are collected and utilized annually. Those in rural areas and the poor are the prime harvesters of bamboo, widely known as a "poor man’s timber". Global bamboo trade is estimated to be between 1.5 to 2.5 billion USD. Although it occupies only 1-3% of the total tropical and sub-tropical forest area, including trees outside forest lands, bamboo contributes between 4-7% of the total tropical and subtropical timber trade.

 

With modern processing techniques, many of which are still quite new, bamboo can be transformed into many products that compete directly with wood products in price and performance. Bamboo often surpasses wood in the diversity of products produced. It is also known to be a valuable ecological resource for soil and water conservation and restoration of degraded lands.

 

 

 

Bamboo is one of the most productive and fastest growing plants on the planet. The fastest-growing species may grow up to 1.2 m a day. The unique growing capacity makes bamboo a valuable sink for carbon storage. Below ground bamboo biomass makes up 25-50% of the total stock. Carbon content comprises usually about 50% of the total biomass.

 

There are two main types of bamboo: tropical (mostly sympodial) and sub-tropical (usually monopodial) types. Monopodial species have spreading rhizomes and are more like trees yielding one stem from a shoot. They may be invasive plants. Sympodial bamboos grow like a bush and are generally non-invasive. Sympodial bamboo species are normally substantially more productive than monopodial. For instance tropical Bambusa bambos may produce twice as much biomass compared to monopodial Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) - 280-290 vs 120-140 t/ha. The above ground productivity of Moso bamboo may reach 18-20 t/ha/yr.

 

 

Bamboo has several advantages over tree species in terms of sustainability and carbon fixing capacity. Available studies conclude that bamboo biomass and carbon production may be 7-30% higher compared to the fast growing wood species. For instance tropical Bambusa bambos has been measured at a total above ground biomass 287 t/ha with a mean annual production of around 47.8 t/ha/yr, almost twice that of the Eucalyptus clones. Interestingly, the total biomass of mature Bambusa at 6 years is in fact higher than that of teak at 40 years: 149 t C/ha versus only 126 t C/ha for teak. Sub-tropical moso bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) reaches above ground biomass of 137.9 t/ha and is generally harvested at 5-8 years intervals. Every 5 years it would produce at least 86 t/ha biomass and sequester 43 t/ C/ha, almost twice as much as a teak plantation under the same conditions. This includes total biomass as well as products.

 

Besides higher biomass, bamboo has other advantages over wood as a carbon stock. Unlike woody crops bamboo offers the possibility of annual selective harvesting and removal of about 15-20% of the total stock without damaging the environment and stock productivity. Over 90% of bamboo carbon can be sequestered in durable products such as boards, panels, floors, furniture, buildings, cloth, paper and activated charcoal. These products have a very long life span and may retain carbon for several decades.

 

 

Bamboo can play a significant role in linking climate change mitigation to sustainable economic development in the developing world. Carbon credits may trigger creation of otherwise marginal bamboo plantations for processing, jobs and wealth generation. Unlike tree crop plantations which are facing criticism regarding an unclear pro-poor focus, bamboo is highly suitable for cultivation specifically for pro-poor development.

 

Nearly half of the global deforestation and illegal logging is due to the harvesting of fuel wood. The situation is deteriorating in most of the developing countries. Africa particularly suffers from deforestation due to energy use. Already with the presently available technologies bamboo production for energy use may well make a significant contribution to the current and future energy needs of the developing world. Utilization of renewable fuel from bamboo can save vast natural forest resources and non-renewable fossil fuel such as mine coal, oil and gas. This would allow retention of carbon already sequestered in forests and in fossil fuels.

