Bamboo is one of the most important non-timber forest products. It is also an important support for the economy of developing countries, and well being of people living there. A huge advantage is that bamboo can be used on the scale of the farmer and his family, as well as on industrial scale. During its growth it contributes to the improvement of the environment.

Bamboo has a long history and a strong link with IUFRO. It is a permanent honour for IUFRO having been the cradle for the first bamboo group ever. As early as in 1980 the first workshop on bamboo was hosted by IDRC and IUFRO in Singapore. From that modest start the interest in bamboo has grown, resulting in the launch in November 1998 of INBAR, the International Network on Bamboo And rattan, as an international agency. The main function of 5.11.03 is to act as strong link between IUFRO and INBAR.

Both organisations share many fields of interest, like disaster prevention (8.03.00), carbon sequestration (1.07.00, 1.15.00 and 1.17.00), and exploitation of timber and bamboo in the natural forest (5.11.00). During the meeting of the group in August 2000 it was agreed to select a subject for each of these three areas, and to arrange for a project in co-operation between 5.11.03 and the other groups mentioned before.

In the meeting of the group during the IUFRO World Congress in August 2000 in Kuala Lumpur, the group decided to strengthen its activities, and to divide its interest into four fields (similarly as INBAR): ecological security, livelihood development, economic development, and outreach.