Bamboo and rattan products and trade

Forest cover in most of the developed countries has stabilized and tends to grow increasing quality and growing stock. The situation in most of the developing countries is just opposite. Population pressure, growing agriculture, shifting cultivation, widespread use of wood for fuel, inefficient processing and the economic development agenda cause forest devastation and desertification in the developing world. In the meantime, most of the developing countries in tropical and subtropical areas have a good option to partly substitute timber for alternatives such as bamboo and rattan. Recent statistical trends reveal a changing paradigm of bamboo and rattan management and use.