Why is bamboo the chosen talent? Bamboo, pine, and plum are collectively known as the “Three Friends of Suihan”. Bamboo enjoys the reputation of “gentleman” in China for its perseverance and humility. In the era of severe climate change challenges, bamboo has provoked the burden of sustainable development.
Have you ever paid attention to the bamboo products around you? Although it has not yet occupied the mainstream of the market, there are more than 10,000 types of bamboo products that have been developed so far. From disposable tableware such as knives, forks and spoons, straws, cups and plates, to household durables, automotive interiors, electronic product casings, sports equipment, and industrial products such as cooling tower bamboo lattice packing, bamboo winding pipe gallery, etc. Bamboo products can replace plastic products in many fields.
The increasingly serious problem of plastic pollution has led to the emergence of “Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative”. According to the assessment report released by the United Nations Environment Programme, Of the 9.2 billion tons of plastic products produced in the world, about 70 tons become plastic waste. There are more than 140 countries in the world, which clearly have relevant plastic ban and restriction policies, and actively seek and promote plastic substitutes. Compared with plastic products, bamboo has the advantages of being renewable, absorbing carbon dioxide, and the products are non-polluting and degradable. Bamboo is widely used and can realize the utilization of whole bamboo with almost no waste. Compared with replacing plastic with wood, replacing plastic with bamboo has advantages in terms of carbon fixation capacity. The carbon sequestration capacity of bamboo far exceeds that of ordinary trees, 1.46 times that of Chinese fir and 1.33 times that of tropical rainforest. Our country’s bamboo forests can reduce and sequester 302 million tons of carbon each year. If the world uses 600 million tons of bamboo every year to replace PVC products, it is expected to save 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide.
Sticking to the green hills and not letting go, the roots are originally in the broken rocks. Zheng Banqiao (Zheng Xie) of the Qing Dynasty praised the tenacious vitality of bamboo in this way. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world. Mao bamboo can grow up to 1.21 meters per hour at the fastest, and it can complete high growth in about 40 days. Bamboo matures quickly, and mao bamboo can mature in 4 to 5 years. Bamboo is widely distributed and has a considerable resource scale. There are 1642 species of bamboo plants known in the world. Among them, there are more than 800 kinds of bamboo plants in China. Meanwhile, we are the country with the deepest bamboo culture.
“Opinions on Accelerating the Innovation and Development of the Bamboo Industry” proposes that by 2035, the total output value of our country’s bamboo industry will exceed 1 trillion yuan. Fei Benhua, director of the International Bamboo and Rattan Center, said in an interview with the media that bamboo can be harvested. Scientific and rational harvesting of bamboo will not only not damage the growth of bamboo forests, but also adjust the structure of bamboo forests, improve the quality of bamboo forests, and give full play to the ecological, economic and social benefits. In December 2019, the National Bamboo and Rattan Organization participated in the 25th United Nations Climate Change Conference to hold a side event on “replacing plastic with bamboo to address climate change”. In June 2022, the “Replace Plastic with Bamboo” initiative proposed by the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization was included in the list of outcomes of the Global Development High-Level Dialogue.
Seven of the current 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals are closely related to bamboo. Includes poverty eradication, cheap and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production, climate action, life on land, global partnerships.
Green and green bamboos benefit mankind. The “Bamboo Solution” that conveys Chinese wisdom will also create infinite green possibilities.
Post time: Apr-01-2023