The International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR) is a multilateral development organisation which promotes environmentally sustainable development using bamboo and rattan. It has over 40 Members. In addition to its Secretariat headquarters in China, INBAR has regional offices in India, Ghana, Ethiopia, and Ecuador.

Its unique set-up makes INBAR an important representative for Members. With over 40 of its members from the Global South, INBAR has played an especially strong role in promoting South-South cooperation for the last 20 years. Since its establishment in 1997, it has been making a real difference to the lives of millions of people and environments around the world, with achievements in areas such as: raising standards; promoting safe, resilient bamboo construction; restoring degraded land; training up to 25,000 bamboo and rattan practitioners; and informing green policy and Sustainable Development Goal objectives.

INBAR’s work is wide-ranging, but has several core focus areas:

Capacity building and training

Climate change

Energy

Construction and design

Ecosystem support

Livelihoods

International trade

INBAR’s work supports several of the Sustainable Development Goals. INBAR is a Permanent Observer to the UN Convention for Biological Diversity, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. In 2016, INBAR started the Global Assessment of Bamboo and Rattan for green development (GABAR), a major initiative to provide policy-relevant information and suggestions about the potential of these plants.

INBAR’s Mission and Strategy