World Bamboo Day 2026 Highlights Bamboo’s Role in Kenya’s Green Transformation

Forest Development Secretary Mr. George Tarus represented the Principal Secretary for Forestry during the National celebrations of World Bamboo Day 2026 at Meru University of Science and Technology (MUST), marking the culmination of the inaugural National Bamboo Expo.

The celebrations, hosted by MUST under the leadership of Vice Chancellor Prof. Romanus Odhiambo, brought together stakeholders from across the bamboo sector to highlight the potential of bamboo in supporting Kenya’s forestry transformation, climate action, landscape restoration and economic development.

Bamboo is increasingly being recognized as a strategic resource with applications extending beyond environmental conservation. Its development can support restoration of degraded landscapes while creating opportunities in farming, processing, manufacturing, trade and enterprise development. The sector also has potential to contribute to employment creation and improved livelihoods, particularly for communities involved in bamboo production and value addition.

Kenya has approximately 130,000 hectares of natural bamboo forests, predominantly comprising indigenous highland bamboo. To guide the sustainable development of the sector, the Government has established a policy and planning framework through the National Bamboo Policy 2022 and the National Bamboo Development Strategy and Action Plan 2025-2035.

Under the National Bamboo Development Strategy and Action Plan, the Government targets the establishment of an additional 150,000 hectares of bamboo. The strategy, however, places emphasis not only on increasing bamboo acreage but also on developing a complete and commercially viable value chain.

This includes strengthening access to quality planting materials, improving bamboo production and farm management, supporting aggregation and processing, promoting manufacturing and value addition, expanding market access and encouraging the development of bamboo-based enterprises.

The inaugural National Bamboo Expo provided a platform for showcasing bamboo products, technologies and innovations while facilitating linkages among farmers, researchers, investors, processors, entrepreneurs and potential markets. The exhibition also demonstrated the diverse opportunities available for value addition and commercialization of bamboo.

The World Bamboo Day celebrations therefore provided an opportunity for stakeholders to reflect on the role of bamboo in advancing sustainable forestry and creating new economic opportunities. They also underscored the importance of collaboration among government institutions, research organizations, universities, private-sector players, farmers and local communities in unlocking the full potential of the bamboo sector.

The World Bamboo Day 2026 celebrations reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to positioning bamboo as an important component of climate action, landscape restoration and Kenya’s green economic transformation, while strengthening the sector’s contribution to sustainable livelihoods, enterprise development and value-added manufacturing.