Bamboo and Rattan play an important role in daily life of the lao people, especially in the country side. On September 10th 2019, the Department of Forestry is organizing a workshop that will gather different sectors from the government and organizations who are developing experience in this sector. The main agenda of this meeting is to review the challenges of the new forestry law for village forest management and for NTFP development. The main finding of a national study on the Bamboo and Rattan sector will be presented in order to define key challenges, potentials and difficulties to develop this sector. Taking in account experiences in Houaphanh who has already approved 2 provincial strategies for bamboo (2011-2015 – 2016-2020), a task force will be set up at the national level with representatives from different ministries like Agriculture and Forestry, Industry and Commerce, Natural Resources and Environment, Planning and Investment as well as with Lao Women Union. This task force will define a road map to elaborate the strategy and to consult it with different actors like villagers, private sectors and local association. Hopefully this efforts will contribute to a better management of the natural resources and to ensure benefits from bamboo and rattan development contribute to a sustainable livelihood for the villagers. This workshop is part of the project implemented by GRET in partnership with the Department of Forestry, with the financial support of AFD and SDC and the active participation of TABI, WWF and RECOFTC.
