Fiji is moving to develop bamboo as a potential local construction and economic resource, with six new research reports and draft national guidelines handed over to Government after two years of research and technical work to support a more climate-resilient industry.
Speaking during the handover at World Bamboo Day yesterday, Acting Permanent Secretary for Fisheries and Forestry Simione Tauvoli said the research gives Government a stronger basis for decisions on the future of the sector.
“It gives us clarity where before there was only assumption, and it gives us direction where before there were only questions,” Mr Tauvoli said.
The research covered the mechanical properties of Bambusa vulgaris, bamboo resources in Naitasiri, sustainable cultivation and harvesting, the bamboo construction and value chain, construction technologies including Cement Bamboo Frame Technology, and women’s participation in forestry and construction.
One assessment estimated bamboo-based construction would cost about $1300 per square metre, providing an initial Fiji-specific benchmark.
Mr Tauvoli said the next step was to turn the research into action through investment in nurseries, stronger institutional capacity and national guidelines.
New Zealand senior Development advisor Deborah Begbie said climate resilience and sustainable development in the Pacific required more than funding, with strong evidence, institutions and partnerships needed to ensure the benefits continued beyond the life of a project.
GGGI Pacific regional director Saki Tuisolia said the project had helped address the challenge of building confidence in bamboo as a construction material.
“It is one thing to grow bamboo. It is quite another to convince engineers, researchers and the population to trust it,” Mr Tuisolia said.
Draft Fiji Bamboo Construction Guidelines are being finalised with the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Meteorological Services and technical partners.
