PEOPLE AND THEIR PROBLEMS

New Delhi, 11 November 2005

Poverty Alleviation Plan

EXPLOITING POTENTIALS OF BAMBOO

By Radhakrishna  Rao

Hailed as the “green fold of the forest” and “poor man’s timber”, the lean, tall and gracious bamboo is an eco-friendly natural resource of great utility which has been meeting a wide ranging needs of  human society from time immemorial. China, on its part, has succeeded in turning bamboo into a lucrative foreign exchange earner through the production and export of many innovative bamboo products.

India which has the second highest resource of bamboo in the world, is also planning to  make it big in the global market for bamboo products. But then there is a huge demand and supply gap insofar as bamboo is concerned. Right now, the supply of bamboo is about 13.47-million tonnes, while the demand is pegged at 26.9-million tonnes.

Indian hopes to overcome the gap by raising commercial bamboo plantations. The Union Government, on its part, has unveiled a national mission on bamboo trade and technology under which thrust is being given to the production of innovative items and their marketing. The major objective of the mission is to serve “as an instrument of poverty alleviation and employment generation, particularly in the rural areas.”

In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis on promoting the cultivation of bamboo varieties. Bamboo which has traditionally been used in paper and rayon production, is now being used to build dwellings in many parts of the world. Bamboo is also now used to make match-sticks and incense sticks. By 2015, the Indian bamboo industry is estimated to grow to US$5.7-billion sector as against US$174-million sector in 2000”, says a spokesman of International Network for Bamboo and Ratan (INBAR).

Indian paper industry which has for long been dependent on bamboo as a cheap raw material has to go in for costlier feedstock in the context of the acute shortage of bamboo in the country. Bamboo forests in India cover 10.03-million hectares making for 12.8 per cent of forest area in the country.

A large proportion of the tribal population in the country is dependent on bamboo for its livelihood. In Karnataka, Medhara tribals who have been for centuries making a living by bamboo products, are finding it difficult to make both the ends meet on account of an acute shortage of bamboo.

The  hilly, north-eastern region of India   accounts for two-thirds of the total bamboo stock in the country. But in the absence of a well-organized production facility and marketing network people in many part of north east India are not in a position  to exploit the economic potentials of this eco-friendly forest species .Meanwhile, there is a concern in part of north-east India over the bamboo flowering expected to take place during 2006-07. For bamboo flowering in this part of the country has been associated with rat infestations and famine. For rat invasion is known to follow bamboo flowering In fact, way back in 1959, bamboo flowering in Mizoram led to widespread starvation leading to the separatist movement. Scientists,  on their part, point out that the “gregarious bamboo flowering” causes widespread ecological havocs.

Perhaps, no other natural species is used to make as many products as bamboo .From the  traditional weapons of the aboriginals to the scaffoldings of modern high rise buildings, bamboo continues to play its role in human civilization. This noble grass  can be  made into baskets and chairs, chopsticks, hats and ladders. Thus, the use to which the bamboo can   be put is endless. As the 800 year old Chinese philosopher,  Poo-Son-Tong said ,”A meal should have a meat but a house must have a bamboo Without bamboo, we lose serenity and culture  itself”.

Depending on the species, the bamboo flowering takes place anywhere between  60 and 120 years .Flowering is spread  over a year or two and is gregarious  nature. The bamboo dies after flowering because the old leaves fall and instead of  followed by regeneration are replaced by flowers.

Indonesia is the world’s largest producer of bamboo. About half-a-million people in South-East Asia derive their employment directly from the bamboo cultivation, extraction and processing. From birth to death,  bamboo plays a crucial role in the lives of the millions of people in South East Asia.

Incidentally, the destruction of bamboo forests also means a severe disturbance in the fine-tuned eco-system of a closed forest. A host of animals from weevils to wild elephants, feed on bamboo flowers that carpet the floor of the forests. The disappearance of bamboo forests also leads  to the growth of invidious weed eupatorium glandulosum, particularly in the moist parts of the forest .Once the compact weeds take over, it smothers the and totally suppresses all other vegetation

In Bangalore, the Indian Plywood Industry Research and Training Institute has  developed the technological elements for building dwellings with the reinforced bamboo. There is a move to popularize the cost-efficient and eco-friendly bamboo houses in both the rural and urban areas of India. The Bangkok-based Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) has played a key role in popularizing bamboo houses in rural pockets of Thailand with a high degree of success. ….INFA

 (Copyright, India News and Feature Alliance)