The mission of INBAR is to improve the well-being of producers and users of bamboo and rattan within the context of a sustainable bamboo and rattan resource base by consolidating, coordinating and supporting strategic and adaptive research and development.
The International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR) is a multilateral development organisation that promotes environmentally sustainable development using bamboo and rattan. It has 45 Member States. In addition to its Secretariat headquarters in China, INBAR has Regional Offices in Cameroon, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ghana and India.
Its unique set-up makes INBAR an important representative for Member States. With over 40 of its Member States from the Global South, INBAR has played an especially strong role in promoting South-South cooperation for the last 20 years. Since its founding in 1997, it has been making a real difference to the lives of millions of people and environments around the world, with achievements in areas such as: raising standards; promoting safe, resilient bamboo construction; restoring degraded land; capacity-building; and informing green policy and Sustainable Development Goal objectives.
Guided by its 2015-2030 Strategy, INBAR’s priority is to work with countries to focus the use of bamboo and rattan as strategic resources that support sustainable development and their green economy action plans. Its strategy and performance contribute directly to at least six Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:
INBAR’s priorities, defined under the 2015-2030 Strategy, are to promote the promise of bamboo and rattan as practical and sustainable solutions to the producers and users of these plants. You can read in more detail about INBAR’s Strategic Plan here.
To do this, INBAR targets its support to countries in four priority areas:
To promote the inclusion of bamboo and rattan in socioeconomic and environmental development policies
To coordinate inputs on bamboo and rattan from a growing global network of Member States and partners, and to represent Member States' needs in the global policy arena;
To exchange and communicate lessons learned widely, providing training and raising awareness of the relevance of bamboo and rattan as strategic resources and commodities that directly support a number of the Sustainable Development Goals, Aichi Targets, REDD+ and other global, regional or national frameworks;
To promote adaptive research and on-the-ground innovation by promoting pilot best-practice case studies, and supporting the upscaling of best practices and innovations across INBAR Member States and with others.
Bamboo and rattan are astounding resources with unique potential to combat poverty and natural resources challenges. They grow locally to some of the world’s poorest communities in the tropics and subtropics, and have many uses, providing a vast range of sustainable products, livelihood options and ecosystem services. If we can harness the potential of bamboo and rattan, the Global South will be closer to achieving its ambitious development, climate and environmental aims, including the Sustainable Development Goals, REDD+ targets, the Paris Agreement commitments, and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
For more information, visit our Why Bamboo and Rattan? page.
