Jamaica celebrates World Bamboo Day on September 18

Jamaica, through the Bureau of Standards Jamaica (BSJ), will join the rest of the world on September 18 in commemorating World Bamboo Day 2020.

World Bamboo Day aims to increase awareness of bamboo throughout the world and is a day to celebrate the many and varied benefits that growing, processing and using bamboo bring to the millions of people involved with it.

According to Director of the BSJ’s Special Projects Unit, INBAR Focal Point, Gladstone Rose, the World Bamboo Organization aims to bring the potential of bamboo to a more elevated exposure, protect natural resources and the environment, ensure sustainable utilization and promote new cultivation of bamboo for new industries in regions around the world, as well as promote traditional uses locally for community economic development.

“World Bamboo Day is about all things bamboo: sustainability, environment, ecology, science, architecture, art, music, food, housing, habitat, restoration, aesthetics, economy, utilization, everything. It is about the connections and the networks, about promotion and about our planet's future, Mr. Rose said.

He informed that the global bamboo market has an estimated value of more than US$60 billion and is used in a variety of industries, including construction, health and wellness, agriculture, clothing manufacturing, paper manufacturing, furniture, and others.

“Given the simplicity of the production process for many bamboo outputs, Jamaica could gain significantly from the expansion of this industry. The BSJ and JAMPRO are working to increase local and international investments in bamboo, as it will significantly boost manufacturing in the island,” he added.

Mr. Rose noted that the world is becoming more aware of the important role of bamboo in confronting the challenge of climate warming, particularly with a lot of people exposed to the destructive effects of this threat - droughts, fires, category 5 Hurricanes, super typhoons, floods and landslides.

He informed that to commemorate the day, the BSJ will be hosting a bamboo zoom seminar on Friday, September 18, 2020 at 12: 00 noon.

World Bamboo Day was officially established on September 18 at the 8th World Bamboo Congress held in Bangkok in 2009 and so declared by the Thai Forest Department. On this day each year, its celebration has included bamboo planting ceremonies, 5K races, various contests, and other kinds of celebrations around the world.
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