Resource Spotlight | Environmental Bamboo Foundation — Yayasan Bambu Lestari
Founded in 1993 by renowned environmentalist and interior designer Linda Garland, the Environmental Bamboo Foundation is an Indonesian non-profit organization that promotes bamboo as a sustainable alternative to timber, amidst the growing concerns over the world’s diminishing tropical forest resources.
The foundation has a long-standing partnership within Indonesian public sector and private enterprises, with trustees which included Dr Emil Salim, former Indonesian Minister of the Environment, Dr Elizabeth Widjaya, a notable researcher in Bamboo Taxonomy, Mr Trisura Suhardi, Director General of the Department of Small Industries, and many others.
In 1997, the foundation launched its first national strategy for the conservation and utilisation of bamboo in Indonesia with the full support from the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. In the years that followed, Linda Garland’s youngest son, Arief Rabik, joined the foundation to drive the program. Trained in environmental sciences, Arief is considered as the world’s top bamboo forestry and harvesting expert. With Arief’s expertise, we worked to combine sustainable bamboo production with community empowerment and land restoration efforts.
Under the guidance of Dr. Walter Liese, of the University of Hamburg, a 2-year research project was conducted to develop the modified Boucherie treatment against the powder post beetle. This has had a significant impact on extending the life of bamboo to be used in the place of timber.
Bamboo Pioneers:
An Interview with Noer Fauzi Rachman
Noer Fauzi Rachman is an expert on population, agrarian policy, and political ecology. He is a member of the Board of the Environmental Bamboo Foundation and has great enthusiasm for the development of bamboo in Indonesia. Noer Fauzi Rahman received his PhD in Environmental Science, Policy and Management, University of California, Berkeley, USA, 2011.