Industree Foundation, a Bangaluru-based non-profit working at the intersection of equity, climate, and gender, has achieved a significant milestone by securing India’s first-ever FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council) Forest Management Certification for privately owned bamboo plantations. The certification has been awarded to 539 small and marginal farmers from Karnataka’s Shivamogga, Hassan, and Chikmagalur districts, aggregated into five Farmer-Producer Institutions. FSC® label is the world’s most trusted mark for sustainable forestry, and this certification opens global market opportunities for Indian manufacturers to source certified raw materials and supply compliant and traceable products to customers worldwide. The potential export segments for certified Bamboo are Lumber and boards, hospitality, pulp and fibre, décor, fashion, furniture, and construction.
Despite being the world’s 2nd largest producer of bamboo with 136 bamboo species, India depends on imports to meet domestic demand as over 90% of the Bamboo in India grows inside its forests. Industree Foundation, over the past few years, has been enabling smallholder farmers, a majority of whom are women, to cultivate bamboo on fallow and unutilized land, improving incomes and long-term livelihoods while addressing climate challenges. Farmers growing bamboo can earn regular incomes once the bamboo begins to be harvested from the fourth year onwards for over forty years, ensuring long-term financial security. Bamboo absorbs 35% more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and releases 30% more oxygen than any other tree species, making it a critical tool for restoring ecological balance while generating rural income. The FSC-FM certification guarantees that the plantations adhere to sustainable forestry practices, protect biodiversity, and benefit local communities.
Industree Foundation functions as a knowledge and technical partner aligning with the GoI’s ‘Lakhpati Didi Yojana’ undertaken by National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) under its Bamboo subsector program. The NRLM’s bamboo subsector program aims to impact a Million rural women over the next 4-5 years through Bamboo plantations and connect to markets. Industree has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with State Rural Livelihood Missions (SRLMs) of Arunachal Pradesh, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana to support small and marginal women farmers in bamboo cultivation.
Six thousand small and marginal farmers in Karnataka and Maharashtra have undertaken Bamboo plantations to demonstrate the powerful potential of Bamboo to transform rural communities’ livelihoods and adapt to climate change through the Regenerative Agroforestry and Livelihoods (REAL) Project undertaken by Industree Foundation through partnerships with agencies like HSBC, SAP, Infosys Foundation, IndusInd, and BNP Paribas.
This historic FSC certification for small and marginal Bamboo farmers, previously thought difficult to achieve, provides Indian farmers and Industries with access to global markets worth USD 90 billion annually, unlocking new opportunities for rural livelihoods and environmental sustainability while setting a global benchmark for responsible bamboo sourcing.