The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) pledged 2.4 million Euros on Thursday towards a three-year project that will target Indochina’s rapidly diminishing rattan industry.
Rattans are a climbing palm with tough stems that are largely used in the production of wickerwork, such as furniture and baskets.
More than 90 percent of the rattan used in the region comes from natural forests which are being harvested at an aggressive rate and at the cost of severe damage to the environment.
The WWF’s plan includes steps that will make processing environmentally cleaner and more efficient so that the natural forests and rattan stocks of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia may be brought to a sustainable level.