Vetiver at China - Superway Conference

The China’s national super-way conference titled Super-way Construction and Development Conference was held on 26-29 November 1998. The conference was organized by China Highway Engineering Society. The vetiver grass formed an important component of the conference. During the conference the China Vetiver Network introduced the characteristics of the grass and the technology of applying the grass for highway embankment protection and erosion controlling along the highway slopes. Multiple vetiver publications were distributed. Typical examples of using vetiver for highway stabilization in Guangdong, Yunnan, Fujian Provinces were introduced. Grass samples and a set of photos were exhibited. The representative of CVN suggested that the environment should be one of the main parameters before the new road was checked and accepted, and mentioned that a proposed workshop on highway embankment protection and slope stabilization in 1999. More than 90 participants attended the conference coming from highway engineering institutions, universities, and construction companies through out China. Some detailed descriptions on the grass behavior and application in Yunnan Province was presented. During the conference, some participants went to AnNing to visit the demonstration site.

In the past, the highway institutions were used to protect the highway embankment with rocks or sometimes with short grass which usually could not stand long time. The grass generated great interests in the participants. The Highway Science Institute of Communications Ministry planned to establish a large demonstration for several dozens of kilometers. Many participants from northern China were also expressed to test vetiver.

The conference decided that the activities of China Highway Engineering Society will include three subjects: road surface, road embankment, and environment, in which the latter two subjects involving vetiver technology. Some participants said that the most impression issue from the conference was that they knew the miracle grass vetiver.