Planting 1 million bamboo trees to support sustainable livelihoods for upland people

The campaign "For a million Vietnamese bamboos" was launched by the Thanh Am Xanh project, coordinated by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, along with provinces, agencies and businesses with the goal of crowdfunding, to build bamboo forests throughout Vietnam, with the desire to minimize the impact from climate change.

In 2023, the campaign continues to plant 2,550 new seedlings of Bat Do bamboo shoots to support the livelihoods of people and the youth in Mu Cang Chai district, Yen Bai province. With many advantages such as low investment, early harvest, long harvest time, few pests, easy to grow, and high yield, bamboo shoots are considered a promising crop which will help people improve their lives and develop economy.

Bamboo is currently considered as the global solution for mitigating the impacts of climate change. As a fast-growing tree in any condition, after only 5 years, bamboo will become a natural forest and has the function of improving soil and water sources, preventing erosion, landslides, flash floods.

Being the only tree that uses about 6 liters of water per year, bamboo is suitable for all dry lands in the Northwest mountainous region. Bamboo also has extremely eco-friendly properties such as absorbing carbon 3-5 times higher and producing 1.5 times more oxygen than ordinary trees. Bamboo is also a regenerative tree, as it can be exploited continuously for 60 years without replanting.

In addition to afforestation activities, the Youth Union of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and other units also organized a training session to transfer Bat Do bamboo shoot growing techniques to union members, young people and the local residents; as well as awarding10 scholarships to 10 Hmong ethnic minority students who overcame difficulties to study well and 10 households under preferential treatment policy and poor households in the locality.