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Ghana will soon begin the exportation of bamboo bicycles to other countries in Africa and Europe. Ruby Sandhu-Rojon, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Coordinator, who made this known, said the Ghana Bamboo Bicycle Initiative had received international certification. She said the right measures had been put in place to start the export of bamboo bicycles to other countries. Sandhu-Rojon said the strong but light bamboo bikes could be used for several purposes in a variety of terrains. She said the bamboo initiative focuses on creating employment opportunities for women and youth with little education. The Ghana Bamboo Bicycle initiative is being supported by the UNDP Global Environment Facility (GEF) for Small Grants Programme. Sandhu-Rojon said, �With GEF assistance, the initiative has managed to improve training for the construction of quality bamboo bicycles and establish a fully operational training centre and bike factory. She said the Ghana Bamboo Bicycle initiative has also established a bamboo plantation to ensure sustainable supply of bamboo, adding that �to date, one hectare has already been successfully planted with 1,500 seedlings by 25 youth while another four hectares will be developed with the technical assistance of the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan. The bamboo plantation has eased pressure on the dwindling forest and improved air quality of the host community by absorbing large amount of carbon dioxide and generating up to 35 per cent more oxygen than an equivalent number of trees, Sandhu-Rojon said. The Bright Generation Community Foundation, manufacturers of the bamboo bikes under the UNDP Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme, is working to improve production from 100 per month to 500. The Ghana Bamboo Bike Initiative in 2010 was selected as a commitment project by the Bill Clinton Global Initiative University. It won the 2010 UNEP SEED award and the 2010 Samsung Generation for Peace award, among others.