Bamboo comes under grass family, so govt must grant approval to grow them in forest areas.
The Karnataka government’s efforts to curb the cultivation and use of eucalyptus in protected areas and surrounding places are sure to aid the attempts of the Institute of Wood Science and Technology and Bamboo Society of India (BSI), in promoting the cultivation and use of bamboo. “The move will indirectly help our efforts in getting an exemption for bamboo, which is considered a grass, from the Forest Act, Forest rules and Tree Protection Acts,” said co-founder and executive committee member of BSI, NS Adkoli.
He was speaking to DNA on the sidelines of the announcement of the national seminar on ‘Recent advances in bamboo propagation, management and utilisation’ organised by IWST. The seminar will take place on February 17 and 18 at IWST campus.
Over 125 delegates from India will participate. Adkoli said bamboo should get felling permission like silver oak and teak.
They have been pressing for this demand for a decade and plan to discuss the issue in the seminar.
In Karnataka, bamboo grows on 34 lakh hectares, of which 70% falls in protected areas like Bandipur and Dandeli tiger reserves.
Over 2,00,000 tonnes of dead bamboo is lying in forest areas unused, which can be utilised for various purposes like energy generation, for wood, paper industry and as bio-fertiliser. But a mere 5,000-6,000 hectares is being cleaned up, while the rest remains untouched, he added. Since bamboo belongs to the grass family, permission for harvesting and cultivation in and around forest areas should be given. Further, while permissions have been given for other trees to be cultivated and used as an alternative for wood, bamboo is still awaiting the nod, said IWST director SC Joshi.
He added that bamboo is considered as poor man’s timber. But it is not being allowed to be grown and freely transported. Adding to IWST group-coordinator (research) BN Mohanty said that unlike China and other East-Asian countries, where community initiatives are being taken for promotion and cultivation of bamboo with better technology, it lacks here though 16% of India’s land is covered with bamboo.
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