Guyana launches bamboo pilot to advance forest restoration, sustainable livelihoods

The Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), through the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), recently launched “Piloting Bamboo for Restoration and Sustainable Livelihoods in Guyana”
The new project, launched October 27 at the GFC Multiplex Building, Kingston, marks an important step in integrating bamboo into Guyana’s forest restoration and sustainable development agenda.
The initiative is supported by the European Union Delegation in Guyana through the financial framework of the EUROCLIMA Programme, and implemented with technical support from Expertise France, the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR) and the Forest Resources Management Division of the GFC.

Expanding on restoration work being undertaken by the GFC and Guyana Geology & Mines Commission (GGMC) under MNR’s National Forest Restoration Initiative (NFRI), this bamboo pilot project seeks to assess the potential of naturally occurring bamboo species in promoting ecological restoration of degraded lands for climate change mitigation while simultaneously providing alternative forest-based livelihood options for forest-dependent peoples and communities.
The project positions Guyana to diversify the forest economy with new bamboo-based products and value chains.
Technical expertise will be provided by INBAR’s Latin America and Caribbean Regional Office in Ecuador, along with international specialists in taxonomy, soils, and environmental and social assessment. Local participation will be central, with community partners from Maria Elizabeth, Three Friends, Coomacka, Old England, Nottinghamshire, Richmond Hill, and Siberian actively engaged in the design and implementation of a pilot site on bauxite mined-out lands in Region Ten.

Honourable Vickram Bharrat, Minister of Natural Resources, in his feature address, identified bamboo as a key part of Guyana’s vision for a diversified, low-carbon forest economy, and emphasised the importance of all actors working in synergy to create and sustain production and markets for bamboo.
Significantly, bamboo is a versatile and rapidly renewable resource that holds great potential with numerous co-benefits for environment, economies, and peoples.
The launch reaffirms Guyana’s commitment to sustainable forest management, climate resilience, sustainable livelihoods and the creation of a diversified, inclusive forest economy.
According to the MNR, through the pilot project, bamboo will be explored as a fast-growing, renewable resource that supports Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS 2030) while creating new income for Indigenous people and local communities.