Developing a National Bamboo Sector:Policy Lessons from China

MR. OLIVER FRITH, ACTING DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL PROGRAMME COORDINATOR

A

C

B | INTRO – CHINA’S BAMBOO

SECTOR: HEADLINE FIGURES

| KEY SECTOR COMPONENTS,

PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE

| KEY LESSONS

CHINA’S BAMBOO SECTOR IN NUMBERS

• Value: >US$ 20 billion (2012)• Global Export Share: 60%• Employment: 7.75 million • Product types: >10,000• Coverage: >6 million ha• Standing culm: 28620000000• Species: > 500 - 40 genera• Carbon: 727.08 Tg (2010)Sources: SFA 2012 & Chen et al, 2009 Anji County, Zhejiang Province, China

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS:ROME WASN’T BUILT IN A DAY

1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 20150

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

Change in Bamboo Production Value 1981-2012

YEAR

CYN

(100

mill

ion)

Source: SFA 2012

FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS:ROME WASN’T BUILT IN A DAY

1973-76 1977-83 1984-1988 1989-1993 1994-1998 1999-2003 2004-2008 2009-20130

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Bamboo Cover Change 1973-2013

Years

Hect

ares

(1 m

illio

n)

Source: SFA National Forest Inventory

DISPELLING A MYTHSECTOR DEVELOPMENT DUE TO MOSO

Monopodial- Productivity 3-25 tonnes/ha- Harvestable age 4-7 years- Temperate bamboos

Sympodial- Productivity 5–40 tonnes/ha- Harvestable age 3-5 years- Tropical bamboos

HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?Key Initial First Steps

TENURE RIGHTS• Smallholder farmers gained

tenure rights in 1980s

• 90s tenure transfer allowed

• Forest Tenure Centres set up 2004 provide other services too - market info, asset evaluation, transport permits, bidding and auctions, mortgage & loan

• Land Ownership not critical – Govt. Owned

Forest Tenure Certification – Anji County, China

HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?Key Initial First Steps

SFM, CAPACITY BUILDING, DEMONSTRATION & PLANNING

• Training – Anji County alone has trained 35,000 in 20yrs

• Demo households – higher yields & profits encourage farmers to change

• Demo Areas -1996, 10 top Regions & Counties named China Bamboo Hometown – 2006 expanded to 30

Bamboo Shoot Production Training & Demonstration, Anji, China

HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?Key Initial First Steps

EXTENSION SUPPORT

• Infrastructure – Transport links to bamboo producing areas; nurseries, collection points

• Pest & Fire Control – Forest Bureau responsibility

HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?Key Initial First Steps

Private Sector Driven

• Large ‘Dragon Head’ enterprises – drive demand and link smallholders to markets

• Private Sector Innovation and R&D linked to Govt. institutions

• On-farm processing – Lower cost, higher local valueSource: Zhu, 2006

HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?Key Initial First Steps

Financial Packages

• Subsidies – Smallholder new plantation US$250/ha

• 5% Discount Rate loans – e.g. new company plantation & ecotourism

• VAT & Stamp Tax Exemption – cooperatives

• Export Duty Refund – 9% flooring, 13% furniture

2004 Anji County White Paper – Forestry Sectore Modernisation

HOW DID CHINA ACHIEVE SUCH GROWTH?Consolidation and Innovation

Research, Development & Standardization

• Large investments in R&D and Education Programmes – ICBR set up 2001

• Standards – 28 national

(2014) and many more industry & regional ones

• IPR Protection – e.g. in 2009, South-China Forestry IP Alliance set up

BUILDING THE SECTOR FURTHER:Latest developments

New Financial Policy

• Tenure Right Mortgages – increase financial resources available to forestry

• Forestry Insurance – new

insurance products to protect farmers against risk

• Carbon Forestry – CGCF set up in 2003 & 154,000 T sold

Farmers Receive Carbon Certification, CGCF

• Central Finance subsidizes 50% of the insurance premium paid for ecological forest and 30% for commercial forest under following conditions:

– local finances shall subsidizes at least 40% of the insurance premium for ecological forest, while the provincial finance shall subsidize at least 25%; the provincial finance shall subsidize at least 25% for commercial forest

• The forest insurance subsidy from the Central Finance started as of 2009.

• Since 2012, a total of 17 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) have been included into the category of forest insurance subsidy by the Central Finance, and 1.289 billion Mu (85 million ha) are covered by forest insurance.

FOREST INSURANCE POLICYLatest developments

Source: Ministry of State Finance and SFA, 2013

2013-2020 NATIONAL BAMBOO PLAN

2020 Targets• Value: >US$ 48 billion• Employment: 10 million• Farm Income: $330 per

cap. • Nurseries: 411 new & 242

improved• Coverage: 7 million ha – 1

million ha afforestation & 3 million hectares increased productivity

Sources: SFA 2012

CHALLENGES – MISTAKES TO AVOID

Sources: INBAR 2009

• Monoculture – Moso Bamboo dominates

- Large drops biodiversity

- Reduced long-term yields

- increased pest - reduced resilience

• Over competition – Too

many low-cost products flooding market

LESSONS FOR KENYA

• Importance of long-term, result-based planning

• Firm ownership of policy from State Forestry Administration (SFA)

• Multi-sector, Multi-stakeholder approaches highly beneficial

• Good linkage to broader programmes (e.g. landscape restoration

& climate change) bamboo as a strategic resource

• Prominent role for private individuals and enterprise

• Government provides investment signals & infrastructure

• Small forest land areas & high regulatory burden being addressed

via consolidation – cooperatives, transfers, contract farming

• Production forestry at expense biodiversity & environ. Safeguards

• Subsidies can lead to over-competition

ContentsThank You!

Find out more at:

www.inbar.int

Mr. Oliver Frith - obfrith@inbar.int