Mission
The World Bamboo Organization's mission is to promote
and support the use of bamboo as a sustainable and
alternative natural resource through the development of
partnerships and alliances, and the creation of
mechanisms for global communication, information
exchange, and technology transfer.

Origin

Originally founded as the International Bamboo
Association (IBA), the idea for an
international coordinating body for bamboo
practitioners was born out of discussions at
the 1991 International Bamboo Workshop
in Chiangmai, Thailand. The IBA was
consequently established at the 1992
International Bamboo Congress in Japan.
Through 1998, the IBA had been the
coordinating platform for bamboo people
around the world, with its primary
responsibility being the International
Bamboo Congress & International Bamboo
Workshop. A union of these two distinct
gatherings is today called the World Bamboo
Congress, and is led by the re-birth of the
IBA into the World Bamboo Organization.
To view the originating documents of
the IBA, click here.

Additional Information
The World Bamboo Organization is a U.S. Tax Exempt Trade Organization 501-(c)(6) .

Our Supporters

"As the world retreats from mutual support and
the principals of sharing scientific research..
The underlying principals of internationalism
are strained. Issues of indigenous knowledge
get little press and very little national support.
Very much of the useful knowledge of how
bamboo works from a species to species
standpoint has been in the hands of the
poorest peoples of the world. As we speed
ahead into industrialized approaches to housing,
agriculture, and transport, these rural localized
applications are lost. How can we highlight these
issues in the next gathering of world bamboo
experts. Of course, I will offer my help at this
critical juncture. I am with you 100 percent! "

Karl Bareis
Co- Founder and Past-Coordinator,
International Bamboo Association
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" I am hopeful, and indeed confident, that WBO will
act as a bridge between our small national organization
and bamboo groups worldwide."

Jan Oprins
Belgium Bamboo Society
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"We will make the best effort to support
WBC and participate as a member of
World Bamboo Organization".

Masatoshi Watanabe
Japan Bamboo Society
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" I am since 50 years working for and with bamboo
and know by real experience how important the
plant and the material is for an uncountable number
of people. We have had many bamboo Congresses
and Meetings in the past and all of them have
resulted in bringing together the experience and
results from workers the world over. Otherwise
the information would not be available. The
formation of the WBO is most important in order
to stimulate the work, to exchange the information
available at distinct places and to organize a better
communication and cooperation among ourselves."

Dr. Walter Liese
Scientist and Author
Hamburg, Germany
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" I appreciate very much the "rebirth" of the IBA
through the World Bamboo Organization (WBO)
with the means and the goals to develop the
international community of bamboo practitioners
and establish fair and prosperous contacts with
professional organizations."

Michel Abadie
World of Bamboo, Paris
............................................................


"The World Bamboo Congress event is very
necessary for the development and promotion
of the bamboo resources of the world. I agree
that scientific presentations and Trade Fair are
essential for continuing the encouragement
of the industrialization, social and environmental
use of bamboo which mainly grows naturally in
the poorest countries of the world."

Ximena Londoño
Colombian Bamboo Society
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