HUMAS USU – The Center of Excellence for Bamboo Science and Technology Universitas Sumatera Utara (PUI-BAMBU USU) organized The 1st International Conference on Bamboo, Forestry Resources, and Application (IC-BaFoRa) 2025 with the theme *Bamboo and Forestry for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation.* The event took place at Hotel Grandhika Medan on Wednesday (03/09/2025).

The conference featured keynote speakers from Malaysia, China, India, and Indonesia. In addition, several research papers were presented covering six areas of study, including innovative findings from the scientific community, practical applications for industry, and policy implications. The conference proceedings will be published through IOP Publishing, with selected articles scheduled to appear in Scopus-indexed journals.

In her remarks, USU Vice Rector III, Prof. Dr. Poppy Anjelisa Zaitun Hasibuan, S.Si., M.Si., Apt., emphasized that the conference theme is highly relevant to climate change issues. She highlighted bamboo as a fast-renewable resource that plays a vital role in carbon absorption, erosion prevention, wood substitution, and community economic empowerment. Through PUI-BAMBU USU, bamboo’s potential is considered significant in supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals while opening opportunities for global research collaboration. She expressed hope that the conference would produce real solutions for the environment, industry, and society.

“The theme of our conference is a very important and crucial matter. Bamboo offers various solutions that are aligned with the UN SDGs. To all participants, let us make the next two days more than just an exchange of ideas, but also a platform to generate new research collaborations, policy recommendations, business innovations, as well as community empowerment programs that can provide real solutions for the world,” she said.

The Chair of IC-BaFoRa 2025 and Head of PUI-BAMBU USU, Dr. Ir. Samsuri, S.Hut., M.Si., IPM., ASEAN Eng., explained that Indonesia is targeting a 30% reduction in emissions, making the utilization of bamboo highly relevant. He added that bamboo has strong potential as an alternative to increasingly scarce timber and can be utilized in construction as well as for bio-pharmaceutical materials.

“Indonesia has an ambition to reduce emissions by 30%. Bamboo is one of the species with a very fast growth rate, so achieving a sufficient amount of bamboo does not take long, making it highly relevant to that target. Bamboo also has the potential to replace wood, and in the future, it is expected to support construction materials and even produce biopharmaceuticals,” he explained.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of PUI-BAMBU USU, Dr. Ir. Luthfi Hakim, S.Hut., M.Si., IPU., ASEAN Eng., highlighted that bamboo, as a non-timber forest product, holds great potential as a substitute for wood. However, he pointed out that data on the distribution and potential of bamboo in Indonesia remains very limited. Further research, he noted, is essential in order to optimize its use and ensure it contributes to community welfare. He expressed hope that bamboo research will continue to be strengthened so that it can become a primary focus in future development.

“In the future, it is hoped that bamboo can serve as an alternative material to replace wood. Beyond its utilization, bamboo research is still lacking in data on its distribution across Indonesia. Therefore, we hope more studies on bamboo can be developed so that ultimately it can improve the welfare of communities, especially in rural areas, where bamboo grows and is often utilized traditionally,” he said.