Indonesia to host congress, festival on bamboo next year

Indonesia to host congress, festival on bamboo next year

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will host the fourth international
bamboo congress and festival in Bali next year, Minister of
Tourism, Post and Telecommunications Joop Ave says.

"U.S. Vice President Al Gore is expected to present a key-note
address to congress, which will be attended by 150 bamboo
scientists of the International Network of Bamboo and Rattan
(INBAR)," he said here Monday.

INBAR, established by the International Bamboo Association
(IBA), has 86 members from 35 countries.

Joop said the event, which will take place in Ubud on June 1-4
of next year, will also feature a trade exhibition, architecture
competition, cultural shows and will be broadcast live, worldwide
by satellite.

Congress participants will have opportunities to visit plants
that process bamboo products, he said.

State Minister of Environment Sarwono Kusumaatmadja said
Indonesia has a large number of bamboo species but it has not
diversified the use of bamboo for daily lives.

Bamboo can be used for various purposes, such as stump
fertilizing, production of handicrafts, construction and paper
making. So far, bamboo in Indonesia is used only by small-scale
industrial groups to produce chopsticks, handicrafts and
toothpicks.

Sarwono said the protection of the environment will improve if
Indonesia can encourage the use of natural resources for business
purposes because businessmen will have a vested interest in
maintaining their operations.

Chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry
(Kadin) Aburizal Bakrie said that bamboo has bright prospects as
one of major international commodities.

According to Linda Garland, president of the Environmental
Bamboo Foundation World in Indonesia, the world's bamboo
harvesting reached 20 million tons per annum.

She said someone needs between three and five years to recover
their investment for a new bamboo plantation.(icn)