Lubao mayor shares benefits of bamboo farming in webinar

BENEFITS and opportunities of bamboo farming were showcased in the 39th episode of online webinar “Stories for a Better Normal: Pandemic and Climate Change Pathways."

The virtual conversation hosted by three-term senator, now Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda aired Thursday, March 25, 2021, featured experts and advocates of bamboo farming for the topic "Bamboo Is Life!"

The said episode aimed to highlight the potential of the bamboo industry as a nature-based solution that can help in poverty alleviation, environmental protection, and climate change adaptation and mitigation.

Among the guest speakers was Lubao Mayor Esmie Pineda, who shared the economic, tourism and livelihood benefits of bamboo propagation at the Lubao Bamboo Hub.

According to Pineda, planting of bamboos in Barangay Sta. Catalina started in 2010 primarily to protect the Gumain Riverbank from eroding.

Over the years, the area was developed into the now Lubao Bamboo Hub and Ecopark, which has become a tourist destination, the mayor said.

Apart from boosting the town's tourism, Pineda said bamboo propagation also provided livelihood to residents through speakers and lamp-making using bamboo.

Also joining the virtual conversation were Deputy Speaker and Ilocos Sur First District Representative Deogracias Victor “DV” Savellano; Philippine Bamboo Foundation President Ed Manda; and Architect Jed Michael de Guzman, a bamboo material expert and agripreneur.

The online discussion was organized in partnership with the Office of Deputy Speaker Legarda and the Climate Change Commission, with support from the Department of Education, Philippine Information Agency, Institute for Climate and Sustainable Cities, The Climate Reality Project-Philippines and Mother Earth Foundation.