Bamboo in Europe, the next steps
Dr. Hans Friederich FRGS is a Dutch geographer with a Ph.D. from the University of Bristol, UK. He is a global Ambassador of the World Bamboo Organisation and Partner and Senior Advisor of BambooLogic in the Netherlands. He is a member of the Steering Committee of the ArtEZ University of the Arts research project “Bamboo Europe”
He is working with the SUNx Programme in Brussels and the Malta Tourism Authority as the Registrar of the global register of climate-friendly travel and tourism ambitions. Hans is also a guest lecturer in a diploma course on climate-friendly tourism that is organized by SUNxMalta and the Malta Institute for Tourism Studies.
Hans is also a member of the Expert Panel of the Life Terra Foundation, which manages a large European tree planting program.
From 2014 to 2019, Hans was the Head of the Secretariat of the International Bamboo and Rattan Organisation (INBAR).
Prior to his appointment as Director-General of INBAR, Hans was the IUCN Regional Director for Europe, based in the IUCN Headquarters in Switzerland. Before that, he worked and lived in Thailand, Vietnam, Kenya, and Botswana.
Bamboo farms are slowly but surely emerging on the European continent. All with their own motivations, own stories, strategy, techniques, and so on. What are the next steps to make an industry out of these initiatives and secure bamboo in Europe as a strategic commodity? Based on his extensive experience and global eagle view of the bamboo world, Hans will share his vision with you about the future of bamboo in Europe.