Bamboo for Green Life and Sustainable Development
Starting from 2009, World Bamboo Day has been observed on September 18 every year. It aims at raising awareness about Bamboo and the importance of its sustainable cultivation and use. Bamboo is evergreen perennial flowering. It is a variety of grass, even though some types look like trees. Bamboo is one of the most versatile and valuable plants that find numerous applications and have been used for centuries. It is often referred to as “Green Gold”. Even though it has been in use for centuries, its cultivation has not been sustainable due to exploitation. Bamboo grows well in tropical weather and is present all over the world except in Europe and Antarctica. In India, Bamboo cultivation spreads over an area of ~ fourteen million hectares. Even though India adds just 2% of the global bamboo supply, it is the second Bamboo-rich country after China in terms of variety of species.
Fifty per cent of the bamboo species in India are found in the northeastern part. Pandas, gorillas, bamboo lemurs, chimpanzees, and elephants cherish consuming Bamboo. There is a religious connotation to the Bamboo. The constant companion of Lord Krishna is Bansuri or Venu (flute), believed to be made of Bamboo and is revered for the same. It is reported that Bamboo survived the radiation exposure caused after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima. Its renewable and fastest-growing nature makes Bamboo suitable for afforestation, carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. With so many uses, it is time to plant Bamboo and not simply use it.
The young Bamboo can be easily bent, but the full-grown Bamboo breaks when it is bent with force.
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
World Bamboo Day is observed on September 18 every year and started in 2009. It is the initiative of the World Bamboo Organization led by Kamesh Salam, the then president of the organisation. The date was chosen to coincide with Royal Thai Forestry Day. It aims at raising awareness about Bamboo and the importance of its sustainable cultivation and use.
Bamboo is evergreen perennial flowering and is a variety of grass, even though some of the types look like trees. It is speculated that the origin of the word “bamboo” is in Malay or Kannada. Bamboo is one of the most versatile and valuable plants that find innumerable uses and have been in use for centuries and is often referred to as “Green Gold”. It is a source of food (bamboo shoots), building material, raw material for textiles, musical instruments, furniture and so on. Bamboo shoots have nutraceutical properties and nutritional immunity boosters for improving the human body’s resistance to viral infections. Bamboo is referred to as ‘poor man’s timber. Even though it has been in use for centuries, its cultivation has not been sustainable due to exploitation.
Bamboo grows well in tropical weather and is present all over the world except in Europe and Antarctica. Temperatures less than 15oC can kill the plant. The latest estimates are that there may be some fifty million hectares of Bamboo around the world. Ninety per cent of the total bamboo forest area is in China, India, and the Southeast Asian region. The region also hosts 80% of the world’s bamboo species. Bamboo can grow to varying heights. Some varieties grow from eighteen inches to three feet. Timber bamboo varieties are the tallest (can reach up to ~160 centimetres). Dendrocalamus giganteus, the most towering Bamboo in the world, is a tropical Myanmar native and can grow as high as 7.5 meters. In one of the recent discoveries, researchers found the shortest bamboo species, Raddiella vanessiae, growing only up to 1-2 cm. Another critical feature of Bamboo is its rate of growth. One of the varieties, Giant Bamboo, can grow up to 40 cm daily. It is common among many bamboo species to grow without flowering for decades. Giant bamboo variety flowers once every 40 years. This rapid growth and tolerance for marginal land make Bamboo a suitable candidate for afforestation, carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.
In India, Bamboo cultivation spreads over an area of ~14 million hectares. Even though India adds just 2% of the global bamboo supply, in terms of varieties, it is the second Bamboo-rich country after China. In India, 50% of the bamboo species are found in northeast India. Bamboo shoot consumption and production are also highest in the Northeastern states. Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer of Bamboo in India, followed by Maharashtra, Arunachal Pradesh, and Odisha. National Bamboo Mission of India is making efforts to support the regional craftspeople and use locally grown bamboo varieties. It is also taking steps to develop Bamboo farming in states where it is not produced. There are some challenges in handling Bamboo crops. It can be an invasive threat to biodiversity. Bamboo can spread fast, and getting rid of it can take years.
Pandas, gorillas, bamboo lemurs, chimpanzees, and elephants cherish consuming Bamboo. There is a religious connotation to the Bamboo. The constant companion of Lord Krishna is Bansuri or Venu (flute), believed to be made of Bamboo and is revered for the same. It is reported that Bamboo survived the radiation exposure caused after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima. Bamboo has contributed to combating the COVID pandemic. Philippine researchers used it for making sanitisers and soaps with antimicrobial properties.
Its renewable and fastest-growing nature makes Bamboo suitable for afforestation, carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation. With so many uses, it is time to plant Bamboo and not simply use it.
Logs: Sai Baba
ToonLogs
Note: while writing this, the information was sourced from many web sources, including World Bamboo Organization and Wikipedia.
Thanks to Microsoft for the image.
