ABSTRACT

Bamboo is a vital non-timber forest product (NTFP) and income source for rural communities in the Global South, including in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Due to the manifold goods and services it provides to society, bamboo has recently drawn considerable attention in the forest-development discourse. The potential that bamboo offers as a substitute for timber in the industrialised production of pulp, paper, charcoal and flooring is spurring bamboo commercialisation in light of nascent bamboo-processing industries. This is most apparent in Asia, where Viet Nam has some of the largest forest bamboo resources and ambitious government plans aim to boost sector development in the future. As is observable worldwide, the bulk of bamboo in Viet Nam grows naturally, often as a weakly regulated common-pool resource. Hence, as for many other wild-gathered NTFPs, the commercialisation of the harvesting, trading and processing of forest bamboo raises questions about balancing use and conservation to achieve long-term sustainability. Empirical studies that provide an integrative perspective on wild-gathered bamboo commercialisation are rare. To close the knowledge gap, this exploratory study investigates the social, economic and ecological dimensions of the commercialisation of lung bamboo (Bambusa longissima sp. nov.), a native bamboo species endemic to north-central Viet Nam. We combined quantitative and qualitative social science research methods with a forest inventory of selected lung bamboo exploitation sites in the Que Phong district (a mountainous region of Nghe An province), where lung bamboo use constitutes a vital element of local livelihoods. Our results highlight the need to consider the complex interplay of local livelihoods, harvesting regimes, institutional arrangements and value-chain configurations to understand the ecological outcomes of wild-gathered bamboo commercialisation. We call for the adoption of an integrative perspective when designing practical project interventions, sector plans and policies for forest bamboo commercialisation. Promoting alternative livelihood options, robust and clear institutional arrangements to regulate access and tenure, capacity building in management and harvesting and, not least, supportive commodity-chain governance are critical elements on the pathway to greater sustainability in wild-gathered bamboo commercialisation.

摘要

竹子是重要的非木材林产品 (NTFP) 和全球南方农村社区的收入来源，包括拉丁美洲、亚洲、非洲和大洋洲。由于竹子为社会提供了多种商品和服务，竹子最近在森林发展的讨论中引起了相当大的关注。鉴于新兴的竹子加工业，竹子在纸浆、纸张、木炭和地板的工业化生产中作为木材替代品的潜力正在刺激竹子的商业化。这在亚洲最为明显，越南拥有一些最大的森林竹子资源，雄心勃勃的政府计划旨在促进未来的行业发展。正如在世界范围内观察到的那样，越南的大部分竹子都是自然生长的，通常是一种监管不力的公共池塘资源。因此，与许多其他野生采集的 NTFPs 一样，森林竹子的采伐、贸易和加工的商业化提出了平衡使用和保护以实现长期可持续性的问题。很少有实证研究提供关于野生采集的竹子商业化的综合视角。为了缩小知识差距，这项探索性研究调查了商业化的社会、经济和生态维度。肺竹（Bambusa longissima sp. nov.），越南中北部特有的原生竹种。我们将定量和定性社会科学研究方法与Que Phong 区（Nghe An 省山区）选定的龙竹开发地点的森林清查相结合，龙竹子的使用是当地生计的重要组成部分。我们的结果强调需要考虑当地生计、采伐制度、制度安排和价值链配置之间复杂的相互作用，以了解野生竹子商业化的生态结果。我们呼吁在设计林竹商业化的实际项目干预、行业计划和政策时采用综合视角。促进替代生计选择、健全和明确的制度安排来规范获取和保有权、管理和采伐方面的能力建设，尤其是支持性商品链治理，是提高野生竹商业化可持续性的关键要素。