The Phu An Bamboo Village – a bamboo ecological reserve which isconsidered the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia – has beenannounced as one of 25 winners of the United Nations DevelopmentProgramme (UNDP) Equator Prize 2010.
“This is the first time aproject on Vietnam’s bamboo has been honoured in the world,” Tuoi Tre(Youth) newspaper quoted Dr Diep Thi My Hanh, who chairs the project on“Phu An Bamboo Ecological Museum and Botanical Reserve” in the southernprovince of Binh Duong, as saying on August 24.
The Phu An BambooVillage is a cooperation project between Binh Duong province and HoChi Minh City National University , France ’s Rhone Alpes Region andPilat Natural Park of France. It has an initial investment of nearly 675million EUR.
Six years after implementation, the ecologicalreserve in Binh Duong province has a collection of about 130 species ofbamboo belonging to 17 varieties. Among them are rare and preciousvarieties of each region in the country such as ivory bamboo andyellow-striped bamboo.
The 10ha reserve also includes amuseum made from bamboo displaying equipment, instruments and works madefrom bamboo materials such as music instruments, and a research areafor scientists and students who want to learn about bamboo and growingand developing this tropical tree.
The Phu An Bamboo Village islikely to turn into Asia’s bamboo reserve, said Dr. Gabriel de Taffin,regional director of the French Agricultural Research Centre forInternational Development (CIRAD) in Southeast Asia .
Accordingto Hanh, bamboo grows fast, is used for different purposes, and isparticularly useful in absorbing carbon dioxide and fighting climatechange.
Apart from protecting the biodiversity of bamboo, the PhuAn Bamboo Village is a centre for research and technological transferon the applications of bamboo in life and environmental protection, Hanhsaid.
Dr. Hanh now researches the applications of bamboo inabsorbing heavy metal present in soil, bamboo fibre in replacingcomposite material, and cellulose from bamboo as water-resistantmaterial, and production of biological clothes or nylon bags.
TheEquator Prize is an award for initiatives in natural resourceconservation that meets the goal of poverty reduction, communitydevelopment, gender equality, focusing on women, environmentalprotection, and serving sustainable development.
Equator Prize2010 winners will be celebrated at a high level event at the AmericanMuseum of Natural History on September 20, 2010. Representatives fromwinning communities will also participate in the Community Summitdialogue space, to be held in conjunction with the United NationsGeneral Assembly in New York./.
“This is the first time aproject on Vietnam’s bamboo has been honoured in the world,” Tuoi Tre(Youth) newspaper quoted Dr Diep Thi My Hanh, who chairs the project on“Phu An Bamboo Ecological Museum and Botanical Reserve” in the southernprovince of Binh Duong, as saying on August 24.
The Phu An BambooVillage is a cooperation project between Binh Duong province and HoChi Minh City National University , France ’s Rhone Alpes Region andPilat Natural Park of France. It has an initial investment of nearly 675million EUR.
Six years after implementation, the ecologicalreserve in Binh Duong province has a collection of about 130 species ofbamboo belonging to 17 varieties. Among them are rare and preciousvarieties of each region in the country such as ivory bamboo andyellow-striped bamboo.
The 10ha reserve also includes amuseum made from bamboo displaying equipment, instruments and works madefrom bamboo materials such as music instruments, and a research areafor scientists and students who want to learn about bamboo and growingand developing this tropical tree.
The Phu An Bamboo Village islikely to turn into Asia’s bamboo reserve, said Dr. Gabriel de Taffin,regional director of the French Agricultural Research Centre forInternational Development (CIRAD) in Southeast Asia .
Accordingto Hanh, bamboo grows fast, is used for different purposes, and isparticularly useful in absorbing carbon dioxide and fighting climatechange.
Apart from protecting the biodiversity of bamboo, the PhuAn Bamboo Village is a centre for research and technological transferon the applications of bamboo in life and environmental protection, Hanhsaid.
Dr. Hanh now researches the applications of bamboo inabsorbing heavy metal present in soil, bamboo fibre in replacingcomposite material, and cellulose from bamboo as water-resistantmaterial, and production of biological clothes or nylon bags.
TheEquator Prize is an award for initiatives in natural resourceconservation that meets the goal of poverty reduction, communitydevelopment, gender equality, focusing on women, environmentalprotection, and serving sustainable development.
Equator Prize2010 winners will be celebrated at a high level event at the AmericanMuseum of Natural History on September 20, 2010. Representatives fromwinning communities will also participate in the Community Summitdialogue space, to be held in conjunction with the United NationsGeneral Assembly in New York./.
