This document discusses the status and management of bamboo in Kenya. It notes that bamboo covers 150,000 hectares in Kenya, both in pure stands and mixed with other plants. While bamboo has over 100 uses, it is mainly used for construction, crafts, and supporting agricultural crops. Proper management of bamboo could boost employment and livelihoods. The document also outlines challenges to bamboo utilization and marketing in Kenya, such as lack of capital and market development. It recommends further research on sustainable harvesting techniques and diversifying bamboo uses to promote its development.

1. Paul Ongugo and Mathenge Gitonga
Kenya Forestry Research Institute
and
Kenya Forest Service
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2. Status of Bamboo Management
 Cover 150,000 ha - pure stands, others mixed with trees and
shrubs
 Approximately 10,000 ha planted on farms
 Mainly indigenous -Yushania alpina found in montane forests
 Exotic species from many provenances have been tried in various
sites forming the majority of planted bamboo
 Even though bamboo has over 100 uses, in Kenya, it is used mainly
for fencing, house construction and scaffolding, water harvesting,
production of matchsticks, toothpicks, fancy handicrafts & in
supporting horticultural crops
 Proper management can contribute tremendously towards
employment creation in rural areas, improve livelihoods and
carbon sequestration
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3. Processing, Utilization and Marketing
 Utilization is mainly within the domestic sector particularly
in highlands where the resources are abundant
 Used for fencing, house construction, and other small scale
cottage industries
 The flower farmers also use bamboo for support
 There is limited documentation of the scope of utilization
 Currently, market demand for bamboo is higher than supply
 The situation is exacerbated by the Presidential moratorium
on bamboo harvesting
 Marketing is controlled by KFS which charging royalties
bamboo culms harvested from public forests
 Royalty is low and this discourages farmers from selling their
produce
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4. Policy and Legislation
 Policy on development, management and utilization of forest
resources does not adequately address specific needs of the
subsector
 Forest Policy 2005 mainly recognizes and gives detailed
guidelines and regulations on development and utilization of
indigenous forests and trees, farm forests, dryland forests and
plantation forests and trees
 Bamboo resource is not directly mentioned, but categorized as a
non-wood forest produce which the policy does not give
prominence
 However the KFS strategic plan specifically recognizes bamboo in
enterprise development & environmental conservation
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5. Policy and Legal challenges
 Classified into socio-economic, technical, logistical and
policy
(a) Socio-economic:
1. Limited land size due to population growth in high
potential areas, while in drier areas moisture and animal
damage are main constraints
2. Lack of capital to invest in bamboo processing tools and
machinery by small and medium scale entrepreneurs.
3. Poorly developed market for bamboo products
4. Lack of modern and appropriate skills for diversified
utilization of bamboo
5. Inadequate awareness of the potential of bamboo in
development of rural communities and the country
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6. Policy and Legal Challenges Continued
(b) Logistics:
 Inadequate capacity and tools for effective surveillance of
stands, fire outbreaks, efficient harvesting and processing
 Exact resource base not known
 Lack of well organized bamboo cottage industry
 Inadequate financial allocation to develop minor forest
produce
(c) Policy constraints:
 Inadequate recognition of non-timber forest products
 Restriction on movement of bamboo produce from
farmlands
 Lack of clear rules and regulations on bamboo
exploitation from gazetted forests
 Inadequate policy for development of markets
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7. The way ahead
 Research to generate data on local bamboo resource to guide
management, harvesting, utilization & marketing. Need to carry
out research in:
 Kenya to intensifying production from existing sources & expand
production from private farms by
a) developing comprehensive extraction techniques and
harvesting regimes
b) developing techniques for restocking over-harvested areas
 Improving & diversifying utilization of bamboo by
a) improving knowledge on bamboo properties
b) developing appropriate bamboo preservation methods
 Assessment of marketing dynamics as a feedback to investment in
the industry.
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8. Changes in Policy and Legislation
 Some policy issues and legislative issues need to be
addressed to ensure benefits from bamboo sector in Kenya.
Priority areas include:
 Development of policy guidelines using proven technical
information on best practices to improve bamboo
production, utilization and marketing. Draft policy has been
written in form of a cabinet memo
 Ease the ban on harvesting bamboo from Government
managed forests to achieve full utilization and improve
livelihoods of local communities
 Adopt proper pricing policy based on market studies
 Have a bamboo strategy and a program to implement the
strategy
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9. THANK YOU
Try Bamboo shoots for a great Taste!!!
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