Sustainable Development Goals

Goal #2 says to: “End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.” Bamboo can actually improve the food supply in a variety of ways. In the poorest of communities, bamboo shoots offer a simple and readily available form of sustenance. Throughout Asia and Africa, people have incorporated fresh bamboo into their diets for many centuries. Additionally, bamboo is an excellent pioneer crop that can do wonders to restore degraded landscapes and fortify the topsoil. In this way, bamboo can improve growing conditions and increase crop yields. Through reforestation efforts, bamboo groves can even alter local weather patterns and attract more precipitation, making farms still more productive.

“Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.” The tremendous utility and versatility of bamboo means that bamboo cultivation can create a vast range of employment opportunities. Throughout the value chain, from farming to processing to marketing and management, a whole industry is waiting to emerge. The greatest demand for bamboo products comes from Europe and the United States, regions that are not especially well suited to grow bamboo of their own. Raw material, i.e. hollow bamboo poles, are not easy to ship, and have no value added. It’s essential, therefore, for bamboo growing countries in the developing world to establish their own industry, in order to make the best use of their bamboo crops and reap the benefits of value addition.

“Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization, and foster innovation.” From simple machinery to make bamboo toothpicks and toothbrushes, to elaborate factories processing bamboo into paper, textiles, and engineered building materials, the industrial opportunities are almost unlimited. In many areas where bamboo grows best, including Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, there is immense room for new innovation. Whether it’s finding new and better ways to process recognized products, or designing and developing entirely new products, the potential is enormous.

“Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable.” This SDG calls from some pretty specific benchmarks, but bamboo can contribute to the economy and ecology as described above. With so many applications for land restoration, food production and construction materials, bamboo can have a major impact on making communities more sustainable. Unlike other crops, bamboo requires far fewer inputs in the way of imported pesticides and fertilizers. Tropical bamboo is native to the climates and terrains of the developing world, and will grow here more easily than most exotic crops. And as an alternative to mining activities, bamboo will make a much more positive impact on the environment, while also allowing local communities to retain a greater share of profits and revenues from the industry.

“Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.” By now, it should be obvious that bamboo can offer a way more sustainable and environmentally responsible raw material for construction and consumer products. The building industry generates close to 40% of greenhouse gasses worldwide, especially through the production of concrete and steel. In both the industrial world and the developing world, bamboo provides an excellent alternative that is generally cheaper and certainly has a smaller carbon footprint. In terms of packing and single-use items like straws and utensils, petroleum-based plastics currently dominate that industry. Bamboo, again, offers a superior alternative that is less intensive to produce, more reusable for the consumer, and easily biodegradable when it reaches the end of its lifespan.

“Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts by regulating emissions and promoting developments in renewable energy.” To stop deforestation and remove CO2 from the atmosphere, bamboo is an absolutely essential resource. Once established, woody timber bamboo can be harvested annually to produce virtually any product that would otherwise be made from trees which take anywhere from 15 to 40 years to reach maturity. As bamboo poles are harvested, the plants survive in the roots. That’s also where bamboo sequesters carbon dioxide. In the meantime, with its remarkable growth rate, a healthy grove of bamboo can generate about 35% more oxygen than an equal area of trees. More innovation is still needed to make bamboo fuel a viable and competitive option, but as oil prices continue to soar, bamboo ethanol and energy make more and more sense. Reducing the need for deforestation and petroleum, bamboo is one of the most valuable tools we have for combating climate change.

“Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.” Areas degraded by mining, logging and overfarming are not hospitable to wildlife and are now susceptible to further disasters like floods and landslides. Bamboo, with its tenacious roots and minimal nutrient needs, is a perfect plant to restore these lands, bind the terrain together and bolster the topsoil. Bamboo will grow quickly and make the landscape more inviting to other species of both flora and fauna. At the same time, bamboo roots can draw the groundwater upwards and create more favorable conditions for the return of native species.

The last goal on the list calls for measures to “Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development”. This is more of a meta-goal, which applies to the enactment, enforcement, and implementation of the other 16 goals. As such, it’s beyond the purview of what bamboo can specifically achieve.