The United Nations Environment Program's affiliated International Ecosystem Management Partnership (UNEP-IEMP), together with the Chinese Academy of Sciences through its Sino-Africa Joint Research Center and the local government of Kenya, launched a bamboo planting training and technology transfer project in Kenya's Busia county, on October 31, to promote the sustainable development of the Kenya's bamboo industry.

Busia county, located in western Kenya near Lake Victoria, is rich in forestry resources. The project, titled "Ecosystem Restoration for Enhancing Livelihoods and Addressing Climate Change: China-Kenya Cooperation on Bamboo Technology Transfer," is supported by universities and institutions in both China and Kenya. It is expected to benefit thousands of farmers.

The Sino-Kenya bamboo technology transfer cooperation project is set to cover 100 hectares and is expected to yield significant ecological and economic benefits, according to Lou Yiping, a technical expert on the project and professor at Zhejiang A&F University.

Lou said that after many field visits, training and bamboo product exhibitions, Kenyan farmers have gained a deeper understanding of the bamboo industry. Many farmers are now actively pursuing bamboo cultivation, hoping that the project will become a model for China-Kenya cooperation.

In addition to its economic potential, the project offers substantial ecological benefits. Dan Opilio, director of climate change for Busia county, highlighted that expanding bamboo plantations provides a sustainable, nature-based solution to the chronic flooding problems affecting the Nzoia River basin.

"The bamboo agroforestry project will act as a buffer against flooding, restore biodiversity along Nzoia River basin, and transform livelihoods of local communities through mixed cropping," Opilio said.

The project, running from 2024 to 2026, plans to pilot bamboo forest restoration along riverbanks, document best practices, and enhance Kenya's capacity for ecological restoration and socio-economic development. It also contributes to China-Africa cooperation and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.