CIFOR-ICRAF’s China Programme showcased the potential of mountain agroforestry for sustainable development at a key international event

The Second Global Bamboo and Rattan Congress (BARC 2022) kicked off on 7 November in Beijing, China. Organized by the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) around the theme “Bamboo and Rattan — Nature-based Solutions for Sustainable Development,” the congress saw over 1000 participants from national governments, international organizations, NGOs, research institutes, universities, and private enterprises.

As part of the opening ceremony, INBAR and China co-launched the Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative, a global roadmap for radically scaling up the use of bamboo materials to reduce plastic pollution and mitigate climate change.

Day Two of the congress featured over 30 parallel sessions arranged around four thematic areas: the road to carbon neutrality; green industry and economic recovery; innovative materials and market development; and working together for inclusive and green development. 

For Xu Jianchu, Director of the Centre for Mountain Futures and Regional Coordinator of CIFOR-ICRAF’s China Programme, the thematic area targeting Green Industry and Economic Recovery presented the perfect opportunity to discuss a topic dear to him: mountain agroforestry.

In his presentation, Xu introduced the Mountain Futures Initiative, which is a global alliance uniting stakeholders across the world’s mountainous regions. This promising initiative aims to develop and publicize nature-based solutions that can be replicated in different environments, delivering livelihood improvements to rural communities while helping nations to meet their ecological and restoration goals. It accomplishes this by linking together stakeholders from enterprise, governments, academia, and beyond – while promoting financial investment into nature-based solutions, in alignment with the vision behind CIFOR-ICRAF’s Resilient Landscapes.

“Nature-based solutions come from the five pillars of biological diversity: microbes, plants, fungi, insects, and animals,” Xu said. “Everything depends on their interactions. They are interconnected and interdependent, co-evolving in a process that stretches back millions of years.”

Humans and nature, he said, have a storied past layered with complexity and inseparable fates. To neglect one is to neglect the other. For him, this drives home the importance of agroforestry and circular agricultural systems that minimize waste and prioritize recycling. “Circular agriculture means the output from all processes are input into other processes. It closes loops in the food web, saving vital resources, and staying close to nature for biotechnical applications for modern consumers,” he said.

Xu’s work has taken him across the world, but he currently works in the mountains of Yunnan Province, located in China’s remote southwest. This area is home to a bustling mushroom trade, with supply chains connecting the region to many parts of the world. “In Yunnan, mushroom collection is responsible for generating a huge amount of income for locals,” he said.

The Mountain Futures Initiative recognizes that mushrooms and other fungi have been overlooked in the discussion on rural revitalization. It seeks to bridge this gap by integrating mushroom substrates into its agroforestry modeling, while also conducting trainings for mushroom domestication in rural communities around the world – with a current focus on Honghe Prefecture, Yunnan Province.

These mushrooms work in conjunction with other tree, plant, and animal species, to create a balanced agroforestry system that can achieve sustainable livelihoods while delivering ecological services and reclaiming biodiversity. Ultimately, systems like this will be crucial for mountain people to meet the unique challenges of the 21^st century. In Xu’s words, “planting trees together with crops equals so much more! Let’s look at local resources and learn how to use them wisely together.”

For more details about CIFOR-ICRAF’s work in China, see the Country Page here.

See the official text of the Bamboo as a Substitute for Plastic Initiative, one of the main outputs to emerge from BARC 2022.