Bamboo is a versatile and sustainable resource with significant ecological, economic, and societal benefits. In the Philippines, bamboo is utilized for a wide range of products including construction materials, furniture, handicrafts, musical instruments, farm and fishing tools, and pulp and paper. However, the growth of the bamboo industry is hindered by the lack of reliable, timely, and accessible statistics and market information.
To estimate the country’s bamboo resources and institutionalize a bamboo inventory system, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) are partnering in a three-year program, “Bamboo Resources Inventory and Technology-Enabled Mapping in the Philippines (BRITEMAP).”
The BRITEMAP Program builds on the completed DOST-PCAARRD-funded project, “Enhancing the Various Policy Initiatives on Bamboo: Developing a Harmonized System for Community-based Inventory of Bamboo Resources in Key Production Areas in the Philippines,” led by Dr. Ramon A. Razal of UPLB. This initiative generated bamboo resource projections in Regions I, VI, and X using the developed inventory protocol. Additionally, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region II funded a project that developed a mobile application for bamboo inventory and estimated the region's bamboo resources.
Recognizing the need to align the bamboo inventory efforts of various agencies, the DTI, Forest Management Bureau (FMB) and the Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and DOST-PCAARRD led a workshop and a series of meetings to harmonize the existing bamboo inventory systems.
The BRITEMAP Program will scale-out the harmonized community-based bamboo inventory in 11 regions — Cordillera, Central Luzon, CALABARZON, MIMAROPA, Bicol, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Western Mindanao, Southern Mindanao, SOCCSKSARGEN, and CARAGA. It also advocates the inventory system’s institutionalization through its three project components.
Project 1, “Community-based Inventory and Mapping of Bamboo Resources in the Philippines Aided by a Mobile Application (COM-APP BRITEMAP),” led by Program Leader Pastor L. Malabrigo, Jr., will extend the bamboo inventory to 11 regions and capacitate key stakeholders to ensure effective implementation and sustainability of the community-based bamboo inventory protocol.
Project 2, “Mapping Bamboo Resources and Mobile Application and Dashboard Development in the Philippines (MAP-APP BRITEMAP),” led by Dr. Cristino L. Tiburan Jr. will generate detailed bamboo distribution maps and estimates of available bamboo resources. It also aims to enhance and roll out the mobile application and web dashboard, providing a technological edge to the inventory process.
Project 3, “Imperatives of Policy and Leveraging Stakeholders and National Entities towards Institutionalizing BRITEMAP (IMPLEMENT BRITEMAP),” led by For. Noel L. Tolentino consults with key stakeholders to formulate a policy mandating the regular inventory and mapping of bamboo resources at the national level.
Held last June 3, 2024, the inception meeting was attended by evaluators – Dr. Florentino Tesoro and Atty. Ray Thomas Kabigting, with representatives from DOST Region IV-A, DOST Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (PHIVOLCS), DENR-FMB, DTI Region II, and the DTI National Capital Regional Office as the Philippine Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC) Secretariat.
Through the BRITEMAP Program, DOST-PCAARRD and UPLB aim to institutionalize a harmonized community-based bamboo inventory system in the Philippines that will provide holistic, reliable, and up-to-date data and information on bamboo resources, significantly boosting the country's bamboo industry, and leveraging its ecological, economic, and societal benefits.