THE BAMBOO SECTOR OF ETHIOPIA

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Paris, 2015 (COP 21)

Yigremachew Seyoum (PhD)Director, Forest policy strategy

and regulation

• It lies between latitudes 3° and 15°N, and longitudes 33° and 48°E.

• Population 87.9 million in 2014 (2.6%)• There are above 80 tribal

groups and languages • Politics –federal

parliamentary republic• 9 regions and 2 cities• Agriculture accounts for

almost 40.2% of the (GDP), 70% of exports, and 80% of employment

Ethiopia

Economic Development

• IMF ranks Ethiopia as among the five fastest growing economies in the world.

• GDP per capita 2014 >560 Vs < 200 in 2000 (world Bank)

The GTP and CRGEwith the vision to propel Ethiopia into

middle income country status by 2025. 378 USD in 2010 to 1271 USD in 2025.

CRGE of Ethiopia is an overarching economic development strategy of Ethiopia the adverse effects of climate change and green economy

Overall development

initiatives

Resilience initiatives

Abatement avoidance initiatives

Green economy

Resilient economy

CRGE

Green EconomyReach middle income threshold by 2025 and keep growth carbon neutral (net zero emission)

Resilient Economy Build the capacity of the economy to cope with the adverse consequences of climate change

Ethiopia’s CRGE

Bamboo resource in EthiopiaThere are 43 species in

Africa covering 1.5 million ha

40 in Madagascar and 3 in mainland

Ethiopia has two indigenous speciesEthiopian lowland bamboo

(Oxytenanthera abyssinica A. Rich. Munro) and

Ethiopian highland bamboo Arundinaria alpina K. Schumach)

7

Ethiopian highland bamboo (A. alpina)

It has different landraces that vary in appearance and use

A single clump of lowland bamboo (Oxytenanthera abyssinica) at the age of six after planting, 94 culms per clump (huge biomass)

Bamboo resource in EthiopiaEarlier estimates report 1 million

ha (85% is lowland bamboo)67% of the bamboo cover in Africa

and 7% of the worldNaturally grow in six regional states

Recent estimatesDeforestation rate of bamboo 52%

(Semeneh Bessie, et al., 2015)MEFCC and FAO, 2015- 519,124.65

(requires ground verification)

Bamboo resource in EthiopiaDerivers of D and D

Agricultural ExpansionUnplanned resettlement

programsUnclear use right and

benefit sharingBamboo mass flowering

and lack of proper management

Bio-deteriorating agentsFrequent fire

Why bamboo in Ethiopia?Its roles

Livelihood construction material, live

fences and some rudimentary furniture and household utensils.

source of domestic energyMore than 85% to 95% of HH in

bamboo areas depend on bambooanimal feed and foodIncome from highland bamboo

Shedem Birr 3,711 (190 USD) per annum

Mahsa- up to Birr 6252 (>300 USD)

Why bamboo in Ethiopia?Environmental services

Soil and water conservationCarbon sequestrationHabitat for wildlifeetc

Bamboo processing in EthiopiaBy local craftsmen

limited bamboo processing areas mainly Awi zone, SNNP and Addis Ababa.

Comprises small handicrafts workshops owned by local processors (home-based)

low quality products mostly furniture, household items, baskets and mats.

no modern tools or equipment sell their products on the road

and moving from place to place.

It is a difficult task for local product producers and traders to take products to distant markets

Bamboo processing in Ethiopia By the Federal Micro and Small Scale

Enterprise Development Authority (FeMSEDA)Principally processes for training and

demonstration purposesDeveloped manuals

UNIDO and EABP By modern industries (recent experience)

It is in 1997 that the first Modern bamboo Industry (ADAL)

bamboo floor boards, bamboo curtain, tooth pick and incense stick

Some experiences by FeMSEDA

Splitting bamboo culms

Products by Bamboo Star Agroforestry LTD

Products by Adal Indastrial LTD

The challenges of Ethiopia’s bamboo sector

Lack of database on types, local uses, traditional knowledge

Lack of information and technologies Limited information on stand

management techniqueslarge scale regeneration

/propagation processing, packing, storage, grading

The challenges of Ethiopia’s bamboo sector

Lack of information oncomparative economic

analysis and feasibility of production options

Minimal value additionIllegal tradeIncreasing price to raw

bamboo during from 2006-2009

Achievementspolicies to encourage sustainable

management of bamboo Various initiatives by non-governmental

organizations The government has also recently started to

support bamboo conservation management and utilization initiatives.

Bamboo sectoral Strategy Framework (BASSF) and a short to medium term bamboo strategy (2013-2015)

Achievements INBAREthiopia is running different bamboo related

Projects with INBAR (ongoing and completed)Bamboo as a sustainable biomass energy: A

suitable alternative for firewood and charcoal production in Africa

Mainstreaming pro-poor livelihood and addressing environmental degradation with bamboo in Eastern and Southern Africa

Benishangul-Gumuz Food Security and Economic Growth(BSG-FSEG project)

Development and commoditization of the pre-fabricated Modular Bamboo housing in Asia and Africa

Achievements INBAR

South-South knowledge transfer strategies for scaling up pro-poor bamboo livelihoods, income generation and employment creation, and environmental management in Africa

Rural communities weather climate change adaptation challenges through bamboo based rain water harvesting storage tanks, Ethiopia

Bamboo for Sustainable Watershed Management and Livelihood Generation: An Innovative Approach to Mitigate Land Degradation in Ethiopia.

Prospects Enabling environment to investment

More emphasis to the private sectorGovernment priority to manufacturing sector

Growing local and international marketGovernment's huge commitment in road network Peace and stabilityThe two indigenous species fulfill ISO standards

for industrial products such as Ply board, Laminated bamboo lumber (LBL), Oriented strand board (OSB), Medium density fiber

board (MDF) and Floor boards

Prospects Institutional and legal measures

Bamboo a strategic commodity in MEFCCAmendments of the forest law

Encourages the private sectorRecognizes communal ownershipAddresses use rights including carbon

rightBamboo as potential species for

afforestation reforestation purposesLarge mass of land (>3 million ha) and

cheap labor

Summary and way forwardThe use of bamboo resources in the country is

sub-optimal due to:(a) The supply of raw bamboo is rapidly diminishing

both in terms of quality and quantity, and (b) Bamboo-based operations are confined to

primary processing Weak institutional arrangement

A huge potential and prospects that Ethiopia could exploit and achieve mitigation and adaptation targets.

Clear national strategy for conservation, development and utilization of Bamboo

Strengthening partnership

Summary and way forwardAlign bamboo development with other

overall economic development goals and national commitmentsGTP-Sustainable natural resource management

SLM CRGE-afforestation and re-afforestation as well

as sustainable management plans Global Degraded land Restoration Initiatives

Bon challenge…15 million ha?GGW-Combating desertification

Summary and way forwardPromote bamboo management for

environmental services (green landscapes)CarbonSoil and conservationConservation of fauna

Create potential markets by promoting financial and technical investment in bamboo-based industriesCharcoalPulp and paperFuel

Thank you for attending