WWF to make Indochina rattan more competitive

A woman walks past a motor cycle and a motor scooter made of rattan

HANOI (AFP) — The WWF on Thursday launched in Vietnam a three-year project to make Indochina's rattan industry more competitive while also maintaining the fast-developing region's resource-rich forests.

The initiative, Establishing a Sustainable Production System for Rattan Products in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, "can create a win-win situation for communities, business and the environment," said WWF's Tran Minh Hien.

Hien, Vietnam Country Director, said the region's rattan stocks were being depleted "at an unsustainable rate and degrading the forests".

More than 90 percent of rattan processed in the three countries comes from natural forests.

Rattans are climbing palms that have tough stems which can be used for a variety of wicker or cane products, including furniture.

The 2.4-million-euro (three-million-dollar) project aims to have half of rattan processing in the region environmentally cleaner, more competitive and producing better economic returns by 2015, said WWF's Thibault Ledecq.

WWF would provide training and support along the supply chain as part of the initiative, which is partly funded by the European Commission, said Ledecq, the project manager.

The global rattan trade is worth four billion dollars, the WWF said, adding that Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are "playing an increasingly significant role" in that.