Sustainable use of bamboo and non-wood forest products NTFP (_The Restauration Initiative Project_, Projet TRI)

The Secretary General of MINEPDED Prof Paul TCHAWA chaired this Wednesday, November 1 in Yaoundé a *Meeting to validate the report on the evaluation of the potentials of Bamboo as a source of domestic energy in Cameroon*.

The meeting was held in the presence of Representatives of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the International Organization for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR), the technical ministries concerned (MINEPDED, MINFOF, MINEE, etc...), as well as associated experts.

The aim was to present the results of this evaluation, which is carried out by MINEPDED in collaboration with IUCN and INBAR, and then to propose scientific arguments and concrete institutional measures that support the implementation of the notes resulting from the Study, in order to improve the corresponding institutional measures.

The scientific, environmental, technical/technological, socioeconomic parameters... that condition the feasibility of the sustainable use of Bamboo as a domestic energy source on a national scale were thus evaluated and discussed by the participants and Experts present.

The overall quality of the Study was appreciated by the Secretary General representing Minister HELE Pierre, as well as by the participants, and the recommendations made to achieve a better balance of the challenges posed by the Study.

It should be remembered that wood energy raises the problem of deforestation, especially since it remains the most used form of energy in Cameroon (66%). Bamboo is a plant that can grow in all agroecological areas of the country. In its natural or carbonized form, it can serve as an alternative to ordinary wood and therefore as a solution to the overuse of firewood, as well as as as as a water purifier. It can be used to reduce the acidity of food, to cure infections and intoxications, and in cosmetics as a cleanser, dye etc.