 

 

 

Interest in carbon trading under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol have blossomed since its ratification in 2004. The first carbon trade forestry projects under the Kyoto Protocol are expected in 2008. Although no projects have been developed for bamboo so far, it does qualify for the forest carbon credits. Bamboo is a part of the world’s forests and forest industries. Bamboo is classified as a tree, although it is a non-wood plant. As has been outlined above, bamboo’s carbon sequestration rate normally exceeds the rates of most of the fast growing woody species under the same or similar conditions. In addition bamboo has desirable characteristics for producing durable products as well as bio-fuel. Bamboo often grows on small plots on marginal lands managed by poor people. It is possible to group many small plots under one project as long as accurate measurements are made. Such groups could qualify for carbon trading as small scale forest project.

 

Therefore the main impediments to the development of bamboo projects for carbon trade under the CDM appear to be administrative. Implementation partners must be found and the first project proposal has to be submitted to the CDM board for approval, creating a case.

 

 

So far there are no bamboo CDM projects implemented or planned. However, bamboo is a part of the global forestry sector and such projects may easily adopt general CDM forestry models. Bamboo forestry projects have the potential to pioneer the approval of methodologies that measure carbon sequestration in products. From a CDM point of view there are no large differences in terms of planting, management and utilization between bamboo and the other tree species.

 

Since so few A/R methodologies have been approved within the CDM framework, it is difficult to predict what types of activities represent the best CDM project models for bamboo. It seems that the most important criteria for CDM projects is to fulfill the technical requirements and demonstrate adherence to additionality, monitoring and sustainability criteria. The comparative advantages of the projects play a minor role. It is expected that in the future more emphasis should be placed on project efficiency, which would create a more competitive CDM business environment.

 

 

Bamboo projects have traditionally been designed for economic and ecosystem development and these projects can also benefit from carbon credits revenues. Bamboo cultivation is often limited by the need to rely on governmental or non-governmental subsidies to provide start up funds and training in poor rural areas. CDM revenues could substitute for these grants and greatly increase the availability, profitability and number of bamboo development projects.

 

Both in tropical and sub-tropical areas the annual biomass and carbon sink per hectare of many bamboo species are comparative to wood tree crops, such as eucalyptus or teak. The rotation cycle of bamboo should be also considered when comparing it to such species. Bamboo will be harvested annually (say 20% of the growing stock) and will continue producing new culms throughout its life. Every five years the amount of carbon sequestered on one ha will be the same and the tremendous productivity of the bamboo will not be reflected in living biomass. After 30-40 years (at the age of teak or eucalyptus harvesting) the bamboo’s biomass will still be as high as it was at 5-8 years old.

 

If continuing sequestration in durable products is added to the total carbon sequestration figure, the productivity of bamboo should enable it to reach and exceed long term sequestration levels of the best tree species for carbon sequestration.

 

An accurate estimate of net bamboo carbon cannot be made since there have been no comprehensive studies to design the CDM projects. The figures may vary depending on project design and conditions. Bamboo may show advantages in respect of carbon if it is grown in a suitable climate requiring little fertilization, irrigation, and manual harvesting. The processing methods of the harvested biomass will also have a large effect on the net GHG removals. Bamboo processing is usually carried out locally and with technologies requiring little fossil fuel input, increasing the net carbon sink. Bamboo harvesting and processing is mostly carried out by hand in cottage or village industries. Bamboos may well have a higher net removal than trees that require extensive machine use and long distance transportation for processing.

 

 

 

The costs and revenues for bamboo CDM A/R or bioenergy projects will vary depending on the project type and location, but it is reasonable to assume that bamboo CDM projects will not be less profitable than those involving timber tree crops. In fact, there are clear indications that bamboo projects can be more profitable compared to other tropical trees.

 

Bamboo can easily meet current requirements for CDM forestry projects such as forest definition, socio-economic and environmental criteria for sustainability, cost benefit analysis, CO2 models, monitoring methodology and accounting. Many different types of CDM projects could be developed using bamboo, ranging from ecological conservation to both cottage and large scale industrial projects. Yet the first bamboo projects should involve simple methodologies that are unlikely to run into problems with the CDM methodology board. FAO, INBAR and other partners should take the initiative to develop such projects within the next few years for the benefit of carbon sequestration and development.