Bamboo
From NTFP
Contents |
Resources and Distribution
Despite their economic and social significance, statistics on bamboo and rattan resources, especially in natural stands, are very limited. Classified as "non-timber forest products", bamboo and rattan are not routinely included in resource inventories. A good, transparent estimate of bamboo and rattan resources has yet to be developed.
As a first step to improving the available information, the International Network for Bamboo and Rattan (INBAR) and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) have jointly initiated a project to estimate the magnitude and distribution of bamboo resources within natural stands. In the first instance, the project combined information on the distribution of individual taxa with floristic data and global data on forest cover to determine global distribution and estimate the total area of forest containing bamboo and rattan.
In the course of the study, regional distribution maps of all species of woody bamboos occurring in the Asia-Pacific region (South, Southeast and East Asia, Papua New Guinea and Australia); Africa; North, Central and South America were produced. 1376 individual bamboo species and subspecies were mapped. The highest figures of potential species richness (144 spp per square km) were recorded in South China.
Bamboo distribution map for Asia-Pacific
Bamboo distribution map for Africa and America
Propagation and Management Systems
Seed propagation
This method has a serious limitation, which is unreliable seed availability. This is due to the rather peculiar flowering habits of bamboo. Many species only flower once in 30 to 70 years, other species don’t flower at all and many that do die as a consequence. Only few bamboos flower and produce seed frequently. For the majority of species bamboo growers can only rely on cloning methods for propagation.
Cloning
In cloning one relies on the bamboo’s ability to grow plantlets with roots from rhizome, branch or culm buds. This naturally occurs when plant parts with buds are brought in contact with soil. The new plants will be exact copies -or clones- of the mother plant. The advantage of cloning is that the selected motherplant’s qualities are always present in the offspring. In addition to the traditional method of ‘clump division’, several new cloning methods have been developed. Click here and here for more information.
Micro-propagation
Micropropagation is the development of new plants in an artificial medium under aseptic conditions. It uses different parts of a plant as starting materials to establish an in vitro culture. These will include seeds, embryos, pollen grains and parts such as stems, shoot tips, nodes, root tips, callus and single cells. Click here for more information
Small-scale / homestead plantations
A homestead bamboo plantation is a plantation owned and managed by one family. The size will depend on how much time the family members are able to give to cultivation and harvesting aside from their other responsibilities. The very largest homestead plantations are expected to be no larger than one hectare in size. Clicke here for more information
Medium and large scale plantations
Medium and large-scale bamboo plantations are plantations too large for an individual family to manage on their own. They are thus about 1 hectare or larger and may be up to many square kilometres. They may be managed for culm production, shoot production or both. Most of the commercially productive bamboo plantations in the world are medium or large scale and they benefit from the economies of their size. Click here for more information
Uses and Value-Added
More than 100 bamboo species are used commercially and can provide excellent means of income generation in primary and secondary processing with little capital investment for both men and women. Demand for bamboo-based products continues to rise. A key aspect is the development of supply chains and fair trading systems that plough benefits back into communities. Whith forest areas being reduced dramatically, bamboo is considered a sustainable substitute for timber, due to its fast growth (3-4 years until harvesting and consequently annual harvests - as compared to 5-10 years for e.g. eucalyptus). Bamboo is extremely versatile, with over 1500 documented uses, and can in principle be used to produce anything that can be made from timber. Important bamboo product categories include furniture and handicrafts; split-based products; flooring; mats, boards and veneer; housing and scaffolding; pulp and paper; charcoal (fuel, absorption); fiber and textiles; shoots (food); composite materials; etc. At the same time, bamboo plantations are highly suitable for erosion control, land rehabilitation, and wastewater treatment. Bamboo's rhizomatous root systems help bind soil while the evergreem cover provides valuable wildlife habitats. Click here for an overview of uses and applications.
Partner Activities, Projects, Sites
INBAR
Action Research Projects:
INBAR action research projects aim to trial and validate bamboo and rattan technologies for poverty alleviation. The intention is to produce small scale models of their successful use that can then be scaled-up or replicated to effect larger-scale development as the need arises.
India: Tamenglong , TAMBAC, Tripura, Uttaranchal
Awareness creation and training
ICRAF
