NewsBamboozoonia Project Launches in Colombia
25 March 2020 – INBAR’s Bamboozonia Project, supported by IFAD in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, is just getting started, with its second launch event held in Colombia on March 13 2020. The project promises to promote climatesmart agriculture using bamboo in Latin America using a multi-level, community centric approach drawing on INBAR’s extensive experience in the area.
The Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR), the Government of Caquetá, the Technological University of Pereira (UTP) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), launched the project “Innovation and promotion of bamboo through action research processes for resilient agriculture in Colombia, Ecuador and Peru (CEP)”, otherwise known as Bamboozonia with an event held in Colombia at the Andinos Plaza Hotel in the City of Florence. In addition, within the framework of this event, the Departmental Round Table of “Guadua del Caquetá” was officially launched. The event was a complete success; it was well attended by VIP guests such as Arnulfo Gasca Trujillo, Governor of Caquetá; Ancízar Marín Correa, Secretary of Departmental Planning of Caquetá; Carlos Alberto Sánchez Perdomo, LAC National Coordinator, Juan Carlos Camargo, Research Professor at the UTP and other public and private entities of the National and International order.
Colombia has the second highest diversity of bamboo in America, with 20 genera and 115 species of bamboo, of which 26 are endemic. The guadua cane alone covers an area of approximately 51,500 ha. Taking into account that, in the Departments of Putumayo, Caquetá, Meta and Guaviare, there are the highest rates of deforestation in the country, bamboo is a strategic resource for sustainable development in the Colombian Amazon region.
Thus, the Bamboozonia project seeks to increase the resilience to climate change of 2,200 families located in Peru (Departments of Junín, Pasco and San Martín), Colombia (Department of Meta and Caquetá) and Ecuador (Provinces of Napo, Pastaza and Morona Santiago). In Colombia, the aim is to improve governance in the region, developing processes and mechanisms in order to prepare a national strategic plan for the bamboo sector, and train local communities to strengthen climatesmart practices, within a framework of productive diversification, to improve the economic income of the beneficiary communities by positioning bamboo in the national and international market.
This project is financed thanks to the contribution of IFAD and implemented with the technical assistance of INBAR.
Interested in learning more about this project? See the interview with Carlos Alberto Sánchez, LAC National Coordinator here and read about the project launch in Peru here.
This article was written by INBAR’s Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean – INBARLAC. Follow @INBARlac on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to learn more or take a look at the pictures from the event below.
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