ANG kawayan at rattan ay malaking tulong sa ekonomiya at sa kalikasan.
Kaugnay nito ay isinusulong ni Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada ang Senate Bill 1666 (Integrated National Bamboo and Rattan Development Program).
Aniya, “Bamboo and rattan provide wood for fuel, poles, and edible food. They restore the nutrients lost from the ecosystem while at the same time serving as windbreakers in their areas. They also help improve the micro-climate so that animals and plants have better chances of survival.”
Inaatasan ng panukala ang mga local government unit (LGU) na mag-establish ng “bamboo nurseries (where high quality bamboo stocks are raised or produced) and production/dispersal centers (where saplings readied for transplanting are properly kept and dispersed.” Ang mga ito ay pangangasiwaan ng Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) sa ilalim ng Integrated National Bamboo and Rattan Development Program.
Saklaw ng programa ang: propagation/production of high quality, genetically-superior planting stocks; dispersal or distribution of planting materials; production of bamboo farming and/or plantation development and management; utilization, processing and marketing including high-value product development; training and extension, including technology packaging and transfer; and research and technology.
Ang mga LGU na makalalahok sa programa ay kailangang makapasa sa mga sumusunod na criteria: Avai-lability of land resources, demand and supply, social acceptability, economic and ecological enhancement needs, over-all compatibility and consistency with existing local, provincial, regional, and national environmental and socio-economic development plans.
Isinasaad din ng panukala ang pagtatatag ng mga sumusunod: 1) National Bamboo/Rattan Development Program Executive Committee to provide guidelines for the implementation of the Program; 2) Provincial Bamboo/Rattan Development Program Committees to coordinate and monitor the implementation of the Program in the province; 3) City/Municipal Bamboo/Rattan Development Program Committees to determine and identify prospective location sites for bamboo nursery and dispersal centers; 4) National Bamboo/Rattan Development Research Office to make the proper researches, studies, information dissemination on bamboo cultivation, propagation and production; provide scientific and technological assistance on bamboo planting procedures; and determine and make proper technological advances on the usages of bamboos.