On 19 October 2026, Ms. Guoqin Wang, Programme Manager of UNEP-IEMP, visited the Embassy of the Republic of Kenya in Beijing at the invitation of Ms. Edith K. Ngungu, Minister at the Embassy, to advance cooperation on Kenya's sustainable bamboo value chain.

During the meeting, Ms. Wang reviewed the latest progress of Kenya's bamboo pilot initiative under the "China-Kenya Bamboo Technology Transfer" project and shared Chinese experiences in bamboo value chain development and the opportunities they present for Kenya. The two sides also discussed existing bottlenecks to overcome in scaling up Kenya's bamboo value chain to deliver multiple ecological and socio-economic benefits.

They exchanged views on a Public-Private Partnership (PPP)-driven pathway for scaling up Kenya's bamboo industry, as well as priority intervention zones covering flood-prone river basins and coastal erosion areas, in alignment with Kenya's 15 Billion Tree Initiative for combined ecological restoration, climate change mitigation and adaptation, food security, and local livelihood improvement.

The meeting reinforced UNEP-IEMP's continued commitment to South-South cooperation, leveraging bamboo as a nature-based solution to advance climate action, ecosystem rehabilitation, and inclusive green development in Kenyan communities.