Towards an integrative perspective on commercialised wild-gathered bamboo use: insights into the extraction of lung bamboo in the Vietnamese uplands

ABSTRACT Bamboo is a vital non-timber forest product (NTFP) and income source for rural communities in the Global South, including in Latin America, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Due to the manifold goods and services it provides to society, bamboo has recently drawn considerable attention in the forest-development discourse. The potential that bamboo offers as a substitute for timber in the industrialised production of pulp, paper, charcoal and flooring is spurring bamboo commercialisation in light of nascent bamboo-processing industries. This is most apparent in Asia, where Viet Nam has some of the largest forest bamboo resources and ambitious government plans aim to boost sector development in the future. As is observable worldwide, the bulk of bamboo in Viet Nam grows naturally, often as a weakly regulated common-pool resource. Hence, as for many other wild-gathered NTFPs, the commercialisation of the harvesting, trading and processing of forest bamboo raises questions about balancing use and conservation to achieve long-term sustainability. Empirical studies that provide an integrative perspective on wild-gathered bamboo commercialisation are rare. To close the knowledge gap, this exploratory study investigates the social, economic and ecological dimensions of the commercialisation of lung bamboo (Bambusa longissima sp. nov.), a native bamboo species endemic to north-central Viet Nam. We combined quantitative and qualitative social science research methods with a forest inventory of selected lung bamboo exploitation sites in the Que Phong district (a mountainous region of Nghe An province), where lung bamboo use constitutes a vital element of local livelihoods. Our results highlight the need to consider the complex interplay of local livelihoods, harvesting regimes, institutional arrangements and value-chain configurations to understand the ecological outcomes of wild-gathered bamboo commercialisation. We call for the adoption of an integrative perspective when designing practical project interventions, sector plans and policies for forest bamboo commercialisation. Promoting alternative livelihood options, robust and clear institutional arrangements to regulate access and tenure, capacity building in management and harvesting and, not least, supportive commodity-chain governance are critical elements on the pathway to greater sustainability in wild-gathered bamboo commercialisation